How Your Energy Company Can Help you Save

Another month has come and gone and that means another electric bill is due. A good majority of us are guilty of just scrolling our eyes down to the bottom of the statement, only looking at the total amount due. We write out the check and then go on to open another bill. But how many times have you actually analyzed your electric bill and assessed your energy use for the month? Do you know which rooms of your home use the most energy or the time of day your energy consumption is at its peak? To help you answer those questions, most electric companies offer an in-home energy audit to help you save energy.

 

 

Energy Audit

 

Energy AuditHome energy audits can be performed by your electric company or by a professional energy auditor. During your home checkup, the auditor will inspect your attic’s insulation, furnace and duct work, as well as look for any leaks. A blower door test and infrared camera might also be used to establish any areas where the home has an unintentional air passageway. After the audit, the auditor will be able to determine where your house could be more efficient and what can be corrected to help you save energy and money.

 

 

Energy Plan

 

Energy PlanAfter the energy audit, you will be more aware of where the majority of your energy consumption is going and how to make any necessary changes to be more efficient. These proposed changes are simply recommendations made by the auditor, and are not required. However, by making the suggested efficiency upgrades, you could save 5 to 30 percent on your monthly energy bill.

 

 

DIY Energy Assessment

 

DIY Energy AssessmentIf your energy company does not offer an energy auditing service or you do not want to pay for a professional, you can perform an energy assessment on your own. You can check for air leaks caused by gaps around windows, doors, lighting fixtures, and electrical outlets, in addition to inspecting the insulation in your attic. A home energy assessment is just the beginning of your energy savings journey, and whether performed by a professional or done by yourself, it can help you be more conscious of where the majority of your energy is being consumed.

 

 

Become Energy Efficient

 

Become Energy EfficientSo the next time you get your electric bill, take a look at your total energy consumption for the month. Consider contacting your electric company to see if an energy audit service is offered, and to identify how efficiently or inefficiently your home’s energy is being used.

   

Power Down Your Home on Summer Vacation

Summer vacations are a time to relax and unwind from the daily hustle and bustle. Unfortunately, while you’re vacationing away from your home, your energy bill is still higher than expected. No one is home and the appliances are off, so why is your energy bill the same amount as the previous month? Although you’ve stopped working, your home’s utilities and electronics have not. So before you start your summer vacation, make sure your home is on vacation mode, too.

Avoid Vampire Power

Avoid Vampire PowerBefore leaving your home, set aside some time to walk through your home and make sure all unnecessary electronics and appliances are unplugged. Although you may not be using them while you’re on your vacation, vampire power will still run up your electric bill. Any unnecessary electronic devices including lamps, floor fans, game consoles, TVs, and computers, should be unplugged while your house is vacant. These devices can also be plugged into a power strip that is then switched off. Whichever method you choose, the risk of vampire power is avoided.

Controlled Cooling

Controlled CoolingUnless there are pets in the house while you’re away on your summer vacation, you can really take advantage of increasing your thermostat to cut energy consumption. Setting your thermostat between 85 to 87 degrees will show a drop in your next energy bill. Programmable thermostats can also help with maintaining energy use while you’re gone. If you choose to turn off your thermostat while you’re away, you can program your thermostat to turn on the day of or the day before your return so that your home is comfortable to come back to.

Maintain Major Appliances

Maintain Major AppliancesOn longer summer trips, it is a good idea to clean out your refrigerator and turn it off. Refrigerators are a major culprit of using large amounts of energy; they are the Hummers of automobiles. If the trip is shorter, you can raise the refrigerator and freezer temperature to the highest temperature it can go without spoiling the food inside. You can also power down your water heater if your summer vacation is longer than just a weekend getaway. Before shutting down or adjusting the settings on any major appliance, be sure to read the product manual to avoid issues.

Close Your Blinds

Close Your BlindsThere are many things you can do to save energy in your vacant home during your summer vacation. Besides unplugging and turning off different appliances, you can also do simple, yet effective tasks, like closing your blinds and curtains. This helps maintain your home’s temperature by blocking the heat so that your AC doesn’t run more frequently than necessary. If you have window film on your home’s windows, that will provide an additional layer of protection from the sun’s rays and also help prevent fading of your window coverings. Your home’s windows provide the easiest access for cool air to escape and warm air to enter. Covering your windows also provides a level of privacy while you are away. So on your next summer vacation, be sure to follow some of these energy saving tips so you can worry less about your bills and more about relaxation.

   

Easy Energy Tips for Apartments

Of America’s 35 million apartment residents, a significant portion of them are renters. One of the best parts of renting as opposed to buying is not having to worry too much about the status of your dwelling. Big picture headaches like costly repairs and home values are not your concern—and if the place isn’t to your liking, you’re more mobile than if you’re tied to a mortgage.

That doesn’t mean there are no concerns for apartment dwellers. For one, many who live in apartments do own them. But more importantly, one of the most expensive aspects of apartment upkeep for any inhabitant is energy. Ever gone to stay with a starving actor friend in New York in the summer? There’s a reason he doesn’t have air conditioning.

Here are three easy energy tips that let you save energy and cut down on your apartment’s energy costs.

1. Wash your clothes with cold water. Air dry them.

Wash-your-clothes-with-cold-water.-Air-dry-themThe biggest energy expenditure in any apartment is temperature control. Air conditioning is, of course, going to be one of the biggest monthly energy expenditures you have—more on that in a second—but there are also other, less heralded climate controlling mechanisms in your home.

If you wash your clothes with hot water, you are spending a tremendous amount of unnecessary energy. According to Energystar.gov, 90 percent of the energy that goes into washing a hot load of clothes is the energy that heats the water. Wash your clothes with cold water.

And don’t use a dryer either, for that matter.

2. Make sure your apartment is energy sealed.

Make-sure-your-apartment-is-energy-sealed.Often, annoying energy-wasting expenditures come at the margins of your life. Mashable has a great list of things you can do that will shore up your energy-saving operation, saving you money and stress in the process. Seal your windows so the carefully cultivated climate you’ve got in your apartment stays in your apartment. Pack your freezer so as many cold items are in there as possible. Even something as small as covering cooking pots or pans can save you some valuable energy—and scratch in the process.

3. Don’t lose track of your apartment’s climate.

Don’t-lose-track-of-your-apartment’s-climateIt can be easy to forget how hot or cold you’ve set the thermostat. But if you want to save energy, it’s so important that you know exactly how hot or cold you’re keeping your home. Buy a programmable thermostat that knows when you’re in or out of the house and you can turn your apartment into an optimized energy paradise.

   

Report Shows How Ultra High-Definition TVs Drain Energy

You wouldn’t think that one little word, ultra, would make such a big difference. But it turns out that going from a High-Definition (HD) TV to an Ultra High-Definition (UHD) TV does make a difference – a $1 billion difference according to a new report from the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

 

 

Ultra Costs

 

Ultra CostsBasically, that would be the additional annual cost to U.S. viewers’ utility bills if everyone switched to UHD TVs without the energy-efficient bells and whistles. However, there are some UHD models, such as those that are ENERGY STAR certified, that are just as efficient as the HD TVs. But since there are no regulations in place enforcing those efficiencies for all of the UHD TVs, there are many that use almost one-third more energy on average.

 

“The national energy and environmental consequences of the transition to UHD TV will be profound unless the TV manufacturing industry devotes sufficient time and resources to improve the efficiency of the TVs brought to market,” explains senior scientist Noah Horowitz, director of NRDC’s Center for Energy Efficiency. “The good news is that there are steps consumers, manufacturers, and policymakers can take to make sure our newest-generation televisions are not needlessly wasting energy.”

 

 

What Consumers Can Do

 

What Consumers Can DoIf you’re thinking about buying a UHD TV, the simplest thing you can do is buy an ENERGY STAR certified one. You can shop using filters on the Find and Compare Products section of ENERGY STAR’S website. If you already own a UHD TV, make sure to enable the Automatic Brightness Control. If your UHD TV is connected to the Internet, turn off the quick start feature, which will stop the standby power from being used, which can add up to considerable energy use. There are probably other electronics and appliances throughout your home that are also drawing unnecessary energy. To learn more, read “Save Energy by Slaying Vampire Power.”

   

Shining Innovations for LED Lighting

New advanced products and lower prices continue to make LED lights a no-brainer for conserving energy. One new standout bulb is the 9.5-watt Cree LED Soft White, a 2016 Top Ten Reviews Gold award-winner, which lasts for up to 22.8 years! For just $7.97 a pop! The manufacturer, Cree, made Fast Company’s list of Most Innovative Companies 2015 for its breakthrough LED lighting technology.

 

 

The Incandescent Light Bulb’s More Energy-Efficient Twin

 

The Incandescent Light Bulb’s More Energy-Efficient TwinCree’s new 9.5-watt LED Soft White looks just like a traditional bulb. It fits into standard-size outlets. And it operates just as a traditional bulb would – lights immediately in all directions and dims without buzzing. But it uses up to 84% less energy, which earned it the trusted ENERGY STAR certification. Cree chief marketing officer Betty Noonan explains, “As a company on a mission for 100 percent LED adoption, we take pride in being risk-takers and disrupting the lighting industry with breakthrough, innovative products.”

 

To see how much money you can save with Cree LED bulbs, check out their savings calculator.

 

 

Dazzling Impact

 

Dazzling ImpactThe U.S. Department of Energy’s 2014 LED adoption report shines a light on just how impactful LED lighting can be to saving energy and money:

“Annual source energy savings from LEDs in 2014 were approximately 143 tBtu (equivalent to a cost savings of about $1.4 billion), but would have approached 4,896 tBtu (saving $49 billion) if all applications had switched “overnight” to the best-available LEDs.”

 

Indeed, more and more communities around the world are adopting LED lighting. For example, according to CleanTechnica, India is replacing all of its street lights with LED ones in the next two years. The projected annual savings of switching the 35 million street lights is “9000 million kWh of electricity annually, worth over $850 million.”

 

 

For even more bright ideas, see how you can save energy with solar lights, too.