101 Ways to Save Energy

Hot water plays an important role in everyone’s life, but many people require substantial quantities of hot water, and that results in higher energy use. Ask yourself some of the following questions:

• When I take a bath, do I use hot water sparingly, or is the tub completely full?
• Do I take short showers, or do I stay in the shower until the hot water gets cold?
• Do I repair leaky faucets, or simply let them drip and waste hot water?
• Do I operate washers and dishwashers with a full load, or just whenever convenient?
• Are my hot water pipes insulated?

It is important to note that hot water usage is the second-largest energy consumer in the household behind heating and cooling.

Did You Know?

Tankless water heaters are ideal for applications where space is at a premium or in small vacation homes, and can serve quite effectively in point-of-use applications. However, their use as the central source of hot water in a residence should be carefully considered.

While tankless water heaters offer some modest energy savings over storage water heaters (possibly as little as $36 per year for electric water heaters), these minimal gains are at the expense of substantially higher initial purchase costs, higher installation costs (upgraded power requirements), higher maintenance costs, and possible lifestyle changes to accommodate the limited fl ow rate output of tankless water heaters. For example: taking a shower while washing clothes could require as much as 6 gallons per minute of hot water. It’s unlikely that any electric tankless water heater could supply the heating capacity to meet this demand.

• Set thermostats to 78º F in summer and 68º F in winter.
• Run ceiling paddle fans on medium, blowing down in summer.
• Run ceiling paddle fans on low, blowing up in winter.
• Change HVAC filters monthly.
• When installing new air filters, make sure they are facing in the correct direction (look for arrow on side of filter).
• When heating or cooling, keep windows locked.
• Insulate electric wall plugs and wall switches with foam pads.
• Caulk along baseboards with a clear sealant.
• Close fireplace dampers when not burning a fire.
• Caulk around plumbing penetrations that come through walls beneath bathroom and kitchen sinks.
• Caulk electrical wire penetrations at the top of the interior walls.
• Close shades and drapes at night to keep heat in during the winter.
• Make sure drapes and shades are open during the day to catch free solar heat in winter.
• Close shades and drapes during the day to help keep heat out in summer.
• Ensure attic access door closes tightly.
• Insulate attic access door.
• Make sure insulation in your attic does not block soffit vents.
• Do not close off unused rooms that are conditioned by forced-air systems.
• Do not close supply air registers.
• Check to be sure return air grilles are not blocked by furniture or bookcases.
• Ensure windows and doors are properly weather-stripped.
• Make sure outside soffit vents are not blocked.
• Do not use roof-top power ventilators for attic exhaust as they may evacuate conditioned air from your home.
• Have your HVAC system serviced once per year by a NATE-certified technician.
• Monitor your home’s relative humidity in the summer. If it consistently stays in the 60% range or higher, ask your HVAC technician about lowering your central air conditioning unit’s indoor fan speed.
• Ensure window A/C units are weather-stripped.
• Ensure windows with window-mounted A/C units have weather-stripping between the middle of the top and bottom pane.
• Remove and clean window A/C filter monthly.
• Keep “fresh-air” vents on window A/C units closed.
• Use heavy-duty, clear sheets of plastic on the inside of windows to reduce the amount of cold air entering your home.
• Minimize use of electric space heaters.
• Ensure your outdoor heat pump/air conditioning unit is kept clean and free of debris.
• When using the fireplace, reduce heat loss by opening damper in the bottom of the firebox (if provided) or open the nearest window slightly.
• In a basement, seal the sill and band joist with durable caulking or foam sealant.
• Ensure floor registers are not blocked with rugs, drapes or furniture.
• Outside your home, caulk around all penetrations including telephone, electrical, cable, gas, water spigots, dryer vents, etc.
• Caulk around storm windows.
• Caulk around basement windows.
• Verify your supply air duct “boots” (behind supply air registers) are caulked to your ceiling or wall sheetrock or flooring.
• If in unconditioned space, verify your ducts are tightly connected to your HVAC equipment.
• Verify all outdoor doors (including storm doors) close and seal tightly.
• In 2-story homes serviced by one HVAC system, a paddle fan at the top of the stairs can push down hot, second-floor air.
• Install 15 minute, spring wound timers on bathroom ventilator fans.
• Always run your HVAC system fan on “AUTO.” Running it on “ON” uses more electricity and can decrease your air conditioner’s ability to remove moisture.
• Keep your garage door down. A warmer garage in the winter and cooler garage in the summer will save energy.

• Turn computers and monitors off when not in use.
• Make sure electric blankets are turned off in the morning.
• Turn waterbed heater off when not needed.
• Turn large-screen TV’s off completely when not in use.
• Turn off stereos and radios when not in use.
• Remember to turn off hair curling irons and hot rollers.
• Turn off coffee makers when not in use.
• Turn off pool pump and/or heater when not needed.
• Verify livestock water tank heaters are off when not needed.
• Make sure heat tape is off when not needed.
• Unplug battery chargers when not needed.
• Ensure all new appliances purchased are ENERGY STAR approved.

• Replace any light bulb that burns more than one hour per day with its equivalent compact fluorescent bulb.
• Turn off unnecessary lighting.
• Replace outdoor lighting with its outdoor-rated equivalent compact fluorescent bulb.
• Use fixtures with electronic ballasts and T-8, 32-watt fluorescent lamps.
• Use outdoor security lights with a photocell and/or a motion sensor.

• Use your refrigerator’s anti-sweat feature only if necessary.
• Switch your refrigerator’s power-saver to “ON,” if available.
• Clean refrigerator coils annually.
• Set the refrigerator temperature to 34º to 37º F and freezer temperature to 0º to 5º F.
• Ensure gaskets around door seal tightly.
• Unplug unused refrigerators or freezers.
• Use microwave for cooking when possible.
• When cooking on the oven range, use pot lids to help food cook faster.
• If you are heating water, use hot tap water instead of cold.
• Remember to use the kitchen exhaust fan when cooking and turn it off after cooking.
• Use a crockpot instead of simmering foods on the stove.
• If rinsing dirty dishes before putting them into the dishwasher, do so with cold water.
• Use cold water for garbage disposal.
• Only run dishwasher when fully loaded.
• Use air-dry cycle instead of heat-dry cycle to dry dishes.

• Wash clothes in cold water. Use hot water only for very dirty loads.
• Only do full laundry loads.
• If you must do smaller loads, adjust the water level in the washing machine to match the load size, especially when using hot water.
• Always use cold-water rinse.
• Use bath towels at least twice before washing them.
• Clean your dryer’s lint trap before each load.
• Make sure the outdoor dryer exhaust door closes when the dryer is off.
• Verify dryer vent hose is tightly connected to inside wall fitting.
• Check that the dryer vent hose is tightly connected to dryer.
• Make sure dryer vent hose is not kinked or clogged.
• Minimize clothes drying time; use moisture sensor on dryer if available.
• Dry consecutive loads to harvest heat remaining in dryer from last load.
• Consider using a “solar-powered” clothes dryer, an old fashioned clothes line.