Don’t Get Burned By Summer Energy Bills

Saving energy this summer just got easier. America’s electric utilities have put together the following 10 no- to low-cost tips to guide consumers. With each tip are the potential energy savings that consumers can expect. Besides saving energy, these tips can help make a home more comfortable too. And they will help consumers to reduce their impact on the environment. 

EEI’s Web site—www.eei.org/wiseuse—offers homes and businesses more information about improving their energy efficiency, as well as a list of electric utility energy-efficiency programs offering financial incentives for making efficiency improvements.

• Set the thermostat at 78 degrees or higher when the house is occupied, and at 85 degrees when vacant (save 1-2 percent on your cooling costs for each degree you raise the thermostat setting).
• Regularly clean/replace the air conditioner’s air filter (save up to 5 percent on annual energy costs).
• Provide shading for the air conditioner’s outdoor unit (save 2-3 percent on cooling costs).
• Keep the doors and vents closed in unused rooms (save up to 3 percent on cooling costs).
• On hot, sunny days, keep the curtains closed on windows facing south and west (save 2-4 percent on cooling costs).
• Caulk and weather-strip around windows and doors (save 1-4 percent on cooling costs).
• Wash/dry full loads of clothes, and use cold water as much as possible (save 2-4 percent on energy costs).
• Set the water heater’s temperature to 120 degrees (save up to 10 percent on water heating costs; check by placing a thermometer under a tap).
• Use a microwave oven instead of a regular oven (save up to 50 percent on cooking costs).
• Install compact fluorescent lights in high-use fixtures (save about 66 percent on lighting costs per fixture).