FAQS
Reduce Energy and Save Money
Every day, whether you rent or own a home, you can save energy in ways ranging from big to small. Some of these tips you can do yourself and some may require help from a contractor or expert
- Investing in high-efficiency appliances from furnaces to refrigerators can save you big over the lifetime of the product. Some energy efficient equipment may also qualify for rebates.
- You could save $50 or more per year on your electric bill by upgrading to a new, energy-efficient refrigerator or freezer.
- If you have an older, spare fridge or freezer in your home, it could be costing you over $100 per year. Save on your bill and get a rebate by letting us recycle it for you for free.
- Buy a programmable or smart thermostat. They can help you save on energy costs by adjusting the temperature when you’re at work, away, or asleep. Proper use of a programmable thermostat can cut your energy bills by almost $180 per year.
- Rather than turning up your heat in the winter, keep your thermostat at a moderate temperature and bundle up. Save 1% of your total heating bill for every degree you set back your thermostat.
- Vacuum out vent covers, peel back accumulated layers of paint, dust radiator fins for better heat distribution, get an annual tune-up to check efficiency, and bleed radiators annually for your furnace and boiler.
- Replace or clean your furnace filter every three months or when they appear dirty. Clogged filters can cause your system to work less efficiently.
- Heat a smaller area to stay warmer when you’re in one place for a while, either by closing heating vents in unused rooms or by turning off the heat in some areas if you have a zoned home.
- Keep interior doors open to help air circulate more freely and maintain constant heat and cooling levels.
- Run a ceiling fan in a clockwise direction to push warm air down from the ceiling to add comfort and savings. ENERGY STAR® rated ceiling fans offer the best efficiency ratings.
- Strategically placed on the North side of your property, dense evergreen trees or shrubs can function as a windbreak to reduce annual home heating costs by 10 to 15%.
- Turn down your thermostat when using your fireplace to keep your fireplace from drawing heat out of the room. Keep your fireplace flue damper tightly closed when not in use.
- Buy a programmable or smart thermostat. They can help you save on energy costs by adjusting the temperature when you’re at work, away, or asleep. Proper use of a programmable thermostat can cut your energy bills by almost $180 per year.
- Having your air conditioner coils cleaned improves efficiency to help save energy.
- By only using AC in your most needed room, like your bedroom, you can cut down on electric use.
- When you can, go down to your basement where it’s naturally cooler, so you can run the AC less.
- Install ceiling fans to keep cool air circulating, so you can turn down your AC. Ceiling fans can make temperatures feel up to eight degrees cooler. ENERGY STAR® rated ceiling fans offer the best efficiency ratings. Make sure to turn off your fan when you leave the room.
- Run ceiling fans counter-clockwise in the summer to circulate cooler, conditioned air.
- Windows aid natural ventilation and create airflow throughout your home.
- Keep interior doors open to help air circulate more freely and maintain constant cooling levels.
- Positioning trees and shrubs can shade your AC unit, helping it run up to 10% more efficiently.
- Plant more trees. Carefully positioned trees can save up to 25% of cooling energy. Summer temperatures can be three to six degrees cooler in tree-shaded neighborhoods than in areas without trees.
- Draw your shades or blinds to keep rooms cooler during the day.
- When it’s time to replace your roof, consider installing a white roof or lighter-color shingles to help reflect heat away.
- Invest in high-quality insulation to help keep cool or warm air where in belongs, inside our home.
- Get a home x-ray. Thermal imaging of your exterior can reveal leaks and locations of poor insulation.
- Have a qualified contractor seal air leaks with fire resistant materials. Foam sealant works best on larger gaps and windows, baseboards, and other places where air may leak.
- Your attic works like a hat for your home, helping it keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer. A qualified contractor can help ensure your attic has proper venting and vapor barriers.
- Seal air leaks where plumbing or electrical wiring comes through walls, floors, ceilings, and soffits over cabinets. Find and seal drafts around doors and windows, fireplace dampers, and other places where air might escape. Pure silicone works well for caulking seams in ducts and areas exposed to high temperatures.
- Use window treatments that provide insulation to slow down heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer.
- New exterior doors with insulation will keep energy in; foam filled work best.
- When buying new windows:
- Multiple panes are best. Triple-pane, and even quadra-pane windows are available.
- Use gas fillings to fill space between panes. It’s like invisible insulation because it’s clear and doesn’t conduct heat as quickly as air.
- Get special coatings that reflect infrared heat back into your home, preventing it from escaping via the window.
- Installing foam gaskets behind electric outlets and switch plates on walls will seal leaks.
- Having a green roof provides great insulation, helps soak up rain, and is environmentally friendly.
- Look into using solar panels for generating electricity or hot water if you live in a sunny area. If rooftop solar isn’t right for you, explore the other renewable options available for you.
- A ground source heat pump can deliver heating efficiencies 50% to 70% higher than many conventional heating systems and can provide cooling efficiencies 20% to 40% higher than available air conditioners.
- High-efficiency, LED light bulbs can save you money over the life of a product.
- Switch to LEDs, especially ENERGY STAR®-qualified products, which typically use 70 to 90% less energy and last at least 15 times longer than traditional bulbs they replace.
- Consider taking a quick tour of your home and think about which lights you use most often, and replace those with LEDs first to help save more on bills.
- Pick the right bulb for you. LEDs use less energy. Choose a wattage that’s about 1/4 of what you usually buy for an incandescent bulb.
- Recycle your CFLs for free. They contain mercury and need to be recycled. LED bulbs do not need to be recycled.
- Always turn off lights when you leave the room, even if you’ll only be gone for a moment.
- Use outdoor motion detection lighting, so you only use energy when you need it.
- Always unplug cords from outlets when not in use and use power strips to easily turn power on and off.
- Simply rinse dishes with cool water instead of hot water to save energy.
- Newer dishwashers with internal heaters and load sensors can use 25% less energy.
- Not using heat in the drying cycle can save up to 20% of your dishwasher’s total electricity use.
- Always wash full loads of clothes to maximize water use and savings.
- Using cool settings on your washing machine saves hot water and energy.
- Cleaning out the exhaust vent on your dryer can help it to run more efficiently and use less energy.
- Clean out your lint trap in your dryer to help it work more efficiently.
- Add tennis balls to your dryer to help clothes dry faster and save energy.
- Save using your dryer by hanging laundry out to dry in nicer weather.
- Set your hot water heater to no higher than 110 degrees. Lowering it 10 degrees saves you 3% to 5% on water heating costs.
- A water heater insulation blanket can save you 7% to 16% in water heating costs, and it can pay for itself in about a year.
- On-demand or tankless water heaters can save up to 35% for smaller households, using 51 gallons or less daily. Larger households can save up to 14%, using 86 gallons per day – versus a conventional water heater.
- Install a drain-water waste heat recovery system to capture energy from waste hot water to preheat cold water entering the water heater.
- Install an under-the-sink, on-demand water heater in your kitchen to save energy by using it only when you need it.
- Plug all leaky faucets. A leaky faucet wastes gallons of water in a short period of time, and it’s very costly for hot water leaks.
- Low-flow water faucets can help reduce hot water consumption and save energy. Faucet aerators can reduce your water flow from the usual 2.2 to as low as .5 gallons per minute, saving you on hot water use, while still providing the water flow you need.