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Top Ways to Save Energy This Summer
Warm summer days (and nights) are also great for lowering utility bills through energy efficiency.
Here we'll draw upon more than 20 years of experience describing to homeowners and renters those cost-effective energy saving tips that will lower your monthly utility bills. Our tips range from the very simple (finding a cool shady spot to relax in) to the slightly more complex (selecting EnergyStar appliances).
This lens focuses on summer-related energy savings.
Turn off a light, cut your bills, and help spare the air.
Here we'll draw upon more than 20 years of experience describing to homeowners and renters those cost-effective energy saving tips that will lower your monthly utility bills. Our tips range from the very simple (finding a cool shady spot to relax in) to the slightly more complex (selecting EnergyStar appliances).
This lens focuses on summer-related energy savings.
Turn off a light, cut your bills, and help spare the air.
Tons of Energy Saving Advice!
When you're done here, check out our other energy efficiency tips
We're big on promoting energy efficiency, clean power, and the green economy. Check out our Blog, Energy Efficiency and Lowering Utility Bills when you get a chance.
- Energy Efficiency and Lowering Utility Bills
- Energy efficiency, energy conservation, clean energy, renewable energy, green power, green economy, energy economy
20 Tips for Saving Energy (and some money as well as the planet)
Energy efficiency lowers utility bills and helps keep the air clean
Summer has begun! Those warm days are also great for lowering utility bills through energy efficiency. Here are the biggest money saving tips you can follow to reduce energy use and keep your utility bills low in summer.
1. Turn off the furnace.
2. Set your air-conditioner thermostat to 78 degrees Fahrenheit -- although senior citizens or people with medical conditions should consult their physicians before changing their normal home temperature.
3. Clean or replace air-conditioner filters monthly, during periods of use.
4.When shopping for a new air-conditioner -- or any other major appliance -- look for the ENERGY STAR label and consult the unit's EnergyGuide for advice on how much money running that particular appliance may cost you.
5. Hang wash on a line to dry whenever possible.
6. When using a clothes dryer, dry only full loads.
7. Use cold water in your washing machine.
8. Always wash full loads in your washing machine.
9. Pull drapes and blinds and close doors and windows during the day to keep cool air in and hot air out.
10. Open windows and drapes at night to let cool air in.
11. Turn off lights -- especially incandescent or halogen lights -- that generate heat.
12. Replace incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs).
13. Set the water heater thermostat to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (or to the energy efficiency setting, if it is a newer model and has one).
14. Fix leaky faucets. Ninety drops a minute add up to 212 gallons down the drain a month -- and if it's draining from the hot water tank, you are paying to heat water that's being wasted.
15. Cook outdoors when you can instead of heating up the kitchen.
16. Use a microwave or toaster oven instead of a larger gas or electric range. They use considerably less energy than a regular oven.
17. If you must bake, then bake in the early morning when it is cooler.
18. With a dishwasher, wash only full loads. If the machine's instructions allow, don't use the drying cycle.
19. Open refrigerators or freezers only when you need them.
20. Keep refrigerator coils clean.
1. Turn off the furnace.
2. Set your air-conditioner thermostat to 78 degrees Fahrenheit -- although senior citizens or people with medical conditions should consult their physicians before changing their normal home temperature.
3. Clean or replace air-conditioner filters monthly, during periods of use.
4.When shopping for a new air-conditioner -- or any other major appliance -- look for the ENERGY STAR label and consult the unit's EnergyGuide for advice on how much money running that particular appliance may cost you.
5. Hang wash on a line to dry whenever possible.
6. When using a clothes dryer, dry only full loads.
7. Use cold water in your washing machine.
8. Always wash full loads in your washing machine.
9. Pull drapes and blinds and close doors and windows during the day to keep cool air in and hot air out.
10. Open windows and drapes at night to let cool air in.
11. Turn off lights -- especially incandescent or halogen lights -- that generate heat.
12. Replace incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs).
13. Set the water heater thermostat to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (or to the energy efficiency setting, if it is a newer model and has one).
14. Fix leaky faucets. Ninety drops a minute add up to 212 gallons down the drain a month -- and if it's draining from the hot water tank, you are paying to heat water that's being wasted.
15. Cook outdoors when you can instead of heating up the kitchen.
16. Use a microwave or toaster oven instead of a larger gas or electric range. They use considerably less energy than a regular oven.
17. If you must bake, then bake in the early morning when it is cooler.
18. With a dishwasher, wash only full loads. If the machine's instructions allow, don't use the drying cycle.
19. Open refrigerators or freezers only when you need them.
20. Keep refrigerator coils clean.
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Stuff That Will Help You Save Energy in Summer
Some products on Amazon that may help you reduce your summer energy use
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Tell Me What You Think
I'd like your comments
Do you have an idea for saving in summer? Let me know.
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Reply
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WiscBear
May 14, 2011 @ 4:09 pm | delete
- The strategic placement and trimming of trees around your home can provide shade against the summer sun and let needed sunlight pass to well placed windows in the winter.
Also consider your home's relation to the sun. The patio/deck on our current home is on the east side, so the house shades it from the summer heat in the afternoon/evening.
Energy efficient windows/doors also help considerably.
http://www.squidoo.com/energy-conservation-idea
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BancheroMedia Jul 9, 2009 @ 8:29 pm | in reply to Jeff Johnson | delete
- These are great suggestions, keep them coming!
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Reply
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Jeff Johnson
Jun 29, 2009 @ 10:11 am | delete
- When drying laundry in the dryer, pull out the sheets and light cottons and dry them seperate. They dry in a third of the time, then dry the other items later.
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Jeff Johnson
Jun 26, 2009 @ 10:55 am | delete
- 1. Use ceiling fans to move air, but turn them off when you're gone - they add heat, yet have a cooling affect on skin.
2. Invest in a heatpump water heater for the summer. It cools your house while it heats your water much cheaper than natural gas. They have add on units that you can use during summer, turn the gas off and just run your HPWH.
3. Lower the temperature on your t-stat at night. When it is cooler outside, your AC is much more efficient. You want to cool the house and the objects in it, not just the air, so the AC won't have to work so hard 12 hours later.
4. Get a programable T-stat.
5. If cooking outside, use plug in devices like rice cookers and crockpots. Propane is 3 times as expensive to cook with than electricity.
6. Turn down your water heater and put in a lo-flo shower head.
7. If you have a 2 stage AC, don't crank it down 10 degrees at a time. Do 2-3 deg so the 2nd stage doesn't kick in.
8. The planet will be fine either way.
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by BancheroMedia
BancheroMedia
Energy efficiency and utility communications professional -- promoting energy saving and clean energy for more than 20 years. Visit my blog at http://... more »
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