How To Save Energy And Save Environment

We have to do something about saving the environment. One way of doing is to Save Energy and hence we could save the environment.  In the process we save money too.

Reprinted with the kind permission of 'Sustainable Energy Authority, Victoria, Australia'

ENERGY AND THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT

The energy we use contributes greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The recent increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases has raised concerns that human actions such as burning fossil fuels and clearing land are causing global warming. There has been much discussion and debate in the past few years regarding the greenhouse effect and its possible impact on the earth's climate.

Per capita, Victoria is one of the highest greenhouse gas produces in the world. Victoria's energy sources produce approximately 82.5 million tones of greenhouse gases each year. These emissions can be significantly reduced through a change in the behavior and attitudes of community, industry and government.

Why is energy smart?

 All Victorians can benefit in some way by being energy smart.

1. Save money on your energy bills.

Money save can be put to other uses.

1. Help our planet.

Energy production is a major cause of pollution and damage to our environment.

1. Make your home more comfortable.

Your home can be up to 10 degree C cooler in summer and 5 degree C warmer in winter.

1. Provide direct benefits for your workplace.

Add a competitive edge, enhance working conditions, reduce operating costs, and improve productivity and profitability in your workplace.

 
HEATING TIPS

 At home

 ·         Minimize the area to be heated by closing off doors to unheated areas and closing curtains and blinds, especially at night. Use curtains to close off archways. Increasing the size of an area to be heated also increases the running costs.

·         Ensure your heater is correctly sized. Small heaters are inappropriate for heating a large area; likewise a large heater is inappropriate for heating a small area. A correctly-sized heater will reduce costs and ensure that it runs efficiently.

·         Turn the thermostat down to the lowest comfortable temperature setting. Each degree lower can reduce running costs by up to 15%.

·         Don't leave the heater running overnight or while you are out during the day. If possible, install a time switch so that the heater turns on when you wake up or arrive home from work.

·         Turn the pilot light off over summer.

·         Open curtains on north-facing windows on sunny winter days. This will allow the free, natural solar energy to warm your house.

·         Close off chimneys using an openable damper. This will stop major heat losses through the chimney cavity.

·         Insulate your home. Insulation significantly reduces heat entering and escaping the house, making your heating system more effective.

·         Reduce draughts. Use draught excluders on doors and windows and seal gaps to the outside to limit air entering your home.

At work

• Turn heating off. Leaving heating on 24 hours a day can more than double heating costs at work. Turn off heating when it is not required and at the end of the day. Check to ensure this is done.

• Set thermostats correctly. The most comfortable and economical setting is 18 - 20 degree C.

• Do you really need to heat that area? Store rooms, toilets and other occasionally-used areas often don't require heating. If heating is desired. A temperature of around 16 degree C is adequate.

• Program thermostats. Set these to switch heating on around 30minutes before work starts, and to turn heating off during holidays and long weekends. Most controls can be overridden for unusual circumstances.

• Use simple timers. If portable heaters are used, install plug-in timers to turn heaters on and off automatically.

• Use the zoning feature if your ducted heating system has one. This will enable you to switch heating off to areas that aren't being used or don't require heating.

COOLING TIPS

At home

 ·         Insulate your home. Up to 60% of the heat entering your home comes through the ceiling and walls. Insulation is the single most significant thing you can do to reduce the amount of heat gain.

 ·         Ensure windows are well-shaded from summer sun by external blinds or awnings. Unshaded north, east and particularly west-facing windows can contribute to the overheating of a building in summer.

 ·         Open windows and doors for natural ventilation when the outside temperature is lower than inside. At night, consider leaving windows open to flush out hot air.

 ·         Close blinds, curtains, windows and doors early on hot days to keep the heat out.

 ·         Set thermostats between 25 degree - 27 degree C. each degree you lower the thermostat can increase running cost by up to 15%.

·         Use programmable timers to allow the cooling system to be automatically switched on or off as required.

·         Use fans to provide cooling breezes. These generally cost less than one cent per hour to run.

At work

 ·         Turn off office equipment and lighting when not required to reduce the amount of heat produced inside the building. This will reduce your cooling needs.

 ·         Use thermostat controls. The most comfortable and economical setting is 24 - 25 degree C. automatic controls can be set to switch cooling off during holiday periods and long weekends.

 ·         Ensure thermostats are not located near heat sources such as photocopiers, natural sunlight or space heaters.

 ·         Install glazing, tinting or blinds on windows to minimize heat gain from the sun.

 ·          Close doors to rarely-used rooms, storerooms, toilets and passageways so you only cool where it is needed. Turn off cooling to these areas if possible.

 ·         Close external doors wherever possible to keep the cool air inside.

HOT WATER TIPS

At home

 ·         Use a cold rinse for clothes washing and dishwashing.

·         Install an energy efficient hot water system and locate it as near as possible to kitchen, bathroom and laundry areas.

·         Fit low-flow showerheads.

·         Ensure hot water taps are in good repair, with no leaks or drips.

·         Have short showers instead of baths to save energy and water.

·         Regularly maintain the hot water system and check that the heater's relief valve is not leaking excessively.

·         Check that hot water is optimum temperature. Set your thermostat to deliver water at around 60 degree C.

·         Use cold water whenever hot is not necessary.

·         Turn off your hot water system if going away for extended periods.

·         Consider installing a solar hot water system. This can reduce your household hot water bills by more than 60% each year.

At work

  Consider alternatives to boiling water units. Use electric kettles and small drink dispensers instead, as they are more cost-effective and energy efficient.

• Install a suitable-sized hot water system. Ensure the system matches the water requirements of the facility.

• Fit time controls to switch boiling water units off when they are not needed. Consider a seven-day timer so they can be switched off over the weekend.

• Ensure hot water distribution pipes and storage units are adequately insulted to avoid heat loss.

• Install low-flow showerheads and tap fittings to reduce the amount of water and energy used.

• Install low-flow showerheads and tap fittings to reduce the amount of water and energy used.

• Avoid wasting water. Every liter of boiling water wasted costs about one cent and produces around a tenth of a kilogram of CO2.

• Repair dripping taps.

LIGHTING TIPS

 
At home

• Turn off lights when not required.

• For general lighting use fluorescent lighting or compact fluorescent lamps in the kitchen, lounge, family room and other areas where lights are used for more than four hours each day.

• Use fluorescent or compact fluorescent lamps fitted to security lights and outdoor lights that are on for long periods.

• Use programmable timers or daylight sensors to control outdoor and security lighting.

•  Regularly clean light fittings, reflectors and lampshades.

• Use task lighting rather than whole-room lighting when a small amount of focused light is required.

• Use the lowest wattage lam needed to adequately light up an area.

• Avoid using multiple-globe fittings.

• Avoid having several lights activated by one switch. Use separate switches for each light.

• Make good sue of natural light, particularly from north-facing windows.

At work

  Arrange desks near windows and trim vegetation to help optimize natural lighting.

• Erect signs in areas where lights are used infrequently to remind staff (and cleaners) to switch them off when leaving. This simple strategy can reduce energy consumption by up to 15%.

• Allocate responsibility to staff members to ensure lights are switched off.

• Switch off or dim lighting where there is sufficient daylight for the task required.

• Label gang switch-plates to identify lighting, so that only the required lights are turned on.

• Label individual light switches with stickers to encourage staff to turn off lights.

• Implement a minimum two-year bulk lamp replacement and luminaries cleaning program to maintain the required lighting levels and quality of light. Dust and dirt build up can reduce light output by up to 30%.

• Install motion detector switches to areas that are intermittently used, such as office areas, staff rooms and locker rooms.

• Avoid using incandescent lamps and low voltage quartz-halogen for general lighting.

• When replacing ballasts choose low-loss or electronic ballasts.

• Install photoelectric daylight cells to control outside lighting. These switch lights on at dusk and off at dawn.

APPLIANCE TIPS

Clothes dryers

• Avoid using clothes dryers whenever possible. Use the clothesline instead as the sun's heat is free.
• Run your clothes dryer with full loads only and don't overload.
• Clean the lint filter after each load.
• Avoid mixing heavy and lightweight articles together.
• Spin dry items before putting them in the clothes dryer.
• Use the correct temperature setting. This will minimize the amount of electricity consumed.

Clothes washers

• Front loading clothes washers use considerably less energy and water than top-loading machines.
• Run the clothes washer with full loads when ever possible.
•  Use the appropriate cycle for the type of clothes you are washing. Wash heavily and lightly-soiled items separately.
• Take advantage of the special features on the clothes washer to save energy and money. For example the suds-saver feature allows you to recycle sudsy water, using less detergent, water and energy.
• Wash in cold water.

Dishwashers

·         Run only when fully loaded.

·         To optimize efficiency, load the dishwasher according to the manufacturer's instructions with plates, glasses etc., in the correct position.

·         Remove large food articles from dishes and run shorter wash cycles.

·         Use the economy cycle for lightly-soiled dishes.

·         Turn the dishwasher off before the drying cycle and open the door to let the dishes air dry. This can reduce energy consumption by up to one-third.

·         Clean the filter after each wash.

Refrigerators and freezers

• Defrost and clean the inside of your refrigerator and freezer at least every six months. Frost build-up should not exceed 6 mm.
• Clean the coils behind your refrigerator at least once a year.
• Set the temperature of your refrigerator between 3 degree C and 5 degree C.
• Set the temperature of your freezer between - 18 degree C and - 15 degree C.
• Ensure door seals are tight fitting. Door seals should hold a piece of paper in place when closed.
• Open the doors only when necessary and leave them open for as short a time as possible.
• Switch off additional refrigerators and freezers if they are mostly empty or only used occasionally.

OFFICE TIPS

Computers

·         Ensure computers have a 'sleep' function and that it is enable.

·         Switch computers and monitors off outside of working hours.

·         Consider using 'laptop' or 'notebook' computers, and LCD screens instead of conventional monitors.

·         Turn off monitors whenever possible, even if it's not practical to switch off the computer itself.
 

Printers

  Turn off printers when not in use and at the end of each working day.

• Use color printers sparingly as these use more energy than black and white printers.
• Introduce printer sharing to reduce the number of online printers required.
• Use the print preview option to reduce the number of drafts printed.
• Use the draft print option as much as possible.
• Consider buying inkjet printers over laser models. They use as much as 95% less energy and are often less expensive to purchase.

Photocopiers

  Use photocopiers as little as possible. If you only require a small number of copies, use the printer or facsimile instead.

• Buy an appropriately-sized photocopier with user-friendly controls.
• Use the 'energy saver' or 'standby' mode. Most photocopiers have energy - saving feature that puts it to 'sleep' when it is not in use.
• Use double-sided photocopying as much as possible to reduce energy and paper consumption.
• Try to group copying tasks in batches. Set aside a special tray to save up photocopying tasks then copy them in one session. The photocopier can be switched off between batches.
• Remember to close the photocopier's lid when not in use so that the energy - saving mode functions.

Fax machines

  Reuse paper. The energy required to produce a sheet of paper is as much as 20 times that which is used to receive and print a fax.

• Determine whether you can communicate using e-mail instead of a fax.
• If you have multiple fax machines, divert calls to a few units after hours and turn the rest off.
• Avoid using cover sheets. Stick-on fax labels can be used to provide transmission details.

General

  Switch equipment off at the power point when not in use (especially for long time periods). Office equipment still uses energy when it is switched off at the appliance but not at the wall.

• Use plug-in timers to avoid equipment being left on unnecessarily.
• Implement a purchasing policy to ensure you buy only ENERGY STAR tm equipment, and make sure it is enabled upon delivery.
• Educate employees about the benefits of ENERGY STAR tm equipment.

TRANSPORT TIPS

 
Alternatives to driving

• Use alternative modes of transport such as walking and cycling. These can improve physical and mental health and therefore reduce time and money last through sickness. Ask your workplace to supply secure bike storage and provide showers and clothes storage facilities.
• Can your workplace facilitate telecommuting (working at home)? Just one day at home per week can dramatically reduce travel costs.
• Use public transport as much as possible. Investigate the possibility of purchasing seasonal travel passes through salary sacrifice.

Business travel

  Use phone, fax, video conferencing or mail facilities instead of a car trip.

• Choose venues convenient to public transport when arranging seminars or work events.
• Use public transport when traveling to meetings. Preparation for meetings can be done while in transit. Many workplaces will reimburse these costs.
•  Choose fuel-efficient cars for the company fleet. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and can save up to 30% on fuel costs.

It takes only one person to change this world.  And it is you

Peace Life To All Mankind