The Help Centers

Most of us have an electric bill and most of the power that comes from US power plants is fossil fuels. So turning on the light not only is a financial cost but a environmental and political cost. There have been people who have turned off all electricity in their home which I wouldn’t want to do but there are many simple ways to reduce your energy consumption. Read More Below...

People often look at the obvious, turn off lights and other things when you’re not using them but there are a few more tricks and things you might not know.

Transformers/Bricks/Chargers - We all have dozens of blocky things that we plug in to the wall (often covering up the other plug) that are for computer equipment, telephones, and cellphone and other device chargers there are some of these that are very efficient and turn themselves off but most will simply run power constantly. EVEN if you’ve unplugged your phone from the charger that little black box may still be sucking away at your wallet. Even your computer when turned off may do this. To solve this UNPLUG your chargers and other devices that have a brick from the outlet. OR use a powerstrip and turn it off. This can save to a TON of money. What I would like is a power strip that can sit behind my desk with all the wires that has a switch that I can put on my desk. Just remember some devices need to be kept juiced (cordless phone) so don’t go too crazy.

Lights - First TURN THEM OFF! Second change the bulb to something more efficient. For most lights a florescent bulb with do nicely. I use them throughout my house. A GREAT site that talks about this is One Billion Bulbs Where you can track your savings not only with electricity and money but with CO2 emissions. See how well other places are doing too. Also with kids the issue of nightlights comes up. Most use a little 9 watt bulbs but can also be replaced with a smaller 1 watt LED fixture. An added benefit of these bulbs is that while they are more expensive the end up lasting a LOT longer. One small problem I’ve found with the florescent bulbs is that when they are cold they take awhile to warm up so if you have a dark stairwell outside leave a little time to let the bulb warm up.

Water Heaters - This is a tough one. I live on the second floor of a house with my electric water heater in the basement (so 2 floors down) When I take a shower UPSTAIRS the hot water must travel up about 25 feet. So once my shower gets hot enough and I take a quick one it still wastes about 3 gallons of PERFECTLY hot water that is left in the pipe which wastes about .2 KW of power. Granted this is EXTREMEMLY small but I’m also having to wait to for the water to fill the pipe wasting water which is pumped using you guessed it ELECTRICITY. My kitchen is WORSE as the water must travel even farther. To solve this problem I am installing a water heater up here. I’m trying to decide on a tank model OR two small continuous hot water heaters (on for the upstairs bathroom and one for the kitchen and downstairs bathroom) this would eliminate the wasted water AND since it’s heating on demand it does not have to maintain a temperature when we’re not using it. A few more tips in regards to water heaters and water.

• Use a dishwasher they use less hot water than hand washing.
• Shorten your shower
• Turn off the water while soaping up.  Search and install a Shower Control valve.
• Fill jugs of water for the fridge rather than let it run cold.

I’ll be posting some water saving tips in the near future that will tie into this.
Cooking - Use the microwave more. It uses less power. Also in the summer it doesn’t make your kitchen as hot requiring fans or AC. HOWEVER in the winter range and oven cooking can make the kitchen warmer.

The fridge - A open fridge/freezer is a big waster. Take time to organize your fridge and freezer so it takes less rummaging around to find what you want. Plan your artic trip so you get multiple items out at once. CLOSE THE DOOR when you are not in it. Keep the fridge stocked if not with foods with water jugs. While it does take electricity to cool and them when you open the door the fridge will loose less cold as the air falls out but the foods won’t. CLEAN and Defrost YOUR FRIDGE! Dust and dirt buildup causes the condenser coils (the bunch of tubes and metal on the back) not work as well. Ice buildup will insulate the evaporator coil (the really cold part) and make your fridge work even harder.

The weather - Simple things like opening and closing doors and windows when the weather changes daily. For example in the Fall when it’s warm durign the day open your house up. Then before the temperature dips close everything up.

Insulate - Leaky windows and doors waste heat and electricity. Even in the summer a leaky window can loose ‘cold’.

Finally GO OUTSIDE! Yes this simple act can save you money. Turning off the TV, Stereo and Games and taking a walk not only saves money but is GREAT for your health! Even shutting off the TV to read a book is a GREAT way to save money.

While list is not exhaustive and don’t reduce your carbon footprint to zero they will have money and help in the long run.