Energy Center

Water heating is a large energy expense in your home. It accounts for a considerable amount of your utility bill. There are four ways to cut your water heating bills: use less hot water, turn down the thermostat on your water heater, insulate your water heater, or buy a new more efficient model.

Turn down your water heater: Lower the temperature setting of your water heater. This reduces energy consumption. Water heaters sometimes come from the factory with high temperature settings, but a setting of 50°C provides comfortable hot water for most uses.

Insulate your water heater:Insulate your electric hot-water storage tank with a thermal insulation material blanket,make sure not to cover the thermostat. To see if your tank needs insulation, place your hand on the tank. If it feels warm then you need to replace the insulation blanket...

Insulate water lines: If the pipes that supply hot water throughout your house are hot to the touch, then heat is being lost. By insulating hot water pipes you can reduce this loss. Start at the water heater and insulate all of the accessible pipes.

Don't let the water run: Minimize water usage while brushing teeth, shaving, and washing hands in bathroom sinks.

Fix drippy faucets: A faucet that leaks one drip per second can waste 1500 liters of water a year. If the water is hot, that 1500 liters will cost you on your electricity bill plus the cost of the water itself.

Upgrade your showerhead: Because the energy and water savings are enormous, replacing older showerheads with low flow units could save a family of four as much as 50,000 liters of water per year, significantly reducing water heating costs.

Replace old water heater: Although most water heaters last 10–15 years, it’s best to start shopping now for a new one if yours is more than 7 years old. Doing some research before your heater fails will enable you to select one that most appropriately meets your needs.

Remove sediment from your water heater: Drain a quart of water from your water tank every 3 months to remove sediment that impedes heat transfer and lowers the efficiency of your heater. The type of water tank you have determines the steps to take, so follow the manufacturer’s advice.

Solar Water Heaters: If you heat water with electricity you will be charged much more on your energy bill ,so it is worthwhile to think of solar water heaters,if you have an un-shaded location (such as a roof) on your property, consider installing a good quality solar water heater. The solar units are environmentally friendly and can now be easily installed.
Solar water heaters avoid the greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity production. During a 20-year period, one solar water heater can avoid more than 50 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Making improvements to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls and management systems offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time lights are on but not being used.

Turn off lights: This energy saving measure has been around since Edison first turned a light on, and it's as effective as ever. Keep in mind that a typical light bulb kept on for 24 hours per day will be reflected in your energy bill.

Keep fixtures and bulbs clean: Dirt,on the light fixture,can absorb as much as 50% of the light.

More bulbs are not better: Use one bulb instead of multiple bulbs whenever possible. A single 100-watt incandescent bulb produces the same amount of light as two 60-watt bulbs, and it uses 20% less energy.

Longer life bulbs can help: Do you have light bulbs that are difficult to get to and a real pain to change? Long-life incandescent bulbs last two to three times longer than a standard bulb and compact fluorescent lamps last up to ten times longer.

Keep lights off during the day: Use daylight whenever possible, rather than turning on redundant overhead lighting.

Use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs): Use linear fluorescent tubes and energy efficient CFLs in fixtures throughout your home to provide high-quality and high-efficiency lighting. Fluorescent lamps are much more efficient than incandescent (standard) bulbs and last about 6 to 12 times longer.

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs— A Clear Light: Today’s CFLs offer brightness and color rendition that is comparable to incandescent bulbs. Although linear fluorescent and CFLs cost a bit more than incandescent bulbs initially, over their lifetime they are cheaper because of how little electricity they use. CFL lighting fixtures are now available that are compatible with dimmers and operate like incandescent fixtures.

• Be sure to buy qualified CFLs.
• They will save you in electricity costs.
• Producing about 75% less heat, they are safer to operate and can cut home cooling costs.
• They are available in sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture.
• They provide the greatest savings in fixtures that are on for a long time each day.
• The best fixtures to use qualified CFLs in are usually found in your family and living rooms, kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, and outdoors.

LED - A New Type of Light: Light emitting diodes, or LEDs, offer better light quality than incandescent bulbs, last 25 times as long, and use even less energy than CFLs. Look for the qualified LED products at home centers and lighting showrooms.

• The key strength of LED lighting is reduced power consumption. When designed properly, an LED circuit will approach 80% efficiency.
• LEDs are ideal for hard-to-reach/maintain fixtures; LEDs are projected to produce a long service life that can reach 25 times as long as standard incandescent bulbs.
• There is already wide spread use of LED traffic signs and LED headlights where a premium is placed on a reliable light source that is cheaper and less labor intensive to maintain.

Appliances have two price tags. The first one is the purchase price but the second price tag is the cost of operating the appliance during its lifetime. You’ll be paying on that second price tag every month with your utility bill for the next 10 to 20 years, depending on the appliance. Refrigerators last an average of 14 years; clothes washers about 11 years; dishwashers about 10 years; and room air conditioners about 9 years.

Look at the refrigerator energy label: The energy label on new refrigerators tells you how much electricity in kilowatt-hours (kWh) a particular model uses in one year. The smaller the number, the less energy the refrigerator uses and the less it will cost you to operate.

Replace old refrigerators: A new refrigerator uses a third of the energy of 15-20 year old models. This could mean savings on your utility bill, making a new refrigerator a very good investment.

Check your freezer and refrigerator temperature: Keep your freezer at a temperature between -18°C to -15°C and the fresh food compartment of the refrigerator between 3°C to 5°C. Settings below this use more energy and are not necessary.

Inspect refrigerator door seals: Check the door seals on your refrigerator by closing the door on a piece of paper. If you can easily pull the paper out then you would probably benefit by replacing the seal. The right seal for your refrigerator can be difficult to find, but you might try a refrigeration parts store.

Keep your freezer and refrigerator away from heat: Try to locate your refrigerator in a cool part. Make sure you keep it out of direct sunlight and away from appliances that generate heat like ovens, stoves, water heaters, etc.

Keep refrigerator foods covered: Keep foods covered to prevent moisture build-up. Your refrigerator has to work harder if the air inside is humid.

Don't put hot food in the refrigerator: Allow leftovers to cool before putting in the refrigerator.

Give your refrigerator some space: Allow at least two centimeters of space on each side of the refrigerator for good circulation. Poor circulation can increase energy consumption.

Clean the cooling coils: Clean behind your refrigerator at least once a year, making sure to remove dirt and dust from the coils. Dust build-up not only increases energy use, but it may cause the unit to break down.

Fill your freezer: Freezers operate most efficiently when full, and in the event of a power outage foods will stay frozen longer.

There are mainly two ways to reduce the amount of energy used for washing clothes, use less water and use cold water.

Soak your clothes first: Soak cycles can allow for shorter wash times. For heavily soiled clothes, instead of a heavy wash cycle, try soaking and then using a shorter wash cycle.

Eliminate small loads: Your clothes washer uses just about the same amount of energy regardless of how much clothing is being washed. Washing two small loads uses approximately twice as much energy as combining them into one full load. By combining loads together you reduce the number of loads you wash which in turn reduces your energy use.

Wash with cold water: Most people in the appliance industry agree that cold water washes just as effectively as warm. Wash your clothes in cold water.

Buy energy efficient clothes washer and dryer: Look at the energy label on the washer and dryer machines and buy the ones that use less energy.

Buy energy efficient air conditioners: If you are thinking about purchasing a new central air conditioning system or room air conditioner, look for energy efficient models. These save energy and therefore your money.

Walk away from the thermostat: Your house won't cool down any faster if you lower the thermostat setting. When your air conditioner is on it cools at the same rate regardless of the temperature setting.

Block the sun: Plant shade trees to block the heat from the sun. As the trees grow, they can dramatically cut your cooling bills. Close the Curtains. Close drapes and shades on windows during the day to keep heat from the sun out of your house. Raise the Thermostat. The breeze created by a ceiling fan or portable fan typically makes you feel just as comfortable at a temperature 3° C warmer. Raising the thermostat 3° C can save 10% on your cooling bill.

Don't let the air escape: Seal any gaps along the sides of your room air conditioners with foam insulation. Your air conditioner needs to work much harder if the cool air is escaping.

Resist opening and closing doors: Shut the door or at least try to minimize the number of times that doors to the outside are opened and closed. Each time you open the door heat enters the house.

Maintain and upgrade your equipment: No matter what kind of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system you have in your house, you can save money and increase your comfort by properly maintaining and upgrading your equipment. By combining proper equipment maintenance and upgrades with appropriate insulation, air sealing, and thermostat settings, you can cut your energy use for heating and cooling.

Repair and weather strip air leaks in the home: About 10-25% of energy used to cool and heat homes escapes through air leaks.

Some of the most energy-hungry machines making your electric bill creep higher every month are your electronic devices. Energy conserving electronics are not only better for our wallets, but better for the environment.

Unplug electronic devices when they're not in use: Some electronics, such as televisions, use energy when they're off and still plugged in. Unplug devices that use standby power, such as DVD players, video games, printers, and scanners.

Use a power strip to plug in electronics: Plug your computer and peripherals into a power strip and shut them of using its on/off switch.

Unplug battery chargers: Unplug battery charges when the batteries are fully charged or the chargers are not in use.

Take advantage of your computer's energy-saving features: The “sleep” mode reduces electricity usage by up to 70 percent during inactive periods.
The “hibernate” mode shuts the computer down after a specified time, allowing you to restart using less electricity.
Shut off the computer if you’re going to be away more than 2 hours.

If you’re buying a new computer: Consider a laptop. Laptops use about 90% less energy than a desktop.
Purchase combination peripheral equipment, such as a combined printer/scanner, which uses one plug instead of two.
Buy a flat screen monitor. It uses less energy and is easier on the eyes.

Common misconceptions: Don't use screen savers. Screen savers don’t reduce energy use by monitors, they use more energy. Plus, the newer LCD monitors no longer need them.
Many people believe that equipment lasts longer if it is never turned off. This incorrect perception carries over from the days of older mainframe computers.