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Air conditioner (window)
- Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean cooler when it comes to room air conditioners. In fact, a unit that is too large for the room operates less efficiently than one that is properly sized.
- Don’t switch the unit off and on. Window units work best when left to run for long periods.
- Don’t keep the unit running at the coldest setting. Set the thermostat as high as is comfortable.
- Don’t put lamps or TVs near the air conditioner thermostat.
- Use interior fans to circulate cooled air more effectively through the house.
Bathroom/kitchen exhaust fan
- Exhaust fans don’t cost much to run, but they will pull heated or cooled air out of your house quickly. Turn them off as soon as possible.
- Clean the lint filter after every load.
- Don’t under– or overload the dryer.
- Remove dry clothes promptly to reduce wrinkles and ironing time.
- Use the moisture-sensing feature, if available, which turns the dryer off when clothes are dry.
- Use the “energy saver” cycle.
- Use the air–dry cycle, or prop open the dishwasher at the end of the wash cycle.
- What about washing dishes by hand?
Experts disagree on whether automatic dishwashers are actually more efficient than washing dishes by hand. A recent Ohio State University study showed that using automatic dishwashers saved an average of 5.8 gallons of water per load over washing by hand. But several other studies have shown no advantage, other than convenience.
- Make sure the rubber gaskets on freezer doors seal tightly.
- Set the temperature between zero and 5 degrees. Setting the temperature just 10 degrees lower can use up to 25 percent more energy.
- Defrost your freezer before frost builds up to 1/4 inch — this keeps the freezer and the fridge operating efficiently.
- Lamp with 100-watt incandescent light bulb:
Switch to a 30-watt compact fluorescent light bulb! According to the manufacturers’ estimates, it uses 70 percent less energy and lasts seven to 10 times longer (so you save on replacement light bulbs). And, it generates less heat.
- Lamp with 30-watt fluorescent light bulb:
Dust your light bulbs. Regularly cleaning a light bulb and fixture can improve its efficiency by as much as 100 percent! Use a feather duster — not liquid cleaner.
- Reduce ironing time by taking clothes out of the dryer promptly.
- Choose to microwave when you can. It uses 14 percent less energy than an oven.
- Don’t open the oven door while you’re cooking; look through the window to check cooking progress.
- Use a microwave, convection oven or other smaller appliance instead of your oven, when possible.
- A toaster oven uses a third to half as much energy as a full-sized oven.
- Match pans to burner size.
- Use lids as you’re heating food in pots and pans.
- Keep the reflector bowls under the burners clean — dirty bowls absorb heat.
- Decide what you want to eat before you open the door.
- Use a vacuum cleaner or soft brush to clean the condenser coils behind or underneath your refrigerator and freezer several times a year.
- Set refrigerator temperatures at 37-40 degrees. Setting the temperature 10 degrees below the recommended levels can increase energy use by 25 percent.
- Make sure refrigerator door gaskets seal tightly. If not, replace them.
- Defrost your freezer before frost builds up to one-quarter inch — this keeps the fridge running efficiently.
- Use warm or cold water instead of hot whenever possible. Hot wash, warm rinse costs 15 times as much as cold wash, cold rinse.
- Fifteen minutes of presoaking and five minutes of agitation gets clothes cleaner than 15 minutes of agitation.
- Don’t under- or overload the washer.
- Set the thermostat at 120 degrees (140 if you use an older automatic dishwasher that doesn’t heat its own water).
- Turn off your water heater at the electric breaker panel if you are going to be away for more than a few days.
- Wrap your electric water heater in an R-11 insulation blanket, if it’s an older, uninsulated model and is located in an unheated area.
- Insulate the first three feet of your water heater’s hot and cold water pipes using correctly sized sleeves of pipe insulation or self-adhesive pipe-wrapping insulation tape.
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