Power Strip

Smart power strips help save wasted energy

• Install a programmable thermostat to keep your house comfortably warm in the winter and comfortably cool in the summer.
• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs with the ENERGY STAR® label.
• Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle.
• Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.
• Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use (TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power).
• Lower the thermostat on your
hot water heater to 120°F.
• Take short showers instead of baths.
• Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.
• Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gasoline.
• Look for the ENERGY STAR label on home appliances and products. ENERGY STAR products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Visit www.energysavers.gov for more energy-saving ideas.

Insulate your home when:
• You have an older home and haven’t added insulation. Only 20% of homes built before 1980 are well insulated.
• You are uncomfortably cold in the winter or hot in the summer—adding insulation creates a more uniform temperature and increases comfort.
• You build a new home, addition, or install new siding or roofing.
• You pay high energy bills.
• You are bothered by noise from outside—insulation muffles sound. 

Energy dispersal in the Home

Heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 46% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. What’s more, heating and cooling systems in the United States together emit 150 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, adding to global climate change. They also generate about 12% of the nation’s sulfur dioxide and 4% of the nitrogen oxides, the chief ingredients in acid rain.
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. But remember, an energy-efficient furnace alone will not have as great an impact on your energy bills as using the whole-house approach. 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, and reduce environmental emissions, from 20% to 50%.
Heating and Cooling Tips
• Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer.
• Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed.
• Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they’re not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
• Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season;
if in doubt about how to perform
this task, call a professional.
• Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls
and the radiators.
• Turn off kitchen, bath, and other exhaust fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing; when replacing exhaust fans, consider installing high-efficiency, low-noise models.
• During the heating season, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to allow the sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.
• During the cooling season, keep the window coverings closed during the day to prevent solar gain.
$ Long-Term Savings Tips
• Select energy-efficient products when you buy new heating and cooling equipment. Your contractor should be able to give you energy fact sheets for different types, models, and designs to help you.

For more on Home energy conservation See Energy Savers

Materials on the EERE Web site are in the public domain.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

One Response to “Saving energy in your Home”

1. Moshe Plymire says:

   January 24, 2010 at 2:22 am

   Great read! I have been looking to save money on my power costs since money is low these days. I found your post very helpful. Thanks