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Conservation Corner > Energy efficiency tips

Plugging in to energy efficiency with NC GreenPower

Being an NC GreenPower participant is a great way to improve our environment and help North Carolina. But how can you make an additional impact and save money on your utility bill? Energy efficiency is the answer, and here are some helpful tips for conserving electricity and seeing positive results on your next electric bill:

• Heating and cooling
• Appliances
• Hot Water
• Lighting
• UV window films
• Insulation

Heating and cooling tips
Climate control systems are some of the largest consumers of electricity in the home. But there are a number of ways to conserve energy usage, while still maintaining comfort.

• An adjustment of one degree can impact your electric bill by as much as 5% or more. Try setting your thermostat to the following settings for an excellent balance between comfort and economy:

  Cooling Season: 76-78 degrees
  Warming Season: 68-70 degrees
  
  Be sure to make the changes to the new settings gradually over several weeks if needed. That way your body will be able to better adjust and feel comfortable at the new temperature.

• Use a fan to keep cool when setting climate controls to more economical settings. Fans move air which cools the body and use far less energy than a standard air conditioning unit.
  
• Keep shades up in the winter and trim any obstructions to sun facing windows to allow the heat of the sun to help keep your home warm.
• Professional installation of window film or solar window screens can reduce heat gain and eliminate "hot spots" in your home. A utility company estimate says that consumers could reduce their cooling bill by 2-12% by having film installed.  
  
• Wear loose fitting clothes in the warmer months and layered clothes in cooler months to help you stay comfortable without the need for excessive climate control.
  
• Have your insulation checked and locate and repair small leaks around the house. Tightening up your home can lead to significant savings on your power bill.
  
• Don’t forget to keep the biggest hole in your house closed – the fireplace flue. When not using the fireplace, the flue should be closed.
  
• When using your fireplace, use fireplace doors to minimize heat loss. Most heat from a fireplace is lost right out the chimney and when a fire is dying it can actually draw heat out of your home!
  
• Keep your air conditioning and heating units properly maintained. Replacing filters regularly and keeping intakes free of furniture and obstructions can reduce workload on the units and this keep power usage down.
  
• Consider replacing older units with new energy efficient equipment. The savings in energy usage may actually make it cheaper to upgrade to a new system.

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Appliance tips
Appliances are some of the biggest energy users in the home. Making smart choices when purchasing appliances can lead to significant savings on your electric bill. You can also save money by the way in which you use those appliances. Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your home appliances with the least amount of energy usage:

Refrigerators

• Keep your refrigerator properly maintained and keep coils free of dust.
  
• Make sure your refrigerator doors are properly sealed. Wasted cooling means wasted energy.
  
• Refrigerator temperatures should be set between 37 F and 41 F for the main compartment and 5 F for the freezer compartment. Freezers used for long term storage should remain at 0 F.

Electric Stove/Oven

• Avoid placing small pots on large burners and use cover pots to improve efficiency and shorten cooking times.
  
• Reduce heat or turn off burners when food is almost done cooking. The burners will remain hot for some time and food will continue to cook without using additional energy.
  
• Use a toaster or toaster oven instead of a large oven broiler when preparing small items.
  
• Use microwave ovens and other countertop appliances instead of energy consuming stoves and ovens when possible.

Washing Machine/Dishwasher/Dryer

• Run dishwashers and washing machines only with full loads.
  
• Avoid using heat drying on dishes.
  
• Wash your clothes loads in cold water.
  
• Make sure that your dryer is properly vented to the outside and that the vent pipe is free of lent and other obstructions.
  
• Dry several loads of clothes in succession. A warm dryer gives the process a head start and therefore uses less electricity.

General appliance tips

• Turn off and unplug computers, televisions, radios, and other appliances when not in use.
  
• Buy Energy Star™ appliances whenever possible. Energy Star is a designation that guarantees energy efficiency.

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Hot water tips
Hot water is a wonderful convenience, but using a lot of it can lead to dramatic increases in energy usage. Here are some tips to keep warm without getting burned by the bill:

• Take shorter showers. While showers use less hot water than baths, they only do so when shower length is kept short.
• Install an energy saving low-flow shower head.
• Repair leaking faucets immediately. That little drip can add up quickly.
  
• Don’t let hot water run unnecessarily when using the sink or shower. Turn the water off while you clean or shave and then on again to rinse.
  
• Check to see if you can reduce the temperature on your hot water heater. You can often enjoy more than adequate hot water supplies at a lower temperature.

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Lighting

• Replace incandescent bulbs with energy saving compact fluorescent bulbs. CFL bulbs can have a lifespan of 5-10 years and produce equivalent light output for significantly less energy.
  
• Situate your lamps in corners of the room to allow adjacent walls to reflect as much light as possible.
  
• Turn off lights when you leave the room or when they are not needed.

These are just a few energy saving tips to help you become more aware about how to become a smarter consumer of electricity.

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UV Window films

What effect does UV film on your home windows have on energy savings? Does it save a significant amount of energy or money? If so, how much?

Answer provided by Advanced Energy:

• If you are considering putting a coating on your home windows, you want to use a low-e (low emissivity coating).  This reduces radiant heat transfer, since the heat in sunlight is from infrared (IR) wavelengths. When the windows are cold in the winter, it prevents the window from radiating cold temperatures.  When the windows are hot in the summer, it reduces radiant heat gain.  

• Window films also help by reducing the sun's UV radiation and light that affects your furniture.  UV can degrade plastics and will fade colors in fabrics and photos over time.

• Most window films will actually address both IR and UV issues. However, we haven't done research to look for significant energy savings.

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Insulation

How do I find a skilled, reasonably-priced insulation installer?

Answer provided by Advanced Energy:

• The Affordable Housing with SystemVision program from Advanced Energy offers a list of Insulation Contractors who work with SystemVision.

• Progress Energy provides a list of prequalified contractors to help you take the guesswork out of getting the work completed quickly.

• When contacting a vendor, you should ask if the company offers an ENERGY STAR installation package. If the company doesn't know what that means, move on to the next one. Just be sure to do your homework, define what you need for the installer up front, and they should deliver a good job for you.

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