No Cost Conservation Tips

Cool your home wisely:

• Set your thermostat at 78 degrees or higher. Each degree below 78 degrees can increase your energy consumption by 6 to 8%.
• Using ceiling or portable fans instead. Fans move the air and make the room feel four to six degrees cooler, and will use much less energy than the air conditioner.
• Keep windows and door shut tight. Going in and out of the house repeatedly will make your air conditioner work harder.
• Block the sun. Close blinds or drapes on windows that directly face the sun.
• Make sure your air-conditioner is clean. Washing the outside coils and clearing high grass and debris will prevent blockage of the air-flow.

Refrigerators and freezers:

• Minimize opening and closing your refrigerator and freezer. Every time you open it, cool air will rush out and be replaced with warm air, causing the refrigerator to run more to stay cool.
• Keep it full. Refrigerators and freezer actually operate most efficiently when full, so keep your refrigerator and freezer as full as possible (with bottles of water if nothing else).

Dishwashers and Clothes Washers/Dryers:

• Only run dishwashers and clothes washers when fully loaded. This will save water in addition to electricity. Use cold water for laundry.
• Use the air-dry setting on your dishwasher. Using the heat-dry setting can also heat the kitchen, causing the air conditioner to run more.
• Use at night. Using dishwashers and clothes washers/dryers at night will keep the house cooler and reduce strain on the power grid during the peak usage hours of 4 PM and 6 PM and reduce the chance of an emergency.

Lighting and other electrical equipment

• Turn them off. Turn off lights, TVs, and other equipment when when you leave a room. You'll save electricity, and generate less heat, meaning the air conditioner will run less.
• Use power strips. Even when turned off, electronic and other home office equipment can continue to consume electricity when plugged into the wall. Shutting off power at a power strip will eliminate this standby electricity consumption.

Home computers

• Use power management tools. Set monitors and computers to switch to sleep mode when idle for more than a few minutes. This will not only use less energy, but will run cooler and reduce the need to run air-conditioning. Turn machines completely off at a power strip when not in use.