Remember this mantra, cool down the warm..warm up the cool?
Lets start with the things you should cool down, your thermostat. Bill Gary an Energy Use Adviser says,"if you want to turn it down a degree or two you will save 6%." That's $66 for the average Midwestern home.You would notice the savings but probably not the degree difference. And if you have ceiling fans you could save even more. The average furnace costs about $5 a day in electricity to run. A ceiling fan? About a dime. Push that rising warm air that you have already paid to heat back down and it will keep your furnace running less! And don't forget, counterclockwise winter time, clockwise summer time.
Alright other warm things to cool down. Your hot water heater! Bill says "you are looking at roughly 10 to 12 percent by going from 140 degrees to 120 degrees because now we are keeping that 50 gallon tank 20 degrees cooler." But my dishes wont get as clean at 120 degrees? Bill says "we can keep the water heater at 120 degrees because a dishwasher needs 140 but its got its own heater in it." How about my laundry? Bill says "most people can do it with cold water now a days, each time we fill that washer up we put 30 gallons of hot water into it." Washing laundry in cold water, could save the average family about 160 kilowatts, or about $11 a month"
So to save we've cooled down the warm, now lets warm up the cool. Bill says "keep em clean most people don't clean the refrigerator" And we're not talking about the inside. Just get your vacuum nozzle and gently clean off all the dust, pet hair and dirt from around the cooling fins. A more efficient fridge uses a lot less energy. Bill says "average refrigerator now is running anywhere from 5 to 10 a month, 15 years ago it was 30 to 100 dollars a month." The temperature in the fridge really doesn't need to be much cooler than 40 degrees. Turn it up its too cold. Here is trick to see if your keeping your freezer too cold, and wasting money. If you can dish up ice cream without bending the spoon, chances are the temperature is about right. If you break the spoon, warm up the cool.
And finally, your parents were right...Bill says "my saying is when you leave a room turn off the light, when you come back in turn it on, that's what we made switches for." Use them, it will add up to savings.
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