Mine was made in 1992. I can’t find it on the energy star web site, though. Just say your average refrigerator from 1992 vs. an average new one today, how much could I save in a year?
Depending on where you live in the US, your power bill can be a real burden on your monthly expenses. During the summer in Las Vegas last year, my bill was hitting around $250 a month. That’s before I learned the key tips to lowering my power bill to save money and go greener.
Light bulbs
Although fluorescent light bulbs may be a bit more expensive, the investment into them is well worth the price. The cost of using a single standard incandescent light bulb costs the same as using 6-10 fluorescent bulbs. The fluorescent bulbs last up to 10 times longer as well. There are various shapes and types to choose from which include attractive compact units that give off a pleasing, soft illumination like traditional bulbs.
“If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.”
Stop those vampires!
These are not your regular blood sucking vampires, but never the less they do suck the energy from your home and the money out of your wallet. Devices like DVR’s, Digital Cable and Satellite convertors, VCR’s, DVD players, TV’s, computers, radios, electric razors, battery chargers and so on drain power even when you think they are off. Usually, these devices just go into standby mode as long as they are still plugged in. The easiest solution is to buy a power strip to plug the devices into or unplug the devices in general. When you’re not using them, just flick the power strip off or unplug them and these energy vampires will no longer be siphoning power and raising your electric bill.
Air conditioners
During the long, hot summers here in Las Vegas is when our power bills reach record breaking heights. The main suspect in all this is definitely the AC. Even the Power Companies tell you this. A lot of central air conditioners now come with a control pad that lets you adjust the house’s temperature on the fly. Although it’s a good idea to turn it down or up when you feel the need, a better solution is to program your AC to cool the house at certain temperatures during certain times of the day. My household is set at 80 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the hottest periods of the day and at night around 10pm; it goes to 78 degrees so that the wife and I can sleep comfortably. In the morning at 8am, it kicks back up to 80 degrees again (You’ll see why it’s so important in the next section below). This routine runs all 7 days a week. That way I don’t have to worry about adjusting the temperature all the time and if I’m not at home (vacation or away) it maintains itself. If you want to save even more money, try opening your windows throughout the day and turn the AC off.
Use appliances during non peak times
Just like a cell phone service that offers nights and weekends free, Power Companies have their peak and off-peak hours. I didn’t know this for a very long time and I can tell you that it saves you a lot of money! So how can you take advantage of this? During peak hours (here in Nevada it’s about 1pm-7pm) limit your appliance and device activities. If you’re not using your TV, Computer, DVD player and so on, then turn them off through the power strip or unplug them so they are not siphoning energy. Set your air conditioner to about 80 degrees or so during the day. Instead of drying your clothes in the dryer, hang your clothes to dry outside. This works very well in areas with high summer temperatures. During off-peak hours at night, do your laundry, run the dishwasher and dry your clothes. I also set my AC to 78 degrees at night because it’s still very hot during the evening and it’s harder to sleep when you’re too hot. Also remember, wash your hands and dishes in the sink with cold water as hot water uses energy to heat it up. Below is a break down of the peak and off-peak hours and prices for Nevada Power. As you can see, during peak hours, the price is 21-23 cents as compared to 7-8 cents. You do the math. So make sure you check your power company’s website or call customer service and find out the breakdown for your state.
Price per kWh
Summer Peak
1-7 p.m. June 1 thru Sept 30
23.081¢ kWh Single Family
21.972¢ kWh for Multi-Family
Summer Off-Peak
7:01-12:59 p.m. June 1 thru Sept 30
7.578¢ kWh Single Family
8.079¢ kWh for Multi-Family
Your water heater
Here’s another way to take advantage of your power company’s off-peak hours. The electric water heater in your home draws almost as much power as anything else in your house. Any easy solution for this is to put your water heater on a timer. Set it to turn off at around 6am and to come back on at 7pm. A lot of heaters have enough insulation and are big enough to maintain the heated hot water throughout the day. If there is ever an occasion where you need more hot water than what is already being held, simply turn on the hot water heater and you’re good to go.
The refrigerator/freezer
Most people only utilize one, maybe two refrigerators/freezers in their house. Older refrigerators and freezers can use up to three times more power than the newer energy efficient ones. In the end, this runs up your bill. What you can do is get rid of them. I know that Nevada Power runs a free program where they will pick up your old appliance for free as well as give you $30 for it just for recycling it through them. This is a great way to lower your monthly power bill, earn some extra cash and help the environment.
By cutting back on power, you’re helping the environment, saving yourself money and you can educate other people about what you now know. After applying these changes myself, my power bill went from $250/month last summer to under $150/month this summer.
The windows are single pain, old and leaky; the appliances are from the 1960′s and 1970′s ie refrigerator, hot water heater, dryer and washer and the Air conditioners are from the 1970′s and early 1980′s. Our family liked to fix things so everything needs to be replaced with better energy star technology.
So… where should we start? Which improvement would give us the biggest Bang for the Buck? Thanks for your suggestions.
We’re building a house and at the point of picking out appliances I thought I wanted to go with all energy-star appliances save money and energy in the long after going back and forth looking at the specs on two comparable GE refrigerators – one energy-star, the other not energy star, the savings per year appears to be a whopping $3. As the energy star fridge is $200. more than the regular it would take 66 years to absorb that cost. Also, is it just me or is $3 of energy savings really going to be …any?
The math is based on what the two GE machines say on their spec pages, this seems like a huge waste of my money…where is the savings? what am I missing or is this just a bunch of hype.
Updating your household appliances can be a very large expense especially if the appliances you have are still in working order. When you do decide to upgrade whether it be out of choice or due to old appliance failure, look for the Energy Star logo. Appliances with the Energy Star logo are up to 50% more efficient and use less energy and water to operate which will easily save you $75 a year.
Don’t just check the price tag; be sure to look at the Energy Guide Tag as well.
An energy guide tag can be found on every new appliance and will tell you exactly how much energy the machine will consume during operation, less energy means more savings. Remember you’re not just saving money here, you’re saving mother earth. So check for yourself and compare Energy Star appliances with similar non-Energy Star appliances and see exactly how much more efficient they can be. The bottom line is when buying new appliances look at both tags, obviously the price tag, but don’t forget to look at the yellow energy guide tag as well.
Even More Ways to Save.
When you or your significant other, or whoever, cooks a meal at home, don’t put the leftovers in the refrigerator right away. Place them on the counter and give them a chance to cool beforehand. Doing so will keep your refrigerator from working harder to keep the temperature down. By the way the ideal temp in your fridge is between 35 – 38 degrees Fahrenheit (1.66 – 3.33 degrees Celsius) in the cooler section and about 5 degrees Fahrenheit in the freezer portion. After using the oven consider leaving the door cracked in the winter to let the heat escape and help heat your home, there is no need in keeping that energy cooped up unless of course its summer time. This may not be a good idea if you have little ones running around. Remember not to over fill your dryer with clothes as they will take longer to dry and waste energy. Also, take advantage of your already warm dryer by doing consecutive loads and be sure to check your lint screen between each load. Opening your dishwasher and letting your dishes air dry instead of using the heat dry feature is another way to save energy and money while using appliances.
Save Energy and Money by Simply Adjusting Some Habits
As the price of gasoline continues to skyrocket, more and more people are looking for ways to save some money elsewhere. Face it… the last time you filled your tank, it cost you $*@ dollars. Just a few years ago with that same amount, you would have instead taken the family to the movies, bought some things at a local hardware store, and then spent the rest on filling your tank. We are less and less able to help the small business owners and local growers by our patronage. Instead, we are giving a larger and larger share of our income to Arabian countries and to the hugely fat wallets of the oil executives who “earn” tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars each year off the backs of the average hard working American. Here are some simple things each of us can do to lessen our use of energy while at the same time reducing our monthly utility bills, thus giving us a little bit more expendable income. I speak from experience. When I moved into my current home (6 years ago), we were on a monthly level pay plan at around $240 per month. Now… our monthly utility bill (still on level pay) is at $74 per month. Try these things:
1. Adjust your thermostat. In the Summer months: set it to run two degrees warmer than you normally do, and, in the Winter months: set it to run two degrees cooler than you normally do. Your body will adjust in a short time, and you can offset this by wearing slippers or a sweater. You will see an immediate drop in your energy bill.
2. Another thermostat tip: Once set… leave it alone. Constantly adjusting the thermostat can dramatically waste energy and increase your heating and cooling costs. If you get a chill, resist the urge to turn it up a few degrees. The chill will pass and can be fixed by slippers or a sweater. If you increase the thermostat, you will only be turning it back down soon. This up and down temperature adjusting causes your furnace or air conditioner to cycle and does nothing but waste energy.
3. One more thermostat tip: Install an electronic programmable thermostat for your heating and cooling system. This is especially effective if nobody is typically home for much of the day. Program it to turn off a half hour before everyone leaves and to come on a half hour before anyone arrives home. Remember to keep the house above 40 degrees during the winter months to prevent pipes and toilets from freeze damage. An electronic programmable thermostat will, all by itself, reduce your energy bill by at least $10-15 per month. It costs about $180 to install. So, after only one year it will actually pay for itself. Even better… each year thereafter it will save you another $150-$180 per year. This little gem is simply money in the bank. Get one!
4. Say: “Energy Star”. When replacing your stove, refrigerator, washer, dryer, hot water heater, microwave, oven, grill, freezer, furnace, air conditioner, or any other appliance type item, make sure you get one that sports the “Energy Star” sticker. Energy Star rated appliances meet or exceed stringent energy use standards set by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They do indeed cost a bit more, but the energy they save over the long haul makes them well worth it.
5. Get rid of those regular (incandescent) light bulbs! Switch all your bulbs to the compact fluorescent bulbs. Yes, they are more expensive at the cash register. But from that point on… they are a gold mine. They generate a lot less heat than standard bulbs, thus reducing your summer cooling costs. Regular bulbs last for several months or even up to a year or more… but fluorescent bulbs typically last more than 5 years and as long as 7 years. And talk about efficient! A regular 60 watt bulb burns 60 watts of electricity. Most homes have 15-25 bulbs. You could easily burn 1000 watts or more without even realizing it. Compare: The same 60 watt bulb (fluorescent version) only burns 13 watts. That’s right. Four of these fluorescent bulbs combined still burn less energy than does just one of the regular bulbs.
6. Seal energy leaks. Caulk over cracks, seams, and small holes around windows and exterior walls. Look carefully (where they go through the floor) around plumbing pipes, telephone wires, cable TV wires, dryer vents, sink and bathtub drains, and under countertops for holes and gaps and seal them well. A good home inspector with a Thermal Imaging camera (and who is certified in its use) is priceless, because they can literally “see” every location where you are wasting energy.
7. Have an energy audit performed on your home. This will find sources of energy waste in your home. It will also determine what improvements or changes you should make to your home in order to make it more energy efficient. These will be prioritized by cost versus gain, and will estimate how much each modification will cost versus how much each modification will reduce your energy cost by. In other words, allowing you to see how long it would take for each modification to pay for itself. Some energy/power companies do provide energy audits, and sometimes at little or no cost. If they do not use a thermal imager, then find a company that does. OxBow Home Inspections is one such company that does offer home energy audits at low cost and does use a thermal imager (and is certified in its use). OxBow is the only such company in all of Idaho. Their energy audits can be seen here at: www.oxbowinspections.com/energyaudit.php
8. Check for tax rebates or incentives whenever you install energy-saving equipment such as Energy Star certified dishwashers, furnaces, air conditioners, etc… Quite often there are these types of incentives offered by individual states and even by the Federal Government. Sometimes these exist even for things such as merely adding insulation. Keep all receipts, and check with you tax advisor.
9. Eliminate the drips. If you have just one sink, or one tub, or one outside water faucet that drips: Have it fixed. Just one drip every second can use 20 kilowatts of energy each month… not to mention hundreds of gallons of water simply wasted. If you’re on a well, this means higher electricity costs for your well pump. If you’re on city water… just watch that monthly bill go up. Either way, you lose.
10. Ask your power company if they have any special energy-saving programs. Some programs shut down electric appliances for short periods of time during peak usage hours. You will hardly notice it at the time, but you will definitely notice it when you get your next utility bill. Idaho Power does indeed have such a program. An added bonus: When you participate, you help reduce the overall electrical demand during those hours of the day when the electrical demand normally spikes.
11. Landscape wisely. Take advantage of the winter sun for heating and use the summer shade for cooling. Selecting the right types of trees and shrubs and planting them in the proper location will do wonders for your utility bills. Consult a landscaping professional for advice.
12. Inspect all of the doors which lead to the exterior, including the one that leads to the garage. I inspect a lot of homes and I can tell you that probably 1/3 of them are losing large amounts of energy around their door weather stripping. The door is something we go through dozens or more times each day. When was the last time you actually stopped and took a good look at your door? Often times, you can make your door seal tightly against the weather stripping merely by adjusting the strike plate!
13. Make sure that the thermostat on your water heater is set at the manufacturer’s recommended setting. Setting it hotter merely wastes energy by keeping the water hot when no one is using it. Do one better… turn it down just a few degrees… just do not go below the minimum setting. Setting it to run a bit cooler will probably not be noticeable, yet it will reduce the amount of energy you spend in the heating of that water. Better yet… install a timer on your water heater. This will heat your water when you are home, but will turn it way down when you are not home or when you are sleeping. Very inexpensive little gold mine, this is.
14. When personal computers first hit the market, most computer experts advised us all to leave the computer on at all times in order to save wear and tear on the hard disk. This is no longer the case with a modern computer. You can now turn it off when you’re not using it, or you can set it up to use the energy-saving “sleep,” “hibernate,” or “standby” modes.
15. Buy a front-loading washing machine. They use 50% less energy and 1/3 less water than conventional models. What’s more: they remove far more water in the rinse and spin cycles which results in big energy savings ($$$) in the dryer. Your dryer will have to work much less in removing the moisture. This translates into a lower utility bill. Even better: It will extend the useful life of your dryer. It will simply last longer.
Times have changed. We can no longer ignore our energy consumption and our impact on the environment. We must all become good stewards of our natural resources. If each of us can reduce our individual carbon footprint by just a little bit… then just imagine the impact when taken collectively by 200 million Americans.
Dappy Jones
OxBow Home Inspections and Radon Testing
http://www.oxbowinspections.com
It does not take long watching tv, listening to the radio, or reading the newspaper to hear of a way to save energy. Why not? The soaring cost of energy has our attention. With all the media information on how to save energy, how do you decide what to do? Here is a strategy on how to approach saving energy to maximize your savings.
There are many ideas and suggestions to save energy. The website Home Energy Place lists well over 100 ways to save energy in your home. Why are these only suggestions? All of our lives are different and our homes vary widely in construction and age. You must make your own decisions on what to do. Energy saving actions that are best suited to fit your own lifestyle and home. Here is a strategy you can use to help organize a personalized plan to save energy.
First, tackle energy saving actions that cost nothing. Changes in the way you live can save energy with no initial financial cost. Turn off lights when not needed. Turn down thermostat in the winter and turn up in the winter. Close window shades during the day in the summer and at night in the winter. Rinse clothes in cold water. These are just a few ways to save energy without any initial financial cost. The drawback is that you must adjust your lifestyle. Try a few ideas at a time, allow for the change to become habit. If any idea seems to extreme, then try something else. Be aware of how your daily activities affect energy use.
Second, find low cost energy saving actions. These actions will generally quickly return the investment from energy savings. Seal cracks and replace weather stripping around windows and doors. Replace old thermostat with one that has setback features. These are some of the many actions that have small initial costs. Set an amount you are willing to spend for this strategy, for example $100. Do any applicable energy saving action that costs less than $100.
Third, select Energy Star qualified appliances when replacing them. Appliances meeting specific energy use criteria may qualify as Energy Star. Dishwashers, clothes dryers, room air conditioners, refrigerators are a few of the appliances that can be Energy Star qualified. Usually these appliances are more expensive, but the savings in energy will quickly compensate the extra cost. Some appliances may exceed the Energy Star performance criteria or may not be in an Energy Star category. Always compare the energy consumption for all models of the appliance you are planning to purchase.
Last, invest in high cost actions. While high in cost they have the greatest yield in energy savings. Replacing windows, major insulation renovation and replacing heating and cooling system are examples of high cost energy saving actions. Due to the high cost, they take a longer time to recover the cost from energy savings. If you follow this strategy, by the time you invest in the high cost actions, you will already be saving from the lower and no cost actions.
Whether you are on a budget or just want to use your money wisely the above strategy results in the greatest savings with the minimal cost. Any energy savings will eventually payback the initial expense, but when? While savings may not be significant at first, this strategy has immediate payback and savings will grow over time. Make you energy saving plan now.
Your household appliances are responsible for a large percentage of the energy consumed in your home. As a matter of fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approximates that kitchen appliances account for almost half of the $2,000 that most average families spend on utilities each year. In addition, appliances that are over 10 years old use more energy than their newer counterparts.
The Energy Star classification system was created by the EPA and the US Dept of Energy (DOE). This system identifies home appliances that decrease energy consumption, lower your utility bills and improve the air quality in your home. Energy Star appliances are usually more expensive than traditional models but the savings in daily energy usage will help them pay for themselves in the long term. Some Energy Star appliances can even save you up to half of the energy you use each day.
Understanding Your EnergyGuide Label:
All Energy Star appliances are required to have an EnergyGuide label. This label displays the model number, features, size and capacity of the appliance. In addition, the label estimates the average energy usage and operation costs of the model per year.
Each label also displays a range of energy used per year by similar models so that you can comparison shop and determine if this particular model meets your needs.
Standard Features of Energy Star Appliances:
Refrigerators:
· Use up to 40% less electricity.
· Savings of up to $150 each year.
Dishwasher:
· Use 50% less water.
· Use over 40% less energy.
· Save $90 over the lifetime of your dishwasher.
Clothes Washer:
· Use 50% less water.
· Reduce drying time by extracting more water in the spin cycle.
· Less wear and tear on your clothing.
· Use up to 40% less electricity.
· Savings of up to $110 each year.
Dehumidifier:
· Use between 10 – 20% less electricity.
· Savings of approximately $30 each year.
Household Air Conditioner:
· Use 10% less energy.
· Save approximately $250 over the lifetime of your air conditioner.
Investing in Energy Star appliances will help you save on monthly utility costs and reduce emissions in your home and the environment. It’s an easy way to save yourself some money plus do your part for the environment.
