Energy-Saving Tips

Low-cost ways to save fuel, electricity and money.

From The Family Handyman

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Install and use an automatic setback thermostat. You can reduce your heating and cooling costs by 5 to 15 percent.

Insulate pipes, especially if they pass through an area you don’t want heated or cooled. Have your air conditioner serviced to clean hard-to-reach evaporator coils and adjust coolant pressure to achieve maximum efficiency.

Change furnace filters every month, more often if needed.

Have a furnace tuneup to clean and adjust burners and improve fuel-burning efficiency.

Install light controls like motion sensors, photocell switches and timers to shut off lights automatically when they’re not needed.

Replace light bulbs used more than two hours per day with compact fluorescent bulbs. Fluorescent bulbs last longer and use only one-third as much energy as standard bulbs.

Fix leaky faucets; dripping hot water can cost $35 per year.

Buy gas stoves with electronic ignition rather than pilot lights. Install a reflector (shiny aluminum foil over cardboard will do) behind radiators to reduce heat driven into and through the wall. Save 5 percent.

Clean the air conditioner condenser coils and fins when you see grass and airborne debris collected on them.

Seal the joints of heating and cooling ducts that run through attics and basements.

Replace worn-out thresholds and weatherstripping around windows and doors.

Shade your windows with trees, awnings, overhangs, shutters or other devices to keep direct sunlight from entering your home. Add window tint film.

Wrap the tank of your gasburning water heater in a special fiberglass blanket to decrease heat loss. Check your owner’s manual to make sure a blanket is recommended for your model.

Reduce hot water usage by replacing high-volume showerheads with low-flow heads (2 to 3 gallons per minute). Save up to $40 per year.

Replace recessed light fixtures with airtight models when you remodel.

1. Lower the indoor temperature a few degrees in winter (you’ll save about 2 percent per degree). Set it even lower at night and a full 10 degrees lower when you’re on vacation.

2. Close the fireplace damper when the fireplace isn’t in use. If it’s never used, seal the flue with a plastic bag stuffed with insulation.

3. Open shades and blinds to let in sunlight during the day and close them to reduce heat loss at night. For cooling, close them during the day.

4. Close off unused rooms and lower the temperatures by adjusting the registers and dampers. You’ll save up to $50 per year.

5. Clean your furnace’s blower fan with a soft brush and vacuum cleaner.

6. Turn off lights not in use. Reduce bulb wattage and use dimmers when you can.

7. Ventilate and cool your home with window or whole-house fans during the cooler hours of the day.

8. Fill clothes washers and dishwashers for more efficient energy use, rather than cleaning partial loads.

9. Skip the dishwasher’s drying cycle (and cut the energy use by about half!).

10. Wash clothes in cool rather than hot water.

11. Clean clothes washer and dryer lint screens after every use.

12. Clean refrigerator coils with a soft brush annually, or more often if you have pets that shed.

13. Run major appliances late in the evening or early in the morning when electric loads are less (off peak).

14. Flush your garbage disposer with cold water rather than hot. Grease solidifies in cold water and will wash away.

15. Cook more efficiently using microwaves, Crock-Pots and pressure cookers.

16. Turn off room air conditioners when you leave for an hour or more. You can quickly cool the room later.

17. Recycle. Reuse. Take your bike instead of your car.

18. In warm weather, set the thermostat higher (75 to 78 degrees F) and rely more on ceiling and table fans for cooling, even when the air conditioner is running.

19. Reduce humidity in bathrooms and kitchens with exhaust fans. When dehumidifying a basement, keep basement doors and windows closed.

20. Consider higher-efficiency appliances when purchasing new refrigerators, freezers and dishwashers. The energy savings usually pays back the extra costs within a few years. The same goes for furnaces and water heaters.

21. Lower your water heater setting to 120 degrees F for both energy savings and safety. (Measure hot water temperature at a faucet with a cooking thermometer if the water heater setting isn’t calibrated in degrees.)

From The Family Handyman - October 2001