Tips to minimize energy usage

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Grandma's Tips

To minimize energy consumption at home during summer follow these tips and you will see minimum energy usage at end of month.

1. Clean your refrigerator condenser coils. Make sure air circulates freely. Dust accumulation makes fridge motor work harder and uses more electricity.

2. Rain harvest is very useful to water garden – collect rainwater using rain barrel. Make arrangement to collect rain water from the house terrace and use it for gardening purposes.

3. Clean all the exhaust fans, check filters and replace bad filters

4. Drain sediments from hot water heater. Sediments collected at bottom of the water heater makes heater work hard to heat water and energy consumption goes up.

5. Ventilate house properly to remove moisture inside home and allow fresh air to come in. A heat recovery ventilation system is helpful to replenishing home with fresh outdoor air and creates healthy environment inside home.

6. Fix all leaky taps and fixture. This applies to garden hose too. Use low flow shower heads

7. Use cold water to wash and rinse clothes. It saves money as less or no use of hot water saves money.

8. Keep the curtains, shades or blinds down on Sun facing windows and glass doors, it keeps house cool. It will cost you less as you don’t need to cool the house often.

9. Check for air leaks in all windows and doors. If any this is time to fix and save money on air conditioning unit. This will also help during winter to heat loss.

10. If you can afford, considering selling or getting rid off old appliances that you might have. Look for energy efficient appliances that reduces your bills while saving energy.

11. Turn off lights, turn off computer monitor, unplug machines and tools that you don’t use.

12. Use stand, box or ceiling fans to cool yourself. Fans don’t need to cool entire place like air conditioner. Fans will give chill effect while cooling body. Set the fans blades counterclockwise to cool home more efficiently and you will feel air blowing on skin in the summer.

13. Set up your thermostat between 72-78 degrees. Every one degree raise in temperature above 72 degrees (up to 78) will save up to 3% cooling expenses.

14. Use LED bulbs and upgrade your house with cost efficient LED bulbs in all rooms. LED bulbs stay cool to touch and while drawing a fraction of the power used by other types of bulbs.

15. Spend more time in lower floor or lowest area in your house such as ground floor, basement as those areas will be much cooler.

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