The last workshop we held on Sunday evening was about Energy Savings – both in your home and in your business. We had some GREAT guest speakers from Idaho Power and the Small Business Development Center come and share with us. If you’re trying to save money, it might be time to sell mortgage note too.
On a side note, the lady from the Small Business Development Center is helping us reduce the amount of energy used in church. Which is awesome!! If we can lower the church’s electric bill, that means we will have more money to spread the Gospel.
Getting back to the workshop – I wanted to share with you all some of the energy saving tips for home as presented by Idaho Power. While some of the tips are common sense, there are also plenty of clever devices you may not have heard of, like time switches that you can use to automate lighting devices (read more here if that sounds good to you). If you’re like me, you’re probably not even aware of the common sense solutions…
Maybe this year we will all take the time and follow these tips…
Summer Energy Saving Tips
- Use a ceiling, box or oscillating fan – the moving air cools you, creating less reliance on air conditioning.
- Close the blinds before the sun gets a chance to heart up the hours, and open windows at night to cool the house down.
- Replace the furnace filter and clean the outside coil on your air conditioner. If you feel your AC unit has taken a battering over the summer months and it’s not been properly maintained, you might want to learn more about air conditioning maintenance that you can do yourself such as the cleaning of the exterior coil, or hire a professional service (such as the services of a company like Boulden Brothers, more about Boulden Brothers here) and have them thoroughly clean your air conditioning system for you.
- Don’t drastically turn down the temperature on your thermostat. Your house won’t cool down any faster.
- Weatherstrip and caulk your doors and windows if you can see light or feel air coming through them.
- Lower the temperature on your water heater to 120 degrees (unless your dishwasher requires a higher temperature).
- Wash only full loads of laundry and dishes.
- Use water- and energy-saving settings on dishwashers and washing machines.
- Choose compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs qualified as Energy Star.
- Unplug your second refrigerator and consolidate all your food into one.
Greater Energy Savings – three key areas
1. Air Conditioning
- Increase insulation in the attic and walls as wells as the crawlspace, where applicable.
- Seal around plumbing pipes and electrical wires in the walls and floors.
- Plant shade tree on south- and west-facing sides of the house
2. Water Heating
- Get the right size water heater. A unit that’s too large costs more money today and in the long run.
- Buy an Energy Star washing machine or dishwater. They’re designed to use less hot water.
- You could also consider installing a mini water heater for certain taps that you require hot water at more often. You can read reviews for them and buy a mini water heater here if you think this would benefit your home.
One item Idaho Power didn’t mention, but I like is to install a time on your hot water heater. It would turn off the power to the heater during the night and daytime when you aren’t typically using hot water (ie. most hot water is used in the morning when folks take their shower). In the interest of full discloser, I bought such a timer last fall but have yet to install it… much sadness.
3. Refrigeration
- Vacuum the refrigerator coils once a year. Dirty coils make the refrigerator work harder.
- Replace the refrigerator door gasket if you can slip an envelope between the door and the frame
One additional comment: if you are able, dry your clothes on a cloth line (inside or outside). Not only will your clothes last longer and smell better, you will use less energy (dryers use a TON of power).
More Ideas: