Lowering your heating and cooling costs

The majority of your energy budget is spent heating and cooling your home. By maintaining your heating and cooling systems you can save money and enjoy year-round comfort.

Your Air Conditioner

1. Select an air conditioner with a high Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) and cut your cooling costs down significantly. Your upgrade will pay for itself.
2. Save money and extend the life of your system by properly maintaining your air conditioner.

• Check your filter every three or four weeks and replace or clean as needed.
• Hire a qualified technician to clean your coils and check your equipment annually.
• Keep air flow vents open and unobstructed and regularly vacuumed.

Fans

• Fans improve the air circulation in your home, making your furnace and air conditioner’s job easier.
• Ceiling fans use only one-tenth the electricity of a typical home air conditioner.
• Full-house attic fans push hot air out and draw cool night air in.
• Small attic fans remove hot air trapped in attics.
• Exhaust fans control humidity in your home.
• Most consumers require the services of electricians and carpenters to install attic, ceiling and exhaust fans.
• Exhaust fans require a duct leading outdoors to prevent grease and moisture buildup in your walls and attic.

Fireplaces

Great for setting a mood and making rooms cozy, fireplaces send most of their heat right up the chimney. Here are a few tips for making your fireplace as energy efficient as possible:

• Keep the damper closed when fireplace is not in use.
• Burn low to medium sized fires.
• Use long logs that offer greater surface area and reflect more heat.
• Use a cast iron "fireback" placed near the rear wall of the fireplace to reflect heat into the room.
• If your fireplace has glass doors, use them to cut down the amount of air drawn from the rest of your home.
• Provide combustion air from outdoors through a duct running directly to your fireplace.

Managing Your Thermostat

By knowing where to locate your thermostat and how and when to adjust it, you can save more on your heating and cooling costs.

• For an accurate indoor temperature reading, locate your thermostat on an interior wall and away from appliances that give off heat.
• If you plan to be away from home, or when you go to bed at night, turn your thermostat down in winter and up in summer to save money.
• When you are home, set the thermostat at a constant temperature so your system works efficiently and you save energy dollars.
• You can install a programmable thermostat with a built-in timer to automatically regulate your heating and air conditioning needs.
• Your thermostat is a precise, delicate instrument that does not require regular cleaning. For best results, occasionally remove the cover and gently blow out any dust or lint that has accumulated.
• An older thermostat of 15 years or more may need to be replaced with a new, efficient model.

Controlling Humidity

Your personal comfort is affected by humidity as well as temperature. Moist air feels warmer than dry air. Save energy dollars by retaining humidity in the winter and expelling it with exhaust fans during summer. Steam from showers, cooking and laundry add to your indoor humidity. Humidifying units, either freestanding or installed, will also add moisture to your air.

Energy efficiency pays. It produces long-term savings on your energy bill, improves productivity and saves valuable resources.

Whether it’s hot, cold or in between, the time’s always right to use energy wisely!

In the summer …

• Take cool baths or showers
• Use fans to circulate the air
• Stay out of direct sunlight
• Wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothes
• Avoid hot foods and heavy meals
• Drink water frequently—whether you feel thirsty or not
• Seek medical help if you experience dizziness/dry skin (with no sweating) great weakness, nausea, diarrhea or vomiting. If you feel disoriented—altered consciousness or confusion, develop a throbbing headache, experience a rapid heartbeat, breathing problems, chest pains or cramps—all could be signs of heat stress.

If you have an air conditioner …

• Keep your air conditioner in the shade.
• Cool only the rooms you use, but don't close all your vents.
• Turn your thermostat up when you leave the house for several days or longer.
• Don't switch your air conditioner to a colder setting when you turn it on or adjust it throughout the day. Set the thermostat at 78 degrees Fahrenheit, if possible.
• Don’t place your thermostat on an external wall or near appliances that give off heat.
• Gently blow out any dust or lint out of your thermostat.
• A timer or programmable thermostat can be used to turn your air conditioner on before you get home. Make sure your air conditioner coils are clean.
• Check your filter at the beginning of the cooling season.
• Keep the heat out by drawing shades and curtains on hot days.
• If you have exhaust fans in your bathroom, laundry and kitchen, use them to help reduce the humidity burden on your air conditioner. These fans should not be used continuously, but periodically, as required.
• Help protect the ozone layer by repairing leaks in home and auto air conditioning systems. To learn more, contact the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Kansas City at 1 (800) 223-0425.

In the winter ...

• Install storm windows and caulking to keep cold air out and warm air in.
• Use weatherstripping around doors.
• Blown insulation for attics and walls is an easy-to-install energy-saver.
• Have a qualified technician check your furnace performance before the heating season starts.
• Use an insulating blanket on your hot water heater and wrap insulation around your hot water pipes to reduce heat loss. Reverse ceiling fans to circulate warm air.
• Glass doors for fireplaces save energy and heat.
• Consider an electric heat pump for year-round comfort, winter and summer.

Many of us don't think twice about replacing a burned out light bulb in our homes. Although relatively simple in design and low in efficiency, the incandescent light bulb has changed little over its 120-year history, and it remains the residential light source of choice.

However, over the last 20 years, a new light source has emerged into a multi-million dollar market. Using refined and scaled-down designs from its bigger, tube-shaped cousin — the fluorescent bulb — the compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) has found its way into many homes. The first CFLs were used across Europe and Asia in primarily commercial and retail applications, including offices and public spaces.

A 100-watt incandescent bulb, which typically lasts about 1,000 hours, can now be replaced by a 25-watt CFL, lasting 10,000 hours. Not only would one save on the cost of 10 bulbs — equaling at least $5.00 — but at 7.2 cents per kilowatt-hour, an additional $54.00 would be saved in energy over the 10,000 hour life of the bulb. That's at least a $59.00 saving per bulb. The CFL purchase cost would be approximately $8.00-11.00, resulting in a net savings of up to $51.00 per bulb.

A variety of CFLs are now available. The newest are spiral shaped and have electronic circuitry. The spirals are not much larger than the incandescent bulbs they replace. Some CFLs (including spirals) are offered as a 2-piece design, where only the glass portion of the bulb is discarded after burnout. The glass portion "plugs in" to the electronic "ballast" in the plastic screw-in base. Spiral CFLs also best match the ball shape light pattern produced by incandescent bulbs, making them ideal for table lamps.

Over the last several years many CFL manufacturers in Asia and Europe had been aggressively competing with American manufacturers. The bottom line is that these products have become much more affordable and available. Purchasing the energy efficient CFLs makes sense, even in places where residential electricity is relatively low in cost.

CFLs are now available in a floodlight shape design (built on reflector) which can be used for recessed or track lighting applications. The vast majority of these have the replaceable glass portion as well as a detachable reflector for maintenance.

Some non-dimming CFL floodlight models are rated for outdoor use in the weather and can replace some of those expensive lower-wattage halogen floodlight bulbs we use to light our decks, yards and patios.

The plug-in CFLs used in the new floor lamps will last 8-10 times longer than halogen, which costs about $4.00 per bulb.

Today's CFLs are virtually indistinguishable in color from the incandescent bulbs they replace. Wattages for the electronic spiral versions range from 11 to 30 watts:

• The 11-watt, the smallest size spiral replaces a 40-watt bulb.
• The 15-watt replaces a 60-watt bulb.
• The 20-watt replaces a 75-watt bulb.
• The 25 or 26-watt models replace the 100-watt bulb.

Here are some tips for using CFLs to light your home:

• Unless specified on the box, never use CFLs in sockets on dimmers, even if the dimmers are turned up to full brightness. This will cause very short life and poor performance.
• CFLs may be used outdoors, provided they are completely protected from the weather and are rated for cold temperatures. Most electronic CFLs will start down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit, some down to -22 degrees Fahrenheit. Always read the box before purchasing.
• CFLs should never be used in very warm or hot locations, such as in ovens, over range tops, saunas, attics, etc., as this will result in a very short life with no return on investment. Some high wattage CFLs may not be suitable for use in totally enclosed (unvented) light fixtures.
• The life of all fluorescent bulbs including CFLs is maximized when they are not frequently switched on or off. Avoid use in bathrooms, closets, pantries, etc.
• Your greatest and quickest savings will result in areas where you have more hours of continuous burning on a regular basis, such as kitchens, home offices, living areas, dens and outdoor lighting on all night.