Con Edison: The Power of Green - 100 Facts About Conserving Energy

The Power of Green
conserving energy

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100+ Tips to Help You Go Green and Save Some Green

Weatherization – Reduce your energy use by first tightening up your home. You’ll cut your heating and cooling costs by 15 to 30 percent and increase your comfort at the same time.

1.	Conduct a do-it-yourself energy audit. With a simple walk-through, you can spot many problems on your own. Learn how at http://www.eere.energy.gov
2.	Use caulk or weather stripping to seal up any air leaks from window frames, baseboards, electrical outlet and switch plates, wall- or window-mounted air conditioners, and other openings, such as pipes and wiring coming through ceilings, floors, and walls.
3.	Install storm windows and exterior doors. For older windows, use a plastic window kit to cut drafts and seal in heat.
4.	When purchasing new windows and doors, look for the ENERGY STAR label.
5.	Make sure your ceilings and walls are properly insulated. Learn more about insulating your home at http://www.eere.energy.gov and http://www.ornl.gov

Heating – Heating is the largest energy user for homes in our area. Increasing the efficiency of your heating system is the most effective way to save money and reduce your home’s contribution to climate change.

6.	Every fall, have your heating system cleaned and inspected by a qualified contractor.
7.	Health permitting, set your thermostat to 68 degrees during the day and 60 degrees at night and when no one is home. Each degree over 68 can increase by 3 percent the amount of energy you use for heating.
8.	Instead of turning up the heat, wear a sweater and add a blanket.
9.	Install a programmable thermostat and program it to turn down the heat at night and when no one is home. Lowering the thermostat 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours a day can save you up to 15 percent a year on your heating bill.
10.	Keep drapes or furniture away from radiators and baseboard heaters so heat can flow freely.
11.	Remove window air conditioners when the weather gets cool. If you can’t, enclose them with a cover.
12.	Use an efficient humidifier to maintain comfortable humidity levels and help you conserve heat. Proper humidity helps you feel comfortable without turning up the heat.
13.	Use ceiling fans to circulate warm air in winter, especially in rooms with high ceilings.
14.	If your windows are well insulated, open the curtains on sunny days in the winter months and close them at night to keep the heat in.
15.	Close doors and warm-air vents in unused rooms, but in extreme cold, be aware of water pipes that could freeze and burst.
16.	If you have a hot-water heating system, release any trapped air from radiators.
17.	Radiators can lose heat into exterior walls. Reduce this loss by placing reflectors between the wall and the radiator.
18.	If you have a forced-air heating system, seal the seams and joints in the ductwork with duct tape and insulate them with vinyl-backed fiberglass insulation.
19.	Keep warm-air vents clean.
20.	Inspect hot-air ducts to ensure adequate air flow and to eliminate any loss of heated air.
21.	Wrap with insulation any hot-air ducts that pass through unheated spaces.
22.	Clean or replace filters for your hot-air furnace and heat-pump every month during the heating season or use filters made to run six to 12 months before needing replacement.
23.	Wrap with insulation any hot-water pipes that pass through unheated spaces. For steam pipes, use nonfoam insulation, as foam can melt.
24.	When buying a new furnace or boiler, look for the ENERGY STAR label.

Cooling – Switching to high-efficiency air conditioners and reducing your air-conditioning use can cut your cooling costs by 20 to 50 percent.

25.	Every year, inspect and clean your air conditioner or cooling system. A well-maintained unit uses less electricity.
26.	If you have central air-conditioning, keep the condenser unit’s coils and fins clean. Remove grass, leaves, and other debris that may collect on them.
27.	Set your air conditioner to no cooler than 78 degrees. Setting your air conditioner lower than 78 degrees can increase your costs by up to 40 percent.
28.	Don’t air-condition an empty room.
29.	If you have central air, block the vents in unoccupied rooms.
30.	Turn your air conditioner off when you leave home.
31.	Install a programmable thermostat or use a timer to turn on your air conditioner a half hour before you return home rather than having it run all day.
32.	If you have central air-conditioning, consider Con Edison’s offer of a free programmable thermostat. Go to www.conEd.com/cool or call 1-866-521-8600.
33.	Clean or replace air-conditioner filters at least once a month during the cooling season.
34.	Use fans whenever possible instead of air-conditioning. Fans use far less energy than air conditioners and often can provide the same level of comfort.
35.	Alternate the use of air-conditioning and fans. When you’re comfortable, shut down your air conditioner and turn on the fan. This approach can cut air conditioner use by up to 40 percent.
36.	Shade windows that face south, east, and west. Keeping windows, drapes, and shades closed during the day helps keep unwanted heat out of your home. About 40 percent of unwanted heat comes in through windows.
37.	Don’t run your air conditioner when the outdoor temperature is below 70 degrees. Open the windows instead.
38.	Install a whole-house fan in your attic to draw cool air inside through windows and force hot air out through attic vents.
39.	When buying a room air conditioner, make sure it is properly sized. A larger-than-needed air conditioner cycles on and off more frequently, reducing its efficiency. Frequent cycling makes indoor temperatures fluctuate more and creates a less comfortable environment.
40.	Install your air conditioner in a shady area, if possible.
41.	When it’s time to cook in the summer months, grill outside and keep your oven off.
42.	In the summer months, run your washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher early in the day or at night when it’s generally cooler.

Water Heating – Next to heating or cooling, water heating is typically the largest energy user in the home. To conserve energy, conserve hot water.

43.	Set your water heater no higher than 120 degrees or about midway between the low and medium settings.
44.	If appropriate, consider a demand water heater that has no storage tank. It can reduce your energy use by 10 to 15 percent.
45.	Wrap your hot-water storage tank with an insulation blanket, even if it’s a newer model.
46.	Fix leaky faucets.
47.	Insulate hot-water pipes wherever possible.
48.	Take showers rather than baths. Showers generally use half as much hot water as baths.
49.	Take shorter showers.
50.	Install a low-flow showerhead.
51.	Plan on buying an energy efficient water heater before your old one fails. If your gas water heater is more than 10 years old, it may be operating at less than 50 percent efficiency.

Lighting – Lighting accounts for 5 to 10 percent of total energy use in the average home. Consider the advantages of energy-efficient alternatives.

52.	Use ENERGY STAR-qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). They use less than 25 percent of the electricity standard bulbs use and last 10 times longer. If every home in New York City replaced 75 percent of their regular light bulbs with CFLs, we would save enough energy to run all the subways and light all the train stations. NYC residents can click here for information about the proper disposal of CFLs. Westchester County residents should dispose of CFLs at a county E-Waste Day or a Household Recycling Day; click here for more information.
53.	Shut off all the lights when you leave a room.
54.	During the day, let daylight do the work and turn off lights near windows.
55.	Instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where you need it.
56.	Keep bulbs and fixtures clean.
57.	Replace light switches with dimmers or motion sensors.
58.	Use bright lights only where you read or work. Otherwise, use 25- or 40-watt bulbs. Three-way lamps make it easier to keep lighting low when brighter light isn’t necessary.
59.	Use night lights when a little light is enough.
60.	When you go away, use timers to turn your lights on and off.
61.	Use outdoor lights with a photocell and motion sensor so they go on only at night and when someone is present.

Appliances – Consider energy efficiency when buying new appliances and electronics. While energy-efficient products may be more expensive to buy, over their life, they can save you about 30 percent on your energy bill.

62.	Choose ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances, which use 10 to 50 percent less electricity than standard models. A list of ENERGY STAR products is available at http://www.energystar.gov
63.	Look for the yellow EnergyGuide label to help you compare the efficiency of different major appliances. More information about the EnergyGuide label is available at http://www1.eere.energy.gov
64.	Use the energy-saving setting for all appliances, particularly your refrigerator, air conditioner, washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher.
65.	Unplug appliances and equipment when not in use, including TVs, cable boxes, computers, and monitors. Turning computers on and off daily will not damage them.
66.	Plug home entertainment and computer equipment into power strips. This way, it’s one easy switch to turn them on and off.
67.	Set your computer to “hibernate” when not in use for 30 minutes.
68.	Turn off your monitor when you leave your computer for more than 20 minutes. Screen savers use electricity.
69.	Unplug cell phone, MP3 player, and PDA chargers when not in use. They use electricity, even when they aren’t charging.
70.	Set your refrigerator to 40 degrees – but no higher – and freezer to 0 degrees.
71.	Make sure your refrigerator is the right size for your needs. Bigger isn’t better.
72.	Loosely store food in the refrigerator so air can circulate around it.
73.	In the freezer, pack items tightly. If there’s extra space, add bags of ice.
74.	Open the refrigerator and freezer doors only when necessary.
75.	Vacuum or dust refrigerator coils regularly.
76.	Install your refrigerator away from the stove, radiator, heating duct, or direct sunlight, if possible.
77.	Make sure the refrigerator and freezer doors shut tightly and have a good seal.
78.	Allow hot food to cool before storing in the refrigerator or freezer. But be sure to refrigerate or freeze hot foods within two hours of purchase or preparation, or within one hour if the air temperature is above 90 degrees.
79.	Cover liquids in the refrigerator. Uncovered liquids make the refrigerator work harder.
80.	Think about replacing your old refrigerator. Some older models may cost up to 50 percent of your monthly bill.
81.	Use a microwave rather than an electric or gas oven as much as possible. Microwaves use less than half the power of traditional ovens.
82.	For certain recipes that require long cooking times, use a Crock-Pot.
83.	Use copper-bottom pots and pans. They heat up faster than regular pans.
84.	When baking, preheat your oven no more than five to eight minutes.
85.	When broiling or roasting, don’t preheat your oven.
86.	Don’t open the oven door more than necessary. Every time you open the door, the oven loses 25 to 50 degrees.
87.	Cook as much of your meal as possible at one time in the oven.
88.	You can turn the oven temperature down 25 degrees when using glass or ceramic pans. The cooking time will remain the same.
89.	Use the self-cleaning oven feature right after you’ve used the oven to cook a meal – while it’s still hot. Try not to use this feature too often.
90.	Run your dishwasher only when it is full.
91.	Scrape dishes before placing them in the dishwasher.
92.	Use the “soak” or “prewash” dishwasher setting only for burned-on or dried-on food.
93.	Use the “air dry” feature on your dishwasher or on older machines, prop open the door after the final rinse cycle.
94.	Use your clothes washer only when it is full.
95.	Wash your clothes in cold water.
96.	Clean the lint filter in the clothes dryer before each load.
97.	Don’t overdry your clothes, and use the moisture sensor if your machine has one. If not, consider replacing your old clothes dryer with a new energy efficient model with a moisture sensor. This feature can reduce your drying time by up to 15 percent and extend the life of your clothes.
98.	Dry heavy and light fabrics separately.
99.	Dry two or more loads in a row to take advantage of the heat from the first load.
100.	Switch to green power. If 10 percent of New York State households chose green power, it would reduce the state’s annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by about 3 billion pounds. CO₂ makes up 80 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. For more information on how to switch to green power, go to www.poweryourway.com or call 1-800-780-2884.
101.	Experiencing power problems? Let us know! If you lose power or experience dim, partial, or flickering lights, contact us right away either online at www.conEd.com or by phone at 1-800-75-CONED.
102.	Save time, paper, and postage. Go green with e*bill, the fast and easy way to see and pay your Con Edison bill online. Sign up at www.conEd.com/ebill.
103.	Make smart kids energy smart. Turn them on to our cool kids' Web site at www.conEd.com/kids.
104.	When using your home or office printer, print only what you need. You'll save paper, ink, energy, and trees.
105.	ENERGY STAR computers, copiers, printers, and other office equipment use less electricity, eliminate waste, and help the environment. Visit www.energystar.gov for a list of ENERGY STAR products.