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Energy Saving - Cost Cutting Guidelines
(From The U.S. Department of Energy)

General

Set thermostat at 78 degrees when the house is occupied; at 85 degrees when vacant (you save 1 – 2 percent per degree raised on cooling costs).

Regularly clean or replace the air conditioner’s air filter (save up to 5 percent on annual energy costs).

Keep the door and vents closed in unused rooms (save up to 3 percent on cooling costs).

On hot, sunny days, keep the curtains closed on windows facing south and west (save 2 – 4 percent on cooling costs).

Caulk and weather-strip around windows and doors (save 1 – 4 percent on cooling costs).

Wash/dry full loads of clothes and use cold water as much as possible (save 2 – 4 percent on energy costs).

Set the water heater’s temperature to 120 degrees (save up to 10 percent on water heating costs; check by placing a thermometer under a tap).

Use a microwave oven instead of a regular oven (save up to 50 percent on cooking costs).

Install compact fluorescent lights in high-use fixtures (save about 66 percent on lighting cost per fixture).

Take advantage of the new federal tax credits when making energy efficiency improvements to your home: http://www.energytaxincentives.org/

For more help, visit your electric company’s Web site. They have free, energy-saving information, and many utilities also offer energy-saving incentive programs

Some Tips

Open the drapes when it’s sunny; close them at night. Save up to 10%

Clean or replace your furnace’s air filter monthly. 15%

Close the flue on your fireplace when it’s not in use 18%

Tighten the House’s Thermal Envelope

The thermal envelope includes the roof, walls, windows and doors, insulation, caulking, and weather-stripping. (In other words, every item that separates the inside from the outside.) Each of these items directly affects the house's heating and cooling loads--as well as its comfort, quiet, and overall value. 

Some Tips

Properly insulate your house. The U.S. Department of Energy can tell you the most economic and effective level that's right for your Zip code. 

Install double pane windows—heat escapes through a single pane of glass almost 14 times faster than through a well-insulated wall.

Adding a storm door will create the same insulation effect between the doors.

Caulk and Weather-strip: Poorly caulked and weather-stripped doors and windows can cause as much as 40 percent of a home's heating and cooling dollars to leak out.

Specify High-Efficiency Appliances

During the past 30 years, home appliances have steadily become more energy efficient. Examples include a microwave oven, which uses 90 percent less energy to cook a meal than a conventional gas oven; compact fluorescent light bulbs, which can offer light similar to incandescent bulbs, but use 75 percent less electricity to do so; and, refrigerators, which can now use less than half as much electricity as those built in the 1970s.

Some Tips

Did you know that heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home? Typically, 44 percent of your energy bill goes for heating and cooling.

All the appliances you plug in account for about 20 percent of your household's energy consumption, with refrigerators and clothes dryers at the top of the consumption list.

Today’s refrigerators consume less than half as much electricity as those built in the 1970’s.

A microwave oven uses 90 percent less energy to cook a meal than a conventional gas oven.

About 80–85 percent of the energy used for washing clothes is for heating the water.  Use cold water rinses whenever you can.

Increasing your lighting efficiency is one of the fastest ways to decrease your energy bills. If you replace 25 percent of your lights in high-use areas with compact fluorescents, you can save about 50 percent of your lighting energy bill.

Improve Control Over Household Energy Use

How the household uses its electric appliances and equipment will finally determine its energy efficiency. There are a houseful of energy-saving tips, many of which are simple, low-, or no-cost, and will help consumers gain greater control over their electric bills.

Some Tips

You can save as much as 10 percent a year on your heating and cooling bills by simply turning your thermostat back 10 percent to 15 percent for 8 hours.  You can do this automatically without sacrificing comfort by installing an automatic setback or programmable thermostat.

Change or clean the heating and cooling system's filter every month or two, depending on how dirty it gets.  You should be able to see light clearly through the filter.  If not, it needs to be changed.

During the day in the winter, keep curtains drawn and shades pulled over windows facing north.  In the summer, close curtains over windows facing south.

Move furniture away from the air registers, allowing for the free flow of cooled or heated air.

Place the thermostat on an inside wall, away from windows and doors.  Drafts will cause the thermostat to keep the heating or cooling system running, even if the rest of the house is comfortable.

During hot summer days, close cooling vents in unused rooms.  Also, when using window air conditioners, don't forget to close doors to unused rooms.

Seal any ducts—the network of tubes in the walls, floors, and ceilings, carries the air from your home's furnace and central air conditioner to each room—if they run through the attic or in a crawl space underneath your house.

Include Home Energy Savings in Summer Vacation Plans

Air Conditioning

Set the thermostat to 85 degrees-if it is a programmable thermostat, use the "hold" or the "vacation" setting to keep it at that temperature.

Electronics

Computers, CD/DVD players, TVs, and VCRs-these and other electronic appliances use electricity-even when they are not turned on.  Unplug them before leaving.

Lighting

Consumers can improve their energy savings, and their home's security, by using timers to turn lights on-and-off each night.  And by installing compact fluorescent bulbs in those lamps, consumers will be saving energy too-up to 66 percent less in each lamp-and the bulb will last up to 10 times longer than a regular incandescent bulb.

Water Heating

Turn the water heater's temperature down to the lowest setting.  Many water heaters have a "vacation" setting for this purpose.  Leave a reminder to turn it back up upon returning home. 

Waterbed owners should unplug the heater, or at least lower the temperature 10 degrees.

Pool owners should shorten the operating time for the pool filter and automatic cleaning sweep (if applicable).  A pool cover can save energy-up to 70 percent of pool heat loss is by evaporation according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Refrigerator

Adjust the refrigerator control to a warmer setting.  If going on an extended trip, consider emptying the fridge and turning it off (remember to leave the door open to prevent mildew).

For more information on how to use your energy efficiently this summer and all year round, consumers are urged to contact their electric utility.

Federal Programs

U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy - This office leads the federal government's research, development, and deployment efforts in energy efficiency. The Web site features Energy Savers tips for consumers at home and on the road.

U.S. EPA Energy Star – Energy Star is a voluntary partnership between the U.S. Dept. of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, product manufacturers, local utilities, and retailers. 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, LIHEAP Web site - This Web site provides important resources for families and individuals seeking LIHEAP assistance, including state-specific contact information to apply for LIHEAP.

Non-profit Organizations

Alliance to Save Energy - Alliance to Save Energy is a nonprofit coalition of prominent business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit the environment, the economy, and national security. 

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy - Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings includes The Most Energy-Efficient Appliances and the Home Energy Checklist for Action.

National Energy Assistance Directors' Association - The primary educational and policy organization for the state and tribal directors of LIHEAP.

National Fuel Fund Network - An organization of 250 members, including non-profit agencies, utilities, and government representatives that raise money and offer innovative programs to provide utility bill assistance to those families whose federal assistance has expired.

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Source: Energy Savers: Tips on Saving Energy and Money at Home U.S. Department of Energy (www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/pdfs/energy_savers.pdf)

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