Energy Saving Tips for Home and Apartment
Most families and students want to save money. One way is saving money on home and apartment utilities. Saving energy is good for the pocket and simple, while preserving the environment.
A little bit can go a long way:
-Turn down your thermostat down to 70-65°F while you are there and 65-60°F while away saving 25% on your monthly heating bill
-Close off the vents to any unused room in the home and close the door
-Lock windows, it tightens the seal. Also cover single pane windows with plastic
-Turn down the thermostat on the water heater, the water heater accounts for 14-25% of monthly energy usage
-A water saving shower head will save $40 a year
-Turn up the temperature in your refrigerator
-Save half the energy in the dishwasher by not using the dry cycle
-During warm weather, line dry clothes
-Turn off or unplug appliances when not in use
-Do regular maintenance on appliances by replacing filters and removing scale build up
-Don’t block radiators with furniture for better circulation
-Insulate hot pipes
-Turn the lights off when you leave your room, lighting accounts for 15% of monthly energy usage
-Use fluorescent light bulbs or dimmer controls
When looking for new home accessories look for the Energy Star sticker:
Minnesota Power Energy Star Rebates for Appliances value between $50-100, visit
http://www.mnpower.com/energystar/special_offers/index.htm
for more information about rebates.
Lights
- Use 75% less energy, 75% less heat, and last 10 times as long
$4 rebate from Menards for a 2-pack compact fluorescent blubs
$2 rebate from Minnesota Power for any purchase of compact fluorescent blubs
Programmable Thermostat
- Approximately $150/year savings. Less than 1 year return on investments no mercury
Clothes Washer
- Save $550 over equipment lifetime tax and rebate incentives
Dishwasher
- Must use 41% less energy than federal minimum standard
Save $30 year over a 1994 or earlier model , save $90 lifetime over a new non Energy Star dishwasher
Refrigerator
– Must use 15% less energy of current Federal Standard and 40% less than a conventional 2001 model, ant 50% of a 1993 model or earlier.
Energy Audits
Minnesota Power offers FREE Energy Audits to customers which will analyze all of the energy uses in a home and inform the consumer about how to improve the energy efficiency of their home. More information about energy audits can be found at the following sites.
Minnesota Power
http://www.mnpower.com/your_home/energy_cost_savings/inhome_energy_analysis.htm
Department of Energy
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/energy_audits/index.cfm/mytopic=11160
One last bit of information we would like to share is the Kill-A-Watt electric consumption meter. It will measure the electric consumption of specific 120v plug in appliances in kilowatt hours over a certain period of time. If you are interested in learning more about how much electricity your appliances are using, the KAW meter is available for checkout at all of Duluth’s public libraries and anyone that holds a library card can check one out for 2 weeks. See the 1/04/08 Eco Blog by Doug Anderson.
If anyone has any more tips to help save energy feel free to leave it as a comment to this post.
Comments
Sorry the extended entry looks like such a brick, I did put spaces in but they just aren't showing up...
I would just like to put a little more emphasis on people unplugging electronics when they are not going to be used for a while I find using a surge protector with a number of this plugged into (TV, DVD player ect.) and switching them all off at once. Not all things use much/any power when not being used but you might be surprised by what does, for example if you have ever left in your cell phone charger plugged in without the phone on it and felt the charger it might be warm. I know mine is that way, it actually uses power when it should be doing absolutely nothing. I haven't done this myself but I think people should use the Kill-A-Watt device to figure out what is costing them money for nothing all day long.
Posted by: Jason George | March 31, 2008 12:04 PM
All great suggestions.
First, no one should own a house in Northern Minnesota with single pane windows! Several companies now make fancy windows with argon in-between the panes and some even have embedded solar panels in them. These are also expensive. Drying your clothes on the line during the summer months can be the worst possible thing you can do if you suffer from seasonal allergies. A well ventilated basement works just fine. Instead of using the dishwasher, wash by hand. This will also save your expensive pots and pans. My roommate didn’t believe that it takes less energy, but when I threatened to perform an energy balance around the dishwasher, she backed down…
I have one of these Kill A Watt devices. Let me know if you are interested and you can borrow it. Works with any device that has a normal plug-in, not a clothes dryer. Check this site for more info if you have an electric meter for your house (scroll down to 3): http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/measure.html
Posted by: Simon Larson | April 1, 2008 12:27 PM
Real interesting post I leave my chargers and other power supplies on all the time. Just looking around my room I have a phone charger, the speakers for my computer, and my printer are all plugged in. The devices are off, but the transformers are using power. Good to know.
Posted by: John Kallemeyn | April 2, 2008 11:00 AM
After reading John's post, I started looking around my room and noticed that my printer is also plugged in and not in use...ooops. I have been getting better about turning off lights when I'm not around lately, though.
Posted by: Laura Stranford | April 2, 2008 8:16 PM
My wife thinks I am crazy, but when we go away for a week or two, I shut off power to things at the circuit breaker (like the hot water heater which has no switch).
It is so much easier and quicker than running around unplugging everything.
Posted by: Steve Sternberg | April 4, 2008 10:51 AM
Its amazing to see how much energy and money can be saved by doing simple things. My house is very poorly insulated, especially around the windows, and by putting plastic on our 4 upstairs windows we save an average of $50 a month on our heating bill. A question I have is there a good time to take down the plastic on the windows? The problem my house has right now is that the blinds are closed behind the plastic and as a result we are missing out on the warmth from the sunlight during the day. We have the plastic up still because at night we lose a lot of heat through the windows. So when is the optimal time to take down the plastic and open the blinds?
Posted by: Scott Beard | April 5, 2008 3:23 PM
I think the Kill A Watt devices are a great idea. I wonder how much energy a device such as a printer or cell phone charger consumes when not in use.
Posted by: Adam Clark | April 14, 2008 12:07 PM
With all of these different comments and ideas I think that you should share them with the public. I know that earth day is coming up and there are events around Duluth. I know that the UMD earth day club is having a festival April 19th in Leif Erikson. This may be a great opportunity to educate people on what you have learned.
Posted by: Rachel Gass | April 14, 2008 12:12 PM
It really helps when Duluth has a ridiculous storm and your power goes off for 36 hours.. talk about energy savings!
But once the power came back on, the heater had to work double time to heat the place up from 38 degrees to 65! BRR!
Posted by: Elizabeth Kokesh | April 14, 2008 8:21 PM
I have been encouraging my roommates to conserve energy. We have kept our rooms a little cooler We have also been keeping the lights off when we are gone or if the sun is out. This is really good information that should be given to all dorm and apartment residents.
Posted by: Brent Haekenkamp | April 14, 2008 11:13 PM
I have the same problem as Scott... we definately can tell a difference in temperature and cost with versus without plastic on our windows, especially when you have oil heat. But, we had to make the tough decision of having the blinds up or down for several months. We have 2 large windows, one in our dining room that faces east with the blinds up, and one in the living room, that faces west with the blinds down. In the morning, the sun is quite bright coming in through the dining room window and in the afternoon it is quite dark in the lower level of our house. When is it ok to take off the plastic, because, as proven by the blizzard last weekend, you never know when it will get warm and stay warm in Duluth? Should we just wait until May when we move out to be safe?
Posted by: Carla Petrich | April 17, 2008 1:43 PM
I have been reading all the quick tips for energy savings and have found them all interesting. I just thought I would mention how important it is too not only insulate the piping,walls, etc in a house but also the water heater. (I performed calculations that showed substaintial savings when a water heater was insulated vs one that wasn't. I know it seems obvious to insulate the water heater for multiple reasons but not every water heater is adequately insulated i.e. tears, holes, etc.)
Posted by: Andrew Klym | April 27, 2008 9:59 PM
All very good suggestions. On the water heater, you could consider an instant hot water heater. Keeping a tank full of water hot is very expensive, and with an instant hot water heater, you never run out of hot water.
Posted by: rob | October 25, 2008 6:57 AM