Category: energy efficiency

The kitchen is the heart of the home and can be the heart of your energy savings. Lighting accounts for 5% of a home’s electricity usage, refrigeration 3%, cooking 1% and dishwashers 1%.

No-cost EE tips

1. Adjust the refrigerator thermostat to the right temperature – do not over cool/freeze.
2. Use lids on pots and pans to boil or cook faster.
3. Do not open the oven door unnecessarily.
4. Use the microwave instead of the oven or stove whenever possible
5. Keep the refrigerator coils clean.
6. Use your dishwasher with a full load and not overloaded.

Low-cost EE tips

1. Replace your old refrigerator. A 10 year old refrigerator could be costing you $110 per year to run. When shopping for a new refrigerator, be sure to buy one rated by Energy Star, which could use less energy than a 60-watt light bulb

See https://www.energystar.gov/products/most_efficient for a listing of the most efficient models.

• And, be sure to apply for your rebate from NJ Clean Energy Program. https://njcleanenergy.com/flip-your-fridge
• Replace incandescent and CFL lightbulbs with the same level of lighting LEDs. LEDs use less energy and last a whole lot longer.  For example, replacing a 60 watt incandescent bulb with a 12 watt LED (which gives the same light level) will save you $5.50 a year and will last 25,000 hours compared to 1,000 for the incandescent bulb.   https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/save-electricity-and-fuel/lighting-choices-save-you-money/how-energy-efficient-light

You might call it the Living Room or the Family Room, but this is where we spend most of our waking hours at home. So it’s a prime area for saving energy while saving money on our energy bills.  An average home in the US uses twice as much energy as it did in 1950. Let’s go back to the good old days by reducing the amount of energy we waste on heating and electronics.

No-cost EE tips

1. Turn your thermostat to a lower temperature while you are sleeping and away from your homes. (There’s no point in heating a space when no one’s around.)
2. Move obstacles away from vents, ducts and registers.
3. Use thermal isolation drapes closed at night and open during the day to let the sun in so that your furnace won’t have to work so hard.
4. Go with President Carter’s recommendation, turn down your thermostat even when you are in the living room and put on a sweater.

Low-cost EE tips

1. Buy a smart thermostat so that you won’t be constantly adjusting the temperature. https://www.energystar.gov/products/heating_cooling/smart_thermostats
2. Use a power strip for your electronic equipment that will make it easy to turn them off and save power when not in use.
3. Buy Energy Efficient appliances.

~ Energy Star SetTop Boxes are about 25% more efficient than conventional models https://www.energystar.gov/products/electronics/set_top_boxes_cable_boxes

~ A 50” Energy Star rated TV could cost less than $17 per year to run.

https://www.energystar.gov/most-efficient/me-certified-televisions

Looking around your bathroom, you may see several appliances that use energy. But there is also less obvious energy use related to water. It takes a lot of energy to move water around from well or other source to your house and then to the wastewater treatment facility. So using less water will save energy. And if that water is heated, you can save even more energy by using less. Water heating is the second largest use of energy in the home account for about 20% of your annual household energy use.

So, here are some water and some non-water Energy Efficiency (EE) tips for your bathroom.  Learn more here: https://greenlivingideas.com/2015/07/10/4-tips-for-energy-efficiency-in-the-bathroom/

No cost EE tips

1. Shut off the fan after it has cleared away the condensation
2. Unplug devices not in use – reduce vampire or phantom loads
3. Use cold water when brushing your teeth and turn off the water
4. Take shorter showers

Low cost EE tips

1. Replace your lightbulbs with efficient LEDs
2. Repair leaky faucets
3. Install a low flow shower head
4. Add an aerator to the bathroom faucets
5. Install a low flow toilet

As Fall arrives, we start turning on our lights for a longer time every day and our heating system begins to kick in. This is the time to think about using efficient lightbulbs, tightening up our homes to prevent leaks, and even considering a new more efficient heating system. USDOE estimates that heating and lighting account for over 45% of your home’s energy use. So taking a few steps now will not only protect the environment, it will leave a little money in your pocket.

Below is a starter list of Energy Efficient measures to consider this Fall. You can find even more fall and winter energy saving tips at these two sites:

https://njcleanenergy.com/misc/residential/energy-saving-tips/fall-savings

https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/fall-and-winter-energy-saving-tips

No-cost/Low-cost EE measures

1. Plug up leaks.  With some simple tools and low cost weather stripping you can reduce your heating cost by 10%. You could have a contractor do these tasks also.
2. Set your thermostat at a lower temperature.
3. Install and use a programable thermostat.
4. Replace inefficient lightbulbs with LEDs
5. Make sure that your heating system is tuned up
6. Change your ceiling fan to go clockwise and help push down the heat down

If you know that your home heating system is outdated and inefficient, now would be a good time to replace it. You can find a contractor and learn about the Warm Advantage Rebate Program here: https://njcleanenergy.com/residential/programs/warmadvantage

If you’re feeling more ambitious, but don’t know where to start you can hire a Home Performance with Energy Star contractor to do a full house assessment: https://njcleanenergy.com/residential/programs/home-performance-energy-star/home-performance-energy-star-r.