Sustainable Ewing Green Team

According to the USDOE, heating accounts for almost 50% of the average NJ home’s energy use.  Over 80% of home heating in NJ is with natural gas, 12% electric and the rest oil or propane.

No-cost EE tips

1. Move obstacles away from vents and registers. Keep them clean.
2. Run your ceiling fan counter-clockwise to move the heat down from the ceiling to the floor.
3. Open the drapes during the day to let the sun heat in and close them at night to reduce the chill.
4. Lower your thermostat to 68^o F while awake and lower when asleep or away.  You save between 1% to 3% for every 1 degree lower you set your thermostat.  This can save you up to 10% on your heating bill or about $80 per year.

Low-cost EE tips

1. Perform routine annual maintenance on your heating system in the fall before winter use.
2. Change the filter on your heating system and humidifier, either when dirty or every 3 months.
3. Buy and use a programable thermostat
4. Seal up any drafts.  This could save you up to 20% on your heating bill or about $160 per year.
5. Add insulation.
6. Replace an older inefficient heating system with a new efficient system. (Tune in tomorrow for more tips on heating systems)

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