Going Green

courtesy:www.coned.com



Overview

1. Americans spend more than $160 billion a year to heat, cool, light, and live in their residences.

2. Heating and cooling use more energy and drain more energy dollars than any other systems in your home.

3. Typically, 45% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling.

4. Heating and cooling systems in the United States emit 150 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, adding to global climate change.

5. Heating and cooling systems generate about 12% of the nation's sulfur dioxide and 4% of the nitrogen oxides, the chief ingredients in acid rain.

6. Save 20% to 30% on energy bills with energy-efficiency improvements.

7. Cut your energy use and reduce emissions from 20% to 50% with proper insulation, air sealing, and thermostat settings.





Appliances

8. Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power even when they are switched off. Unplug appliances after use.

9. The lower the wattage or amperage, the less energy consumed.

10. Replace older appliances with Energy Star-qualified appliances; they use less energy and can save you money.

11. Appliances account for about 20% of your household's energy consumption.

12. Learn more about Energy Star-qualified appliances at www.energystar.gov.

13. Use energy-saving settings on all appliances.

14. Electric kettles use less energy than stovetop kettles.

15. Run the dishwasher only when it's full.

16. 60% to 80% of the power used by a dishwasher just heats water.

17. Run your clothes washer only with a full load of laundry.

18. An Energy Star washer can save more water than one person drinks in a lifetime.

19. Wash your laundry with cold water to save energy and money.

20. U.S. households spend up to $135 per year in energy costs drying clothes.

21. Gas dryers are more efficient than electric ones.

22. Overloading the dryer makes it work harder.

23. Front loaders generally conserve water and are more efficient.

24. Dryers with cool-down or perm-press cycles use cool air during the last few minutes; this saves energy.

25. Refrigerators, clothes washers, and clothes dryers are at the top of the energy-consumption list.

26. A dirty lint filter can use 30% more energy.



Air Conditioners

27. Air conditioning accounts for about 56% of your energy use.

28. Set your AC to 78 degrees. 75 degrees costs 18% more, and 72 degrees costs 39% more.

29. Keep air-conditioner filters clean.

30. Air-conditioner capacity should be the right amount for the size of the room.

31. Look for an air conditioner with built-in timers and thermostats.

32. In winter, close the air-conditioning unit, unplug, and cover.

33. For air conditioners, look for a high Seasonal Energy-Efficiency Ratio (SEER). The current minimum is 13 SEER for central air conditioners. Energy Star models are 13 SEER or more.



General Home Care

34. Energy-efficient homes are less costly to own, operate, and maintain, and they are more comfortable.

35. In the winter, set your thermostat at 68 degrees during the day and 60 degrees at night.

36. Inspect your cooling system in the spring and heating system in the fall.

37. Regularly clean or replace your furnace, air conditioner, and heat-pump filters.

38. Close curtains during hot summer months to block the sun.

39. Every year, more than $13 billion worth of energy leaks from homes through small holes and cracks. That’s more than $150 per family.

40. Seal drafty windows, doors, and holes around plumbing fixtures.

41. Water heaters consume 85% to 90% of the energy used to wash your clothes.

42. Turn down your water heater to the "warm" setting (120 degrees).

43. Turn off kitchen, bath, and other exhaust fans within 20 minutes after cooking or bathing.

44. Replace older exhaust fans with high-efficiency, low-noise models.

45. One thousand watt-hours equals 1 kilowatt-hour, or 1 kWh.

46. The average residential rate is 8.3 cents per kWh.

47. A typical U.S. household consumes about 11,000 kWh per year, costing an average of $900 annually.

48. A refrigerator uses almost five times more electricity than a television.

49. Across America, home refrigerators use the electricity generated by 25 large power plants every year.

50. Every time you open the refrigerator door, up to 30% of cold air escapes.

51. Position refrigerators away from direct sunlight and heat sources.

52. Pack items tightly in freezer.

53. Make sure rubber gaskets on refrigerator doors provide a tight seal.

54. Clean coils and remove dust from behind the refrigerator.

55. Recycling one aluminum can save enough energy to watch television for three hours.



Lighting

56. If we changed an incandescent light bulb for every child in America, it would prevent more than 30 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions and save enough money to light more than 15 million homes for an entire year.

57. Making improvements to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills.

58. Look for the Energy Star label when purchasing lighting products.

59. Turn off lights when not home and buy a timer to turn them on 1/2 hour before returning home.

60. Lighting accounts for about 20% of the average home’s electric bill.

61. The average home has about 30 light fixtures.

62. Keep fixtures clean.

63. By using new lighting technologies, you can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50% to 75%.

64. Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents (CFLs). They use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer.

65. Exterior lighting is one of the best places to use CFLs because of their long life.

66. Use brighter bulbs for reading and work areas; use 25- to 40-watt bulbs where only some light is needed.

67. Consider using 4-watt minifluorescent or electro-luminescent night lights.

68. Use dimmers.

69. Turn off the lights in any room you're not using, or consider installing timers, photo cells, or sensors to save money.

70. Instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where you need it.

71. Use fluorescent under-cabinet lighting for kitchen sinks and countertops.

72. Three-way lamps make it easier to keep lighting low when brighter light is not necessary.

73. Use four-foot fluorescent fixtures with reflective backing and electronic ballasts for your workroom, garage, and laundry areas.

74. You can save about $35 annually if you replace four standard incandescent lamps with CFLs.

75. Properly recessed down lights or high hats can now be used in retrofits or new construction with CFLs.

76. Take advantage of daylight by using light-colored, loose-weave curtains on your windows to allow daylight to penetrate the room while preserving privacy.

77. Decorate with lighter colors that reflect daylight.

78. Replace torchiere fixtures with halogen lamps with compact fluorescent torchieres.

79. Compact fluorescent torchieres use 60% to 80% less energy. They produce more light and produce less heat.



Outdoor Lighting

80. Use outdoor lights with a photocell unit or a motion sensor so they go on only at night or when someone is present.

81. A combined photocell and motion sensor will increase your energy savings even more.

82. Turn off decorative outdoor natural gas lamps; just eight such lamps burning year round use as much natural gas as it takes to heat an average-size home all winter.

83. Try outdoor solar lighting systems. They convert sunlight into electricity.

84. If you live in a cold climate, buy a lamp with cold-weather ballast, since standard CFLs may not work well below 40 degrees.

85. Consider high-intensity discharge (also called HID) or low-pressure sodium lights.



Computers

86. Turn off your computer monitor when not in use for more than 20 minutes.

87. Turn off your computer when not in use for more than two hours.

88. Unplug your cell phone and blackberry chargers when they're not being used.

89. A laptop uses half the energy of a desktop computer.

90. Use a power strip/surge protector for your computer, monitor, printer, and other computer accessories.

91. To maximize savings with a laptop, put the AC adapter on a power strip that can be turned off or that will turn off automatically.

92. Turn off the switch on the power surge strip when the equipment is not in use.

93. Using rechargeable batteries for products like cordless phones and PDAs is more cost effective than throwaway batteries.

94. An Energy Star computer uses 70% less electricity.

95. If left inactive, Energy Star computers enter a low-power mode and use 15 watts or less.

96. Working in low-power mode saves energy, and helps equipment run cooler and last longer.

97. Screen savers on monitors do not reduce energy.

98. Switch to the sleep mode or manually turn monitors off to save energy.

99. Inkjet printers consume less electricity than laser printers.



Visit

100. Visit the following sites for more information: