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Energy Saving Tips
Tips for saving energy and money at home, in the office, at school or on the road. The following energy tips can be used to save energy and protect the environment.
Tips for the Home - Winter
Tips for the Home - Summer
- Keep your central air conditioning system well tuned. A well-tuned air conditioning system operates more efficiently, using less energy.
- Closing, or partially closing, blinds and drapes during hot days can reduce air conditioning demand by keeping out sun and heat. Windows facing south let in the most heat.
- Lights, televisions, computers and appliances not only use electricity, they generate heat. Keep them turned off when they are not needed.
- Use appliances such as ovens, dishwashers and clothes dryers early in the day or late in the evening, when temperatures are cooler.
- Use your microwave instead of your stove and oven. It generates less heat.
- Use fans to supplement room or central air conditioning. They do not lower air temperatures, but the breeze they produce makes it feel cooler. Fans use much less electricity than air conditioners.
- Use the exhaust fans in your bathroom sparingly. In just one hour they can remove a houseful of cooled air.Install a ceiling fan. Ceiling fans use about 98 percent less energy than most central air conditioners.
- Put a timer on your room air conditioner, or use a programmable thermostat on your central air conditioner.
- Change the air filter in your furnace each month. Air conditioners use more energy when the filter is full of dust.
- Use a compact fluorescent bulb. It uses about one-fourth the energy an incandescent uses with the same light quality and lasts 10 times as long.
- Low-flow shower heads reduce water use by 50 percent or more - a standard shower head uses about five to seven gallons of water per minute.
- Cool Your World with "ENERGY STAR at Home"
- Energy Savers (USDOE)
- ASE & USDOE Powerful Savings site.
- Alliance to Save Energy - easy tips to save money and the planet.
- DRE3 Residential Site
Tips for your school - Summer
- Turn off all lights that are not needed for security.
In a typical school, lighting accounts for 30% of all electricity used. Turning off lights is one of the simplest ways to save energy over a break – even just a long weekend – and everyone can get involved with helping flip the switches. Summer break can also be a good time to ensure all outside and security lights are correctly timed, so that they only illuminate at night. Summer break may also be a good time to change lamps and clean light fixtures to improve efficiency, or to install efficient LED exit signs.
- Eliminate Unneeded Cooling
As with homes, heating and cooling typically demand the greatest use of energy in schools. With no one around to feel that cool air, it may be possible to shut off the air conditioner. If only a few rooms of the building are being used during the summer months, try to contain these areas - the whole building does not need to be cooled! Another idea is to set the cooling system to “economizer” mode at night to cycle in cool outside air. Thermostat temperature and cooling practices should ultimately be determined by the energy or facilities manager.
- Turn off computers and other equipment.
The typical desktop computer has added a significant load to school energy budgets as new computer labs add many machines. Turned off over a 7 day break rather than being left in "active" on mode all day, one typical computer and monitor would save $2.70 on average in one week. While this may seem inconsequential, multiply that by 100 computers in a school, or 1,000 schools in a district and the savings add up quickly. Institute a policy to turn off monitors when not in use to extend savings throughout the year.
- Remove or unplug all unused equipment.
A long break is a great time to take stock of the appliances that currently inhabit the school, and to get rid of ones that aren’t needed. Staff can be encouraged to take personal items, such as mini-fridges, microwaves, coffee makers, fans, and space heaters, home for the summer. Even if all of the appliances at your school are turned off, chances are that they are still drawing a small amount of energy. This "phantom load," while small (usually around 1-5 watts) for each individual appliance, can quickly add up! Almost any product with an external power supply, remote control, continuous display (including an LED), or that charges batteries will draw power continuously. The best way to zap these loads? Plug your appliances into a power strip, and cut the power with one flick of the strip to "OFF."
- Maintenance, Repairs and Installation of Timers and Other Energy Saving Devices.
Summer break is the perfect opportunity to do a comprehensive cleaning and maintenance of school facilities. Cleaning fans, lights and refrigerator coils may seem inconsequential, but can have a significant effect on the efficiency and life of the device – even in a relatively clean environment such as a school, dirt and dust can reduce output from lamps by as much as 15% a year. Make sure to check for water leaks before summer break as well. Consider installing energy saving devices to reduce energy consumption all year long. Window shades and window film reduce solar heat gain, and thus lower the cooling load during summer months. Timers that shut off equipment (e.g. lights, appliances, heating and cooling equipment, water heaters) when not in use are a great energy-savings investment. Consider turning down the water heater temperature; 130 degrees is a safe and comfortable level. In addition, energy control devices for vending machines average a savings of 50%. Changing five conventional vending machines to ENERGY STAR models with energy saving software typically saves a school around $900 per year!
- More information can be found at the Alliance to Save Energy's Green Schools website.
Tips for the Car
Things To Think About
- Recycling paper saves trees and uses 70% less energy, 60% less water and creates 50% less pollution than making paper from trees.
- Recycling aluminum uses much less energy than making aluminum from aluminum-ore (bauxite) mined from the earth. Recycling just two aluminum cans saves the same amount of energy it takes to power a personal computer for an eight hour work day. Recycling even one aluminum can really does make a difference.
- Using a ceramic coffee mug conserves the amount of energy it would take to manufacture 500 paper cups.
Contact Information
John Davies
Phone: (502) 564-7192
In Kentucky: (800) 282-0868
Fax: (502) 564-7484
E-mail: John.Davies@ky.gov
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