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| Energy Saving Tips
Reducing your energy usage is the easiest way to save money on your electric bill. Our energy saving tips will show you how to cut your energy use while staying comfortable. Click on the links below for more information.
More information on saving energy is available on the U.S. Department of Energy's ENERGY SAVER$ website.
Turn on the Savings!
An ENERGY STAR qualified light bulb uses up to 75% less energy and lasts up to 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb - saving around $40 in electricity costs during its lifetime. Get your CFLs for as little as 99 cents each at participating retailers, while supplies last. Learn more at www.focusonenergy.com/brightsavings .
Energy savings for your home office
If you use your office to telecommute, you don’t want to spend the money you save on gas to power the room. Follow these simple home office makeover tips to save energy and money.
- Use a smart strip. Even when peripherals like scanners and printers, aren’t in use, a current of electricity – called a phantom load – is flowing through them. Rather than let energy and money go to waste, plug your computer accessories into a “smart” power strip that senses when appliances aren’t in use and shuts the power off completely.
- Power down. Though you may have heard turning a computer on and off wastes more energy than just leaving it on, it’s not true. There’s a small surge of electricity every time you switch a computer on, but it doesn’t compare to the amount flowing through it over an extended period. For energy savings, turn off the monitor if you’ll be away from your computer for more than 20 minutes. When you’ll be away for more than two hours, turn off the computer itself.
- Go for a laptop. Buying a new computer? Opt for a laptop. It consumes only 15 watts of electricity while a desktop uses nearly 130. If your work requires a desktop computer, look for the ENERGY STAR® label.
- Turn off overhead lights. Use table and floor lamps with compact fluorescent lights, rather than unnecessary overhead lights, to illuminate your workspace. With task lighting, you’ll brighten essential work areas and save energy.
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Many summer energy-saving measures can be done at little or no cost. Here are some additional tips to help you keep your cool:
- Set the thermostat at 78 degrees when you are at home and higher when you are away.
- Install a ceiling fan to create a breeze and keep the air circulating throughout the room. Be sure to turn the fan off when you are not in the room to save energy – fans cool people, not rooms.
- Don’t forget to regularly replace air conditioning filters. A dirty filter will slow down air flow and make the system work harder—wasting energy.
- Close drapes or shades during the day to block the sun. Open them at night to let the heat escape through the windows.
- Plant shade trees to provide cover for your air conditioner and windows that face the south or west. A well-placed shade tree can help reduce air conditioning costs in the summer, increase the efficiency of your air conditioner, and act as a windbreak. Right now, we’re giving cash rebates equal to 50% of the price of a new tree, up to $50 per shade tree. Learn more about our Tree Power program.
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