Keep
Cool This Summer and Save With Energy Star
The dog days of summer are here. But the good news is that you still can be cool and comfortable at home while helping our environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers the following summer tips from ENERGY STAR to help you save energy and money.
Chill Out with Energy-Saving Cooling Tips
Here are some ways to save at home this summer and plan for next year:
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Schedule an annual, pre-season maintenance checkup with a licensed contractor to ensure your cooling system is operating efficiently and safely—as well as identify problems early. |
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Check your heating and cooling system's air filter every month, especially during heavy use months. Change it if it looks dirty, at a minimum every 3 months to prevent dust and dirt build up and to avoid expensive maintenance.
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Find and seal leaks in ducts that can reduce the efficiency of your cooling system and contribute to comfort problems. |
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Find and seal leaks in the doors, windows, and outer walls of your home that cause drafts and can make your cooling system work overtime. |
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Adjust your thermostat and use your ceiling fan in the counter-clockwise direction to create a wind-chill effect, making you "feel" cooler for additional energy and dollar savings. But remember, fans cool people, not rooms. So turn the ceiling fan off when you leave the room. |
Want to learn other ways to save energy? Check out ENERGY STAR @ home for more ideas.
Programmable Thermostats Make Summer Savings Simple
Did you know that as much as half of the energy used in your home goes to heating and cooling? Homeowners can save about $180 a year by properly setting their programmable thermostats and maintaining those settings.
The pre-programmed settings that come with ENERGY STAR qualified programmable thermostats are intended to deliver savings without sacrificing comfort. Depending on your family’s schedule, you can see significant savings by sticking with those settings or adjust them as appropriate for your family. The key is to establish a program that automatically reduces heating and cooling in your home when you don’t need as much.
Installing and using an ENERGY STAR qualified programmable thermostat with pre-programmed settings makes savings simple for you so you can stay comfortable, save energy, save money, and help fight global warming all year long.
Visit energystar.gov/pts to learn how to choose a programmable thermostat, set it correctly, and save! Explore the Web page to find helpful information, tools, and a video podcast that can help you learn how to select and use a programmable thermostat in your home. (Taken from Change the World, Start With Energy Star email dated 7/17/08)
ENERGY STAR Launches Home Advisor, Energy Tips
EPA’s new ENERGY STAR Home Advisor online tool offers customized recommendations for homeowners to cut energy use and save money. Users enter their ZIP code, household heating and cooling methods, and water heater type, and the tool provides recommendations for energy efficiency improvements. It also provides a summary of estimated savings (in total energy, electricity, fuel use, and carbon emissions) associated with the recommended measures, based on the typical energy use of homes in the user’s area.
Typical recommendations include sealing air leaks, adding insulation, replacing old heating and cooling equipment, installing a high-efficiency water heater, installing a programmable thermostat, and replacing lights and appliances with ENERGY STAR models.
The ENERGY STAR Home Advisor is available at: www.energystar.gov/homeadvisor
ENERGY STAR has also published a new round of home energy-saving tips for the winter heating season, including tips for renters, a virtual room-by- room tour of energy-saving improvements, and feature stories of homeowners who have saved money through energy efficiency projects.
The tips are available at: http://energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.es_at_home