Energy saving tips from Sustainable Enterprises

Energy saving tips from Sustainable Enterprises

You’ve heard the usual drivel about raising your thermostat, lowering your thermostat, buying new Energy Star appliances, ad nauseam. Here are some energy saving tips that will really help you out, and cost little or nothing at all. Read tips from members of our Sustainable Enterprises community, or, add your own advice.

Get a computer-controlled thermostat. A good quality, computer controlled thermostat costs as little as $30 and allows you to custom tailor your climate control schedule. If you are using a one-setting thermostat, you are wasting money and energy. Be sure your thermostat has at least four programmable temperature settings per day.

A decent thermostat will not only save you enough money in two months to pay for itself, your house will be more comfortable, too. Thermostats are easy to install; most have only four, color-coded wires. (Be sure to flip off the circuit breaker before making the switch.) The whole process shouldn’t take more than a half-hour.

Don’t run an empty refrigerator. Every time you open the refrigerator or freezer door, precious cold air flows out, down toward the floor (heat rises, cold sinks), the unit must then turn on to chill the warm air which has taken its place. Empty fridges and freezers lose more cold air and ergo, consume more energy than full ones (once completely chilled). This is especially critical in a prolonged power outage.

If you don’t eat enough to keep a full refrigerator, simply take used clear #1 plastic (PET) juice or soda bottles, and fill them with clean water. Fill your freezer first, then your refrigerator. When you open the door, the cold air falls out, but the frozen and chilled bottles remain, easing your refrigerator’s load and lowering your bill. In a prolonged power outage, you can slowly transfer frozen bottles to the refrigerator to maintain food quality. Frozen bottles also work great in ice-chests. (PET bottles are incredibly strong and will withstand dozens of freeze-thaw cycles. However, you must leave some free space at the top the bottle and don’t twist the cap on tight, otherwise the bottle will burst when it freezes.)

Get a clothes line. Drying is the one job in the world which, if not done, will do itself. Clothes will dry, even in damp, cool weather. Tumble dryers beat up your clothes while wasting energy, so your favorite togs do not last as long and your power bill skyrockets. Well-hung laundry often does not need ironing; the wrinkles are pulled out by gravity, offering additional energy savings.

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