If you care about the environment, chances are you try to conserve as much energy as possible. While it’s easy to make small changes, like turning off lights that aren’t in use, or switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, at this time of year conservation can be a little trickier. As the temperatures outside drop, most of our thermostats go up. Here are some helpful, and easy, tips for conserving heating fuel without suffering from hypothermia.

• Keep your thermostat between 65 and 70 degrees when you’re home and awake, and 58 degrees when away for more than two hours. Use more blankets at night to keep your body warm enough without warming your whole home. (Households with elderly residents or very young children should be kept a bit warmer at night, though).

• Lower the thermostats on your water heater to the lowest comfortable level. (A setting of 120 degrees is about right for most people). Each 10-degree decrease saves five percent on water heating costs!

• Seal up any visible cracks and gaps in your house, install adequate insulation, check that ducts are sealed, and choose energy efficient windows when replacing old ones. A home energy auditor can help to identify poorly insulated areas and evaluate the energy efficiency of your home.

• Be sure your attic is properly ventilated, and insulated. A warm attic steals heat from the rest of the house, and does no one any good.

• Keeping your registers or radiators clean can make your home warmer with less energy, and save you money. Dust acts like an insulating blanket, trapping the heat.

• Your radiators will also heat more efficiently if you place a piece of aluminum foil behind each one. The foil reflects heat back into the room, instead of allowing it to be absorbed into the wall.

• To promote cleaner air when burning wood in your fireplace or woodstove, be sure that the wood you use is 100% untreated, has been seasoned for at least nine months, and is not painted.

• On the coldest nights, pull down window shades to keep heat from escaping. During the day, keep blinds and drapes open to let in the sunshine. Keep shrubs around your home trimmed back, so they don’t block the sun from entering your windows.

• Shut off the heat in unused rooms. It’s simple, just shut off the radiator valve or close the vent. Closing off a spare room in winter will be more effective if you stuff a plastic dry cleaner bag under the door to keep the cold air from escaping into the house.

• If you have a fireplace, close the dampers when it’s not in use.

• Insulate your electrical outlets. One of the most overlooked ways cold air can get into your house is through the outlets. Remove the outlet covers and insert insulation pads underneath. Cap off any outlets that are not being used.

Be sure to check for more helpful earth-friendly tips on our Home & Garden page!

Tags: energy, winter, heating, conservation, green, Farmers’ Almanac

By Deborah S. Tukua
www.hollycreekbooks.com

When shopping for a new home appliance it’s a good idea to consider the energy efficiency aspects. Did you know that a front load washing machine is cheaper to run than a top loader? Did you know that laser printers cost more to run than the computer does? An electric hot water heater is the most costly to run, with the laser printer coming in second place. An electric hair dryer costs more to run than the refrigerator and is almost as expensive to run as the oven!

These are the typical annual energy costs of appliances, based on a rate of 6 cents per kilowatt-hour for a family of four living in an 1,800-square-foot home in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s service area. Actual costs may be more or less in your area.

Kitchen
· Blender: 18 kilowatt-hours annual use — $1.10 a year
· Coffee maker: 328 kilowatt-hours annual use — $19.78 a year
· Dishwasher: 195 kilowatt-hours annual use — $11.77 a year
· Electric frying pan: 125 kilowatt-hours annual use — $7.53 a year
· Microwave: 312 kilowatt-hours annual use — $18.84 a year
· Mixer: 7 kilowatt-hours annual use — 40 cents a year
· Cook-top range: 325 kilowatt-hours annual use — $19.62 a year
· Oven: 910 kilowatt-hours annual use — $54.94 a year
· Refrigerator and freezer: 420 kilowatt-hours annual use — $25.36 a year
· Toaster: 57 kilowatt-hours annual use — $3.45 a year
· Toaster oven: 312 kilowatt-hours annual use — $18.84 a year
· Trash compactor: 21 kilowatt-hours annual use — $1.26 a year
· Waffle iron: 312 kilowatt-hours annual use — $18.84 a year

Water heater
· Less than 30 gallons: 3,744 kilowatt-hours annual use — $226.03 a year
· 30-49 gallons: 3,826 kilowatt-hours annual use — $230.98 a year

General appliances
· Clock radio: 2 kilowatt-hours annual use — 10 cents a year
· Large television: 364 kilowatt-hours annual use — $21.97 a year
· Small television: 182 kilowatt-hours annual use — $10.99 a year
· CD, DVD, VCR players: 22 kilowatt-hours annual use — $1.33 a year
· Vacuum cleaner: 218 kilowatt-hours annual use — $13.18 a year
· Hair dryer: 686 kilowatt-hours annual use — $41.44 a year
· Electric shaver: 4 kilowatt-hours annual use — 24 cents a year
· Stereo: 42 kilowatt-hours annual use — $2.51 a year
· Iron: 312 kilowatt-hours annual use — $18.84 a year
· Electric blanket: 117 kilowatt-hours annual use — $7.06 a year
· Curling iron: 18 kilowatt-hours annual use — $1.11 a year

Home office
· Computer: 961 kilowatt-hours annual use — $58.01 a year
· Small-sized printer: 156 kilowatt-hours annual use — $9.44 a year
· Printer, medium: 184 kilowatt-hours annual use — $11.10 a year
· Laser printer, small: 1,173 kilowatt-hours annual use — $70.82 a year
· Laser printer, medium: 1,568 kilowatt-hours annual use — $94.68 a year
· Small multi-function (print, scan, copy, fax): 119 kilowatt-hours annual use — $7.18 a year
· Medium multi-function (print, scan, copy, fax): 171 kilowatt-hours annual use — $10.30 a year

Lighting
· Incandescent bulb (75 watts): 273 kilowatt-hours annual use — $16.48 a year
· Compact fluorescent bulb (20 watts): 73 kilowatt-hours annual use — $4.39 a year

Laundry
· Washer: 118 kilowatt-hours annual use — $7.12 a year
· Dryer: 324 kilowatt-hours annual use — $19.59 a year

Source: TVA energy cost calculator, as published in Times Daily Newspaper.

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