posted Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:07 p.m. More tips courtesy of Xcel Energy Have Your Furnace Regularly Maintained By A Professional
Regular furnace maintenance can reduce energy costs between $18 and $60 each winter with an 80 percent efficient furnace in a 1,600-squarefoot home.
Keep Your Fireplace Damper Closed
Keep your fireplace damper closed when not in use to prevent up to 5 percent heat loss. When using the fireplace, turn down your thermostat and open a window near the fireplace to prevent warm air from being pulled from other areas of your house.
Seal Duct Leaks
Seal leaky ducts with mastic, metal-backed tape or aerosol sealant. This will reduce heat loss when your furnace is on and may last longer than duct tape.
Use A Programmable Thermostat
This device can save as much as 20 percent on heating costs by automatically turning your heating system up or down to coincide with your daily routine. For example, set your thermostat to 60 degrees for the night and while you are away.
Keep Your Furnace or Heat Pump Filter Clean
Dirty filters reduce airflow, making your equipment work harder and use more energy. Replace your furnace filter monthly during the heating season, and you could reduce heating costs by 5 percent.
Open Inside Doors To Improve Air Circulation
Keep the doors inside your home open to improve air circulation and the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems.
Use Ventilation Fans Only As Needed
Don't forget to turn off a kitchen or bathroom ventilation fan. In just an hour, all the heated air in your home can be drawn out through an exhaust vent.
Use Passive Solar Heating On Sunny Days
Open drapes on south-facing windows when it is sunny. At night, close drapes to retain heat. Close drapes to provide insulation where windows receive no direct sunlight. Up to 15 percent of your heat can escape through unprotected windows.
Choose High-Efficiency Furnace And Boiler Systems
The furnaces with the highest efficiency ratings, 90 percent or more, use approximately 15 percent less energy than other models. You could save as much as $100 each heating season with a high-efficiency natural gas furnace.
Lower Your Thermostat Setting
Reduce indoor thermostat temperature from 72 to 68 degrees during the heating season to save 5 percent on heating costs.
Ensure Your Home Is Properly Insulated
Poor or no insulation means losing up to 25 percent of your heating energy. Your attic needs at least six inches of insulation. Insulate crawl spaces, walls, floors and heating ducts to save money and increase your comfort.
Plant Trees For Shade
Deciduous trees ? those that produce leaves in the spring and lose them in the fall ? shade your house from the sun during summer and let the sun warm your house in winter. Shading your home could save up to 8 percent on cooling costs.
Change Your Air Conditioning Filter
Clean or replace your central air conditioner's (AC) filter monthly during the cooling season to improve efficiency and the life of your AC.
Consider A Whole House Or Attic Fan
Through your open windows, a whole house or attic fan draws cool nighttime air in and forces out hot air that built up during the day. These fans work best in drier climates.
Use Ceiling Fans To Cool Your House
The most efficient ceiling fans cost as little as 30­cents a month if used eight hours a day. A window air conditioner can cost 50 times as much as a fan.
Raise Your Thermostat Setting
You can save approximately $100 in a summer by raising your thermostat's temperature from 72 to 78 degrees.
Open Windows On Cool Nights
On cool days and nights, turn off your air conditioner and open your windows. Don't open windows when the outside temperature is warmer than the inside of your house.
Keep Air Conditioner Coils Dust-Free
Keep the coils of your central air conditioner and/or window AC unit free of dust and dirt to increase efficiency and lifetime use. Coils are usually on the back of window AC units.
Match The Output Of Your AC To The Space You Cool
When you buy an air conditioner ? central air or a window unit ? make sure the output of the system is right for the size of the room or the size of your house to ensure efficiency and comfort. Check the manufacturer's recommendations or consult with a reputable AC vendor in advance to ensure proper sizing.
Use a Programmable Thermostat
This device can save as much as 12 percent on cooling costs by automatically turning your cooling system up or down to coincide with your daily routine. For example, set your temperature to 85 degrees when you're away.
Provide Shading For Your Air Conditioning Condenser
Your central air conditioner's condenser works more efficiently at cooler temperatures. Provide shade around your air conditioner to reduce your cooling costs by nearly 3 percent.
Repair Leaky Faucets
One drop per second from a leaky faucet wastes up to 400 gallons of water a year. Not only is water being wasted, but so is the energy used to heat the water.
Choose Low-Flow Showerheads And Faucets
Low-flow showerheads and faucets can reduce water consumption by as much as 10 percent. You also save on the energy used to heat water and won't notice any difference in water pres­sure. With four people in a home, you can save as much as 15,000 gallons of water in a year when you install these water-saving devices.
Insulate Water Heater And Hot Water Pipes
If your water heater and hot water pipes are warm to the touch, insulation could reduce heat loss and water heating costs.
Set Your Water Heater At 120 Degrees
Overheating your water, beyond 120 degrees, can be wasteful and unsafe. By lowering your water temperature to 120 degrees or less, you can save up to $25 annually if you use an electric water heater or $18 annually if you use a gas water heater.
Drain Sediment From Your Water Heater Tank
Sediment, a by-product of water heating, obstructs the transfer of heat. Draining sediment every six months improves water heater efficiency and reduces energy usage.
Take A Short Shower Instead Of A Bath
Every minute you cut from your shower time saves three gallons of water and the energy used to heat the water. You'll save hundreds of gallons of water a year taking showers over baths, and you'll save the energy to heat all that wasted water.
Turn Your Water Heater Down When You Leave Town
Going on vacation? Turn your water heater down to the lowest setting. Before you go, leave yourself a reminder note to turn your water heater back up when you return.
Choose A High-Efficiency Water Heater
High-efficiency water heaters can be more expen­sive than standard models. However, the payback period for a natural gas water heater is less than 2.5 years on a 12-year lifespan. An electric water heater has a 10-year payback on a 25-year life.
Clean Your Refrigerator Coils
Once a year, pull out your refrigerator and clean or dust the coils located on the back of the refrigerator. Clean coils help the compressor cool faster and run less frequently, which extends the life of your refrigerator and reduces energy use.
Cover Refrigerated Foods
Covered foods reduce power consumption by limiting moisture evaporation into the air. Moist air takes more energy to cool than dry air, forcing the compressor to work harder. Plus, your refrigerator will smell better.
Set Your Refrigerator At The Right Temperature
Your refrigerator temperature should be set between 34 and 37 degrees and your freezer at 5 degrees. Not only are these the safest temperatures for food storage, but most refrigerators are manufac­tured to operate most efficiently at these settings.
Buy The Smallest Freezer You'll Need
Because a freezer operates most efficiently when full, buy the smallest freezer you think you will need. Clean the coils on the back once every year.
Consider A High-Efficiency Refrigerator
Top-freezer models use 7 percent to 13 percent less energy and are usually less expensive than side-by-side models. Automatic icemakers and through-the-door dispensers increase energy use by 14 percent to 20 percent.
Choose A Gas Range With Pilotless Ignition
Pilotless ignition eliminates the need for the pilot light to burn continuously, reducing your natural gas usage.
Keep Oven Door Closed
Every time you open the oven door, the oven temperature can drop 25 degrees. Use the oven light or a timer to avoid wasting energy.
Defrost Food Before Cooking And Pre-Heat Only For Baking
Save 30 percent to 50 percent on cooking costs by defrosting your food before cooking  your food will cook faster. Pre-heating is important for baking, but if you're re-heating a casserole or cooking a roast, pre-heating isn't necessary.
Use Lids And Turn Off Electric Burners Early
Use lids to trap steam and help food cook faster. If you're cooking with an electric range, you can turn off the burners a few minutes early because the burners retain heat.
Retain Oven Heat With A Good Door Seal
Gently clean the seal on your oven door with kitchen degreaser to ensure that it retains the maximum amount of heat when baking.
Use Small Appliances
Use an electric skillet, broiler oven, or toaster oven instead of your conventional oven for cooking and baking small quantities. These may use just half the energy.
Use Heat-Producing Appliances When It's Cooler
To keep your home cooler during summer, use heat-producing appliances at cooler times of the day, such as early morning and at night. On warm days, instead of using your range or oven, use your toaster oven, microwave and outdoor grill to keep your home cool and use less energy.
Run Your Dishwasher Only When It's Full
Get in the habit of running your dishwasher only when it's full to maximize energy use.
Scrape, Don't Rinse Your Dishes
Scrape your dishes instead of rinsing to save water and the energy needed to heat the water.
Air-Dry Your Dishes, Even In The Dishwasher
Air dry the dishes or use the unit's energy-saving features. Avoid using the heat-dry, rinse-hold and pre-rinse features.
Choose A High-Efficiency Dishwasher
High-efficiency dishwashers, such as those with internal water heaters and load sensors, use 25 per­cent less energy than conventional models. You can save up to $30 a year by replacing a 10-year­old dishwasher with a high-efficiency model.
Run Full Loads Of Laundry And Shorten Wash Cycles
Run full loads of laundry to maximize energy and water use. In addition, most loads require only an eight- to 12-minute wash cycle. Use your custom load feature to reduce wash time.
Wash Clothes In The Coolest Water Possible
About 80 percent of the cost to run your washer is used for heating the water. Except for all-white loads, there is little benefit to washing with hot water.
Dry Loads Back-to-Back
Since your dryer retains heat, dry several loads in a row. You can reduce the heat level on the last load or two. Dry your lightweight items together, using a lower heat setting for less time.
Clean Your Dryer Filter And Exhaust Vent
Regularly clean out your dryer filter and exhaust vent. When they become clogged with lint, your dryer works harder and uses more energy.
Use The Auto-Dry Feature
Newer dryers have moisture sensors to determine when clothes are dry. Use this feature to avoid over-drying and reduce dry time.
Choose A Natural Gas Dryer
A natural gas dryer operates at half the cost of an electric dryer, and could save a household of four more than $50 a year.
Choose A High-Efficiency Clothes Washer And Dryer
High-efficiency washers use half the water of standard models, which can be as much as 7,500 gallons a year. High-efficiency clothes dryers can save up to 30 percent in energy use over a standard model.
Turn Off Lights When You Leave A Room
Every time you turn off lights when they're not needed, you're saving energy and money. Keeping one 75-watt bulb off for one hour per day saves $2.15 per year.
Install Dimmers And Motion Sensors Where Possible
Dimmer switches can increase bulb life up to 20 times longer if dimmed to half the brightness. Motion sensors give you light when you need it.
Use Three-Way Bulbs To Increase Light And Reduce Energy
Three-way bulbs reduce energy use by providing the right amount of light where it's needed, instead of overlighting with a single high-wattage bulb.
Install Motion Detector Lights For Outdoor Lighting
Motion detectors put light where you want it, for brief periods of time, to provide safety and security for your property.
Install Compact Fluorescent (CFL) Bulbs Where You Can
Over the life of one CFL bulb you will save approximately $25. Just a handful around the house, and you could notice a difference in your energy bills. They cost a bit more, but you'll change them less often, and they produce little or no heat.
Install Window Coverings To Insulate Your Home
During winter days, open curtains, blinds and shades to heat your home with solar power. Close them at night to retain that heat.
Seal Household Window Drafts
Older homes, in particular, can benefit during winter from covering windows with plastic film. Home improvement stores carry these easy-to­install window-sealing kits. You'll block out drafts and could save more than $40 on your energy bill in one heating season.
Control Air Leaks In Your Home
Plug gaps around pipes, ducts and vents that go through walls to prevent losing heated air and having cold air drawn in to replace it. Caulk or seal plumbing and wiring holes at ceiling level. Add weather-stripping to doors and windows for the most cost-efficient way to protect your home. Comments

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