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Electric Energy Conservation Tips
- Turn off lights when not in use. Use "task lighting" rather than lighting the whole room unnecessarily for close work.
- Replace incandescent lamps, (ie. regular light bulbs) with compact fluorescent lights. While sometimes more expensive
to purchase, they pay for themselves over time, using 25% of the power and having a life of 7 to 10 times longuer than
incandescent lights. They also generate much less heat which is a big bonus during the summer.
- If you are going to use incandescent lamps, (i.e. regular light bulbs), use them with an electronic light dimmer,
so that when you don't need as much light you can dim the lights and use less power. When set at 50% the dimmer will save
you 40% on your electricity bill. (Does not work for fluorescent lights.)
- Dust your lamps and light fixtures with the power off. Even a thin layer of dust reduced light levels.
- Unless absolutely necessary, use a fan rather than an air conditioner during the summer. Our East-Ouest exposure is ideal
for natural breeze.
- Use window shades to reduce or block sunlight and heat during the summer, particularly if you have windows that receive
direct sunlight.
- Computers and particularly laser printers can really run up your power bills. Keep your printer turned off using the switch
on the printer, when not in use. Some printers take as much power as 660 watts, the same as keeping a small microwave oven
cooking continuously! We all have a tendancy to keep the computer on if we are not using it because we don't want to wait
a couple of minutes to boot up again, but if you are going to be away from the computer for a hour turn it off as you will
save more power in that hour than that used to power one 14 watt compact fluorescent lamp for 24 hours.
- While there are many small items you will not want to ever turn off such as clocks or perhaps your telephone answering
machine, they are costing you too. A 7 watt clock or answering machine, adds up to 0.168 kWh per day (or $1 per month approximately
at $0.22 per KWH). But there are many items which never turn off, they stay in standby mode eating up power. Examples are
TV's, VCRs, DVD players and Cable TV converters. Each of these items eat up power, but by putting them on a power bar with
a power switch (with prices starting at $5 each) you can often save in excess of 0.6 kWh per day (20KWH per month or $4.5).
NOTE: If you have pay-TV services, particularly pay-per-view, you will want to keep your cable television converter powered
up at all times, otherwise the cable company's system may have to reset you as a pay-user each time you turn the power back
on to the converter, though you can put the TV, VCR and DVD on the power bar which you turn off when the equipment is not
in use.
- Thaw, or partially thaw, frozen foods in the refrigerator before cooking.
- Save money by using a microwave oven rather than a regular electric oven/stove if you have a choice. Cooking with a microwave
oven typically uses less than half the energy of an electric stove/oven because it wastes less heat (something to think about
on a hot summer day).
- When replacing appliances, do not only look at the purchase price, compare energy efficiency. A bad choice could cost
you over time.
- Refridgerators: Keep the refridgerator section at between 2C and 5C (36 to 42° F,) and the freezer at -18C (0° F). These
temperatures help ensure food safety, but lowering the temperatures further only wastes power.
- It is important that the refrigerator door closes tightly and forms a tight seal, otherwise, warm air will get in and
the unit will have to work harder to keep things cool, costing more energy. If you can put a piece of paper between the door
and the gasket and can easily pull the paper out when the door is closed, the gasket is probably worn out and should be replaced.
Keep your fridge and the seal around the fridge door clean. Also, don't spent time and waste electricity by "grazing" in front
of the refridgerator with the door open to browse through its contents.
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