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CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY TIPS

Energy Guide > Conservation & Efficiency Tips > Learn to Use Appliances Efficiently

LEARN TO USE APPLIANCES EFFICIENTLY

Stoves, washing machines and dryers, microwaves, computers and televisions, among other things, have greatly impacted the way we go about our daily living.

Just imagine less than 100 years ago, and less than 70 years in Sam Houston EC's service territory, simple tasks such as cleaning and cooking were often laborious productions that could only be done by sunlight or candlelight.

Today, these machines not only take the hard labor out of our chores, but also provide us with more time to spend with family and friends as well as entertainment.

However, taking a moment to learn how to use these time and labor saving tools will not only make your life easier, but also let you keep more money in your pocket.

Make Sure Your Energy Usage Goes On Vacation With You

Summer vacations and long holiday weekens are great for getting away from the fast pace of life and recharging your soul. At Sam Houston Electric Cooperative, we want to make sure when you're away for an extended period of time that your home's energy use takes a vacation as well. These simple tips can save you money while you're away.

Air Conditioning

Set the thermostat to 85 degrees. If it is a programmable thermostat, use the “hold” or the “vacation” setting to keep it at that temperature.

Electronics

Computers, CD/DVD players, TVs, and VCRs – these and other electronic appliances use electricity, even when they are not turned on. Unplug them before leaving.

Lighting

You can improve your energy savings, and home's security, by using timers to operate lights each night. And by installing compact fluorescent bulbs, or CFLs, in those lamps, homeowners will be save more energy, up to 66 percent less in each lamp, and the bulb will last approximately 10 times longer than a regular incandescent bulb.

Water Heating

Turn the water heater's temperature down to the lowest setting. Many water heaters have a “vacation” setting for this purpose. Leave a reminder to turn it back up upon returning home.

Waterbed owners should unplug the heater, or at least lower the temperature 10 degrees.
Pool owners should shorten the operating time for the pool filter and automatic cleaning sweep (if applicable). A pool cover can save energy too. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, up to 70 percent of pool heat loss is by evaporation.

Refrigerator

Adjust the refrigerator control to a warmer setting. If going on an extended trip, consider emptying the fridge and turning it off. Remember to leave the door open to prevent mildew.

For more information on how to use your energy more efficiently this summer, and all year round, call your local branch office.

Reduce Your Hot Water Bill

By Chris Dorsi

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, water heating accounts for up to 20 percent of the total utility expense for many U.S. households.

You can save energy and money by learning how this energy is used. Your energy consumption for water heating is divided among three types of use: heating efficiency, standby loss, and hot water consumption. You should apply different conservation measures to reduce each use.

Heating efficiency describes how well your water heater converts electricity or gas into hot water. When you next buy a water heater, study the yellow Energy Guide label that is required on all appliances, and compare the listed Energy Factor (EF) that is used to rate water heaters. Find the highest EF available to identify the most efficient appliances. Better yet, buy an ENERGY STAR rated appliance and you’ll get the most efficient appliance of all.

Standby losses include the heat that goes through the walls of your water heater tank even when no one is using hot water. The best defense against standby loss is a heavily-insulated tank. If you buy a tank with a high Energy Factor, you’re getting the best built-in tank insulation available. If you have an existing water heater that is more than a few years old, the best way to reduce standby loss is by installing an external water heater blanket. If you install a blanket, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions to avoid safety hazards.

Hot water consumption is the water you use at appliances and faucets. Every gallon of hot water you use is replaced by a gallon of cold water in your water heater that must be heated. If you reduce your hot water consumption, you’ll reduce the amount of electricity or gas your water heaters consumes. You can reduce your hot water consumption by installing low-flow showerheads, for a savings of 5 to 10 gallons per shower. You’ll also use less hot water by using the cold-water wash-cycle on your washing machine. Modern soaps do a great job of cleaning clothes without hot water, and you’ll save up to 10 gallons of hot water per cycle.

Plug It In - But Turn It Off

By Chris Dorsi
Computers, printers, air conditioners, TVs, VCRs, DVD and CD players, fax machines, blow dryers, microwaves... We’re more "plugged in" than ever before. By 2015, consumer electronics and small appliances will account for almost 30 percent of all household electricity use.

As the cost of energy continues to increase, the cost for being so plugged in will become more apparent. Average households will spend more than $5,000 on energy in 2006 to power their homes and vehicles, projects the Alliance to Save Energy.

Forgetful?

A programmable thermostat automatically coordinates indoor climates with your daily and weekend patterns. And you don't have to remember to turn the air conditioning or heating off when you won't be home.

Look for the ENERGY STAR label, the symbol for energy efficiency, when shopping for room air conditioners other heating and cooling equipment, major appliances, lighting, home office equipment, windows, and electronics. Find retailers near you by checking online at: http://www.energystar.gov.

Install appropriate insulation for your climate, and seal air leaks to increase your comfort, making your home quieter and cleaner. Do online “window-shopping” at: www.efficientwindows.org. Discover how high-performance Energy Star windows can increase comfort and reduce heating and cooling costs by as much as 30 percent.

Here’s more:

• When refinancing your home, consider including energy-efficiency home improvements. Your interest may be tax deductible.


• Switch to cold water washing of laundry and save up to $63 a year.


• Close blinds or shades on the south- and west-facing windows during the day or install shading devices such as trellises or awnings.


• Turn off everything not in use: lights, TVs, computers.

How Economical Is Your Dishwasher?

By John Krigger

Most of the energy used by dishwashers is actually the energy required for heating the water they consume. So the most efficient dishwashers use less water to do the job.

Most dishwashers available today use booster heaters to add heat to the water that is supplied by the water heater. This helps get your dishes cleaner, and it may kill more germs. But it also allows you to lower the temperature setting on your water heater. With this type of booster, you can lower your current water-heater water temperature to about 120° F and still have clean and sanitary dishes.

Newer dishwashers also use significantly less water than hand washing - as much as one-half less. Like clothes washers, dishwashers conserve energy and water when using their low and medium cycles. Water usage varies from a low of 7 gallons, for the light wash, to a high of 14 gallons for the heavy-duty cycle.

Many of the most efficient dishwashers incorporate soil-sensors to adjust water use depending on how dirty the dishes are in each load washed. An improved dishwasher test procedure, used to provide the information on the EnergyGuide labels, gives a more realistic estimate of the energy consumption of soil-sensing dishwasher models. Be sure to read the EnergyGuide labels whenever you buy a new dishwasher or other appliance.

Recent studies have shown that most new dishwashers do a great job cleaning even the dirtiest dishes without pre-rinsing. In a recent study, dishwashers were compared to doing the job by hand. The dishwasher was more efficient and got the dishes cleaner than its human counterparts.

John Krigger is a nationally recognized author of numerous energy efficiency books, including Surviving the Seasons, and Residential Energy: Cost Savings and Comfort for Existing Buildings.

Efficient Computer Operation

By John Krigger

Most types of computers use similar amounts of electricity. But monitors vary in their consumption depending on their size, with small screens using less. Compare the consumption figures of competing equipment when you next buy computer equipment. And be sure to look for the ENERGY STAR© logo as you shop because this is your assurance that your computer will use the minimum power necessary.

Follow these tips to reduce the energy consumption and operating cost of your computer equipment:

• Activate your computer's sleep setting. This shuts down your computer and monitor after any period of inactivity. This is the single most important step you can take to reduce consumption, since most equipment uses almost no power during sleep.


• If your printer doesn't automatically sleep between jobs, shut it off manually when you're not using it.


• Don't print any more documents than you need to, since printers use electricity, paper, and ink or toner. A computer can save a lot of time and energy if you use it efficiently. Try reading documents on-screen and saving them to electronic files instead of printing and filing unimportant documents.


• If you need to send documents to someone, send an e-mail. It's quicker, it saves energy, and doesn't require postage.

Laundry Day Conservation Tips

Before we had the convenience of electric washers and dryers, laundry day was quite a chore – requiring a great deal of “physical energy.” With today’s appliances, that physical load has been reduced substantially as we allow electricity to perform the majority of the labor.

But there’s no reason to have laundry day consume any more kilowatt-hours of energy than necessary to get the job done. Here are some tips to help keep the load on your meter at a minimum.

Do Phantom Loads Haunt Your Home?

Many devices in your home consume electricity even when they appear to be off. These phantom energy wasters include instant-on TVs, microwave clocks, VCR displays, telephones, and computer peripherals. Phantom, or standby, loads, add up to a huge waste of electricity in the U.S. that costs consumers more than a billion dollars per year and many billions of kilowatt-hours. The total phantom load in most American homes varies from 1.5 to 4 kilowatt-hours per day, or several dollars per month for most families.

One way you can eliminate phantom loads like TVs, stereos, VCRs, and computer externals like printers is by plugging them into a plug strip that is equipped with its own power switch. Simply switch the power strip on and off when you need to use the appliance. For appliances that have remote controls, this method will disable the unit's remote control until you turn the power on, though it will operate normally after you turn the power on. Note also that any appliance that has a cube-shaped transformer on the end of its cord is creating a phantom load. That's why these transformers feel warm even when the device is off.

In July of 2001, President Bush signed an executive order directing federal agencies to buy appliances that consume less than one watt of standby power. In doing so, the federal government hopes to stimulate manufacturers to produce appliances with minimal phantom loads. Consumers can benefit from these low-consumption appliances by always looking for the ENERGY STAR© label when buying appliances.

John Krigger is a nationally recognized author of numerous energy efficiency books, including Surviving the Seasons, and Residential Energy: Cost Savings and Comfort for Existing Buildings.

How Much Electricity Do Your Appliances Use?

Many factors may affect how much electricity an appliance uses. Where it's located, your home wiring and how the appliance is used can all make a difference in how much it costs to run it. However, there are a couple of standards you can go by to help you understand how to run your appliances and electric equipment as efficiently as possible.

The cost of your electric bill is determined by measuring the kilowatt-hours you use. For example, one kilowatt-hour is equal to operating a 100-watt light bulb for 10 hours. Large appliances generally use more kilowatt-hours than smaller ones.

The key to saving electricity is to use large appliances as efficiently as possible. For example:

• Cook several dishes in the oven at once.
  
• Avoid repeatedly opening and closing the refrigerator.
  
• Wash and dry full laundry loads in cold or warm water-not hot.
  
• Clean your refrigerator condenser every three months.
  
• Remember to turn off all appliances when not using them.
  
• Unplug appliances you don't use frequently. Even in the off position, appliances use some electricity when plugged in.
  
• Don't use appliances such us your electric oven to heat your home.

By keeping these principles in mind and following these tips for maximum efficiency, you can really save on your electric bill!