Great Lakes Green Pages

1. Clean your refrigerator coils. Vacuuming the dust out of your refrigerator coils makes it run more efficiently and thus saves energy.  In the summer, your refrigerator will run more and hotter, so this simple thing will help make it run much more efficiently.  Check your seal around the door while you are at it.

2. Watch your water. Turn off the water while shaving and brushing your teeth. Gallons of potable water are flushed down the drain while we brush or shave. If you use hot water, it is even worse as you spend the energy on heating the water as well as the water itself.

3. Use light blocking curtains or shades, and close them during the day.  Simply closing your curtains during the day will help keep your home cool all day long.  Open them in the evening when you are home.  If you are home in the mornings, open the doors and windows and let the cool morning air in.  Once your home is cool and fresh, close it back up while you are out to keep the cool air in.

4. Turn your hot water heater down. I have incrementally turned down our hot water heater several times, and it is barely noticeable.  It is especially easy if you have a dishwasher, as that appliance usually heats up its own water as needed.  In the warm summer months, we take cooler showers anyhow, so even if it is just for the season, try turning the water heater down and save a few bucks on your energy bill.  Put insulating the hot water pipes on your summer “to do” list as well.

5. Check your weather stripping. Replace old worn out weather stripping to create tight seals around windows and doors. Keep the warm air out this summer and  inside this winter.

6. Carpool one day a week. Simple, but true. One day a week could mean a huge impact on your fuel costs. Don’t like to carpool? Try public transportation one day a week. Who knows, maybe you will see that it isn’t so bad-soon you can skip the fuel costs, the parking, the maintenance, just by using the mass transit system in your town.  If it makes more sense, ask your boss about telecommuting one day a week.

7. Wash your clothes in cold water. Clothes rarely get cleaner in hot water.  As a bonus “good for the earth” move, switch to a lower phosphate detergent and cut back on the bleach and fabric softeners.  If you are in the market for a new washer, be sure to look for Energy Star, and my front loader uses about a third of the water my old top loader used to use.

8. Switch out your incandescent light bulbs.  Nothing wastes so much energy as a bunch of light bulbs.  Most of the energy used by traditional bulbs in given off in heat and that is not what you need on a hot Cleveland summer evening.  Whether you prefer LEDs or CFLs, make the switch now and save yourself some bucks.  The long summer days mean you can change these out while it is still daylight.  I changed mine out several years ago and have not replaced a single one.  That alone has made them pay for themselves.

9. Put master strips on major gadgets and appliances. Nearly everything in our home is on a master strip.  It is estimated that home appliances use 75% of the energy that they consume over their lifetime, while turned off.  That “stand by” mode is costing you money.  Unplug your chargers when not in use.  Remember, they continue to draw energy even if your cell phone is not plugged in.

10. Get a programmable thermostat. If you have central air, why are you running it when you are not at home?  This simple $30 investment will pay for itself nearly overnight.  And they will save you even more come winter time.