More Conservation Tips

It’s cheaper to save energy than to make energy.  No cost and Low Efficiency Tips

 

Turn water heater down to 120 F (49C)

Clean refrigerator coils with vacuum

Switch refrigerator to power miser settings (if available)

Set it to 36-39F (2-3C)

Set freezer to 0-5 F (-18 to –15 C)

Keep refrigerator/freezer FULL (freeze or keep water cold)

Turn off water while shaving and brushing teeth

Use cold water for wash; wash full loads

Collect rainwater

Use the right size pot/pan when cooking

Drain some water from your hot water tank to remove sediment

WINTER TIPS

Turn down Thermostat 10 degrees F (5.5C) at night

Turn down thermostat 10 degrees when leaving for 4 or more hours

Keep curtains open on south side of the house during the day

Keep curtains closed on north windows

Dress in layers of clothing

SUMMER TIPS

Close curtains on sunny sides of home

Turn off furnace pilot light

Open windows on cool sides of home

Wear loose, light colored clothing

Use fans to circulate air in home

LOW COST TIPS

Install low flow Shower heads and aerators on faucets

Insulate water heater

Insulate covers for electrical outlets and switches

Caulk on the inside of doors and windows

Insulate/caulk all pipe penetrations in walls and ceiling

Replace furnace filter every month in winter

Replace light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs

Purchase a water saving toilet or use toilet dams

Make a draft dodger for use on doors and windows

Conservation Tips

It’s more efficient to save energy than to make energy. 

 

Every day you make tons of decisions that decide how much energy you consume. Want to consume

less and reduce your carbon footprint? Try these!

(1) Turn the thermostat down by 2 degrees in the winter. Reduce CO2 emissions by 0.62%.

(2) Stay in town for the weekend. Drive 100 fewer miles per week and reduce CO2 emissions by 4.11%.

(3) Replace the incandescent light bulbs in your house with compact florescent ones. These use less energy and last

longer and cut down on CO2 emissions. It’s a win-win-win situation.

(4) Dry your clothes outside on a clothesline or inside on a rack instead of putting them in the dryer.

(5) Only turn lights on in the evening or early morning when the sun doesn’t come in through the windows. Turn lights

 off as you leave rooms.

(6) Going on vacation? Make sure the heat or A/C is turned down and the water heater is turned off before leaving.

(7) Use cold water when doing laundry whenever possible.

(8) Carpool next time you and your friends are going somewhere together. You’ll save gas by not driving multiple cars!

(9) Unplug! Unplug power strips and appliances that you don’t use that often or only at certain times of the day (chargers,

cordless tools, etc). Even though they may be turned off, the “standby” energy used is equal to that of a 75 watt light bulb

running continuously.

(10) Enable the "sleep mode" feature on your computer, allowing it to use less power during periods of inactivity. In

Windows, the power management settings are found on your control panel. Mac users, look for energy saving settings under

system preferences in the apple menu.

(11) Configure your computer to "hibernate" automatically after 30 minutes or so of inactivity. The "hibernate mode" turns

the computer off in a way that doesn't require you to reload everything when you switch it back on. Allowing your computer to

 hibernate saves energy and is more time-efficient than shutting down and restarting your computer from scratch.

 

Water Conservation

Though the majority of planet earth is water (look at a map and you can clearly see how many bodies

 of waters there are!), only 3% of it can be used as drinking water. Let’s do something now to ensure

this lasts us!

 

(12) Shorten your showers to less than 10 minutes. Already doing it in less than 10 minutes? Make it 7.

(13) Turn off the water while you're brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing your face.

(14) Leaky faucet or shower head? A dripping faucet can waste up to 2,000 gallons/7,600 liters of water a year. Check the

plumbing in your house and repair the leaks as soon as possible.

(15) Ask your parents if they’d like to invest in low-flush toilets, shower heads and faucet aerators. You’ll save

thousands of gallons of water each year and your parents’ water bill will be lower!

(16) Call your water utility and ask for a copy of their latest water quality report. Public water utilities regularly test the

quality of the drinking water they provide to customers.

(17) Reduce your use of pesticides and fertilizers, and look for safer alternatives to control weeds and bugs. Lawn and

garden pesticides and fertilizers can pollute the water. Some alternative are geraniums to repel Japanese beetles; garlic and

mint to repel aphids; and marigolds to repel whiteflies.

(18) Never water at the hottest time of day or when it's windy to make the most of the water you use outdoors. Turnoff

your sprinklers when it’s raining. On average, 50% - 70% of household water is used outdoors for watering lawns and gardens.

(19) Have a garden? Use mulch. It helps to conserve water by holding moisture in the earth longer.

 

Pollution Prevention

We all know that we are supposed to reduce, reuse, and recycle, but what exactly does that mean? It’s

not just putting your soda bottles out every week and using grocery bags as lunch bags. Here are some

 other ideas that are easy enough for you to do and encourage others to do as well.

(20) Reuse bags and containers. brown paper bags are great for wrapping packages. Wash out plastic containers and glass

jars you buy food in and use them as Tupperware.

(21) Use old newspapers as wrapping paper and jazz it up with pretty ribbon or a bow. If you’re lucky you might get

Sunday’s color comic section.

(22) Donate old clothes and toys to a local shelter or second hand store like Goodwill or Salvation Army. Remember,

one person’s trash is another person’s treasure!

(23) Organize an in-home recycling center and teach your family how to use it. Have separate bins for glass, plastics, and

 newspaper/cardboard. Make a deal with your family that if they put their recyclables in the bins that you’ll take them to the curb.

(24) Be fancy! Replace the use of paper napkins at dinnertime with cloth napkins. You can wash these a couple of times a week, or whenever

 they are dirty. Use dish towels to wipe up messes instead of paper towels. These, too, will help cut down on the amount of garbage your household

produces.

(25) Choose paper over plastic for your party. Having people and want to use disposable plates and cups? Skip the plastic and get paper ones.

These break down easier in the environment and don’t deplete the ozone layer as much (although it’s better to nix the disposables and use

washables!).

(26) Ask the dry cleaners if they will take back their wire hangers and use them again. Or even keep them for yourself and put them to good

 use.

(27) Grocery Store Cashier: "Paper or plastic?" You: "Neither!" When grocery shopping, take your own reusable canvas or cloth bags (or ask

your parents to).

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