Residential 1. Set thermostats for low energy use before going to sleep. In cold weather, the way to save energy dollars when you are sleeping is to keep your body warm enough without warming your whole home. Use more blankets or a down comforter during cold weather months.
Try these thermostat settings during sleeping hours:
Winter 55 – 60 degrees
Summer 76 – 78 degrees 2. Set thermostats for low energy use when you are away from home. It does not use more energy to bring your home back to the desired temperature once it has cooled down or heated up than it does to keep it at that temperature level. So in the winter, set back the thermostat to 55 – 60 degrees when you will be gone knowing that you really will be saving energy dollars. During the summer, set the thermostat 5 – 10 degrees higher that when the home is occupied. 3. Consider installing an automatic setback thermostat that adjusts room temperature according to your daily schedule. This makes setting back at bedtime and when you are away from home a breeze. Since the thermostat automatically sets back at night and when you are at work, you don’t have to remember to do it. The other really nice thing about programming in thermostat settings is that you can wake up or come home to a warm house in the winter or a cool house in the summer. If you have a heat pump, be sure to use a thermostat designed specifically for heat pumps. 4. Close the fireplace flue damper and seal the opening shut when not in use. This can be a significant source of energy loss in the home. In addition, an open fireplace is not a good way to heat your home in the winter. Most of the heat goes up the chimney and when the fire is dying down, it can actually draw room heat up the chimney and out of your home. 5. During the heating season, open south-facing window coverings during the day. Close all window coverings at night to keep the heat in. 6. During the cooling season, adjust window coverings to block the sun’s rays. Open windows during the night to let in the cool air. 7. Water heating can be a significant source of the electric use in a home. When doing laundry, use cold water instead of warm or hot. Take shorter showers and use water-saver shower heads. 8. Turn off heating devices such as heat tape, trough tank heaters, engine block heaters and heat lamps or space heaters when they are not needed. They can drive electric use up considerably. 9. Use CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) instead of incandescent bulbs in light fixtures and lamps. They use ¼ of the electricity as a standard bulb.
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