Tips for Energy and Water Conservation
- How Energy is Used At Home
- Where Energy is Used At Home
- Making a Plan To Save Energy
- Energy Tips for Apartment Dwellers and Students
- Summer Energy Tips
- Winter Energy Tips (Use Less = Cost Less)
- Water Conservation
- Reducing Your Sewer Rate by Conserving Water
- Energy Tips for Businesses
Energy Advisor - Find the best ways to save energy in YOUR Home. This web site is designed to help consumers identify the best ways to save energy in their homes, and find the resources to make the savings happen. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Energy Efficiency - The U.S. Department of Energy's consumer guide to energy efficiency.
How Energy Is Used At Home
- Energy use can vary widely from house to house in Tallahassee.
- Newer homes tend to show lower usage than older homes.
- Shaded homes usually use less cooling energy in summer, but more heating energy in winter.
- Larger families use proportionally more energy than smaller families for water heating, clothes washing, cooking and clothes drying.
- However, costs for heating and cooling a home or apartment are often the same whether you're home or at work, unless you choose different thermostat settings while you're at work.
- Likewise, costs for heating and cooling a home or apartment are often the same for one occupant or many. The cost to cool a vacant apartment is about the same as for the same apartment occupied by one student, or two students, or three students, and so forth. Cooling costs reflect house or apartment size, equipment efficiency and thermostat settings; cooling costs do not usually reflect the number of occupants.
- Different families in similar homes with similar equipment can have very, very different overall home energy costs because of differing appliance use habits and differing thermostat settings.
Where Energy Is Used In The Home
The following electric energy use pattern is fairly common in many Tallahassee homes (all-electric homes heated and cooled with an electric heat pump).
- Heating or cooling the house - 60%
- Water heating - 15%
- Refrigeration - 13%
- Everything else (TV, lights, washer, dryer, cooking, etc.) - 12%
As you can see, the greatest opportunities for energy reduction are in heating and cooling the house.
Making A Plan To Save Energy
Make sure that all members of your household understand that saving energy is important.
Settings at your central thermostat are critical. Post a written reminder at the thermostat, for example:
- Summer 78 degrees (80 when away)
- Winter 68 degrees (65 at night)
Discuss household energy practices. Place written reminders in prominent places (like the refrigerator). Get everyone on board with the effort.
To see how you're doing, keep a written chart! Compare kilowatt-hour usage on bills from month to month, and compare the same month one year ago. Write it down! This really works.
Energy Tips for Apartment Dwellers
Helpful advice to apartment dwellers, especially students and others with their first-ever utility account!
- Don't think of it as the "Light Bill." We may call it a light bill but in summer we ought to call it "the Air Conditioning Bill." Central air conditioning requires about 50 times as much power as a 75-watt light bulb.
- Set your air conditioning thermostat carefully.
- Summer: Recommended indoor temperature is 78 degrees in . Set it higher when you're away all day.
- Winter: Recommended indoor temperature is 68 degrees. Set it lower at night.
- How to set the "Fan" selection: Always select AUTO, never ON.
- Find your system's air filter. Make sure there is one, and make sure it's clean. If not, notify your apartment manager. Some filters are cleanable; others require replacement. Clogged filters increase your cooling and heating costs.
- Manage sunlight at windows. In summer, close shades, drapes or blinds to block and reflect the sun's heat outward. You'll be surprised at what a great difference this makes. In winter, let sun in, but close window coverings at night.
- Use hot water wisely. Report or repair leaks promptly. A hot water leak can increase your energy costs as well as your water and sewer costs.
Summer Energy Tips
- Set the air conditioning thermostat at 78 degrees or higher. Raise the setting 2 or 3 degrees higher when away in the day. A lower air conditioning temperature makes your costs much higher. Setting your air conditioner at 73 degrees instead of 78 can increase the operating cost by over 50%!
- Don't choose an air conditioning temperature lower than 78 degrees when you first turn it on. It won't cool any faster set at 70 degrees than it does at 78 degrees. (Set to a lower temperature, it cools longer, not faster.)
- Set the AC thermostat set on "AUTO", never on "FAN"! Set on FAN, humidity is higher, operating cost is higher and comfort is lower. Set on AUTO, humidity is kept lower, costs are lower and comfort is higher.
- Close shades, drapes and blinds during the day.
- When weather is mild, use fans instead of the air conditioner. Hour for hour, your central air conditioning will use about 100 times more energy than a fan at medium speed.
- If you have ceiling fans, run the fans and the air conditioner at the same time, but set the air conditioner thermostat a few degrees higher. A fan's breeze on your skin increases evaporative cooling. You'll feel cool at a higher central thermostat setting, with dramatic reduction in cost. Raising the thermostat setting only 2 or 3 degrees reduces your air conditioning costs 20-30% or more.
- Turn off fans when you're away. Only run fans when you're there to feel the breeze. They don't cool the house. They don't cool a room. They just cool your skin.
- Use a microwave oven instead of the range/oven, or cook outdoors. The microwave won't heat up the kitchen.
- Keep windows and doors closed while air conditioning.
- Change the air conditioner's air filter monthly during heavy use. When the filter is clogged, air flow is restricted -- cooling costs rise, and your system may eventually suffer a compressor failure with a $1,000+ repair bill!
- Arrange items in your refrigerator for quick removal and return. Your refrigerator cools the food but heats the kitchen! The longer the door is open, the longer it runs, heating the kitchen and raising your air conditioning costs.
- Vent the clothes dryer to the out-of-doors. Otherwise it pours heat and moisture into the house air.
- Clean the dryer lint filter frequently and check the outdoor vent opening. When lint builds up and obstructs airflow, the dryer runs longer, which costs more. When the vent is clogged, the clothes get a long hot damp tumbling.
- Wear lightweight clothing (short sleeves, shorts, cotton).
- Drink plenty of cool liquids. Avoid caffeine or alcohol. Eat lightly. Cook outdoors.
- Plant shade trees. Outside shade can reduce air conditioning costs 30%. Shade on the east and west is most important.
- Seal air leaks around doors and windows. Use caulk and weatherstripping.
- With central AC or heat pump, keep all supply registers open. Don't close off rooms or registers. That doesn't save money, and it may lead to costly problems.
- Keep up the habit of turning off lights as you leave a room, especially in summer. Lights add a lot of heat to the room. 99% of a light's energy use is converted to heat, 1% to light. Use only as much light as you need.
- Have your central air conditioning system checked annually by a qualified service technician. Just like your automobile, your air conditioner needs a periodic checkup. Common problems that lead to high operating costs include duct leaks, airflow restrictions (clogged filter, clogged coils) and too much or too little refrigerant charge. A less common but more costly problem: Malfunction that causes electric heat pumps to heat and cool simultaneously in summer; cooling costs triple. Any of the above problems cause the air conditioner to run longer, which increases your costs.
Take Control Of Your Winter Heating Costs
Beware of the following problems that can lead to skyrocketing winter heating costs.
Thermostat setting is too high. 68 degrees is recommended. Set your thermostat carefully, and lower the temperature to 65 degrees at night if you have a heat pump, or 55-60 degrees overnight if you have gas, oil or electric strip heat. If you heat to 78 degrees, expect high bills. - Heat pump thermostat accidentally set to "Emergency Heat" all winter. A simple mistake that can double or triple your heating costs.
- Clogged filters and restricted airflow. If you have a heat pump, anything that restricts airflow will reduce efficiency and increase your heating costs. Change your air filter monthly. If it's too dirty to see much light through it, it's time to clean or replace it.
- Inadequate ceiling insulation. If your ceiling insulation is shallow, you'll lose heat rapidly from the house to your cold attic. Ceiling insulation target levels for Tallahassee: R30 to R38
(11-14" of blown white fiberglass; or 8-10" of blown cellulose insulation). - Heating system duct leaks. If your air distribution ducts have major leaks in the attic or crawlspace, your heating costs can double.
- Heat pump low on refrigerant. You'll need a checkup by a qualified service technician to detect this problem. If low on refrigerant, your heat pump will run longer and operate backup heat strips more frequently; operating costs can double.
- Heat pump outdoor condenser failed or locked out. If you have a heat pump, the big visible fan in the backyard unit should spin when you're heating. If it doesn't, and you heat all winter with only with the backup electric "strips," your heating cost can double or triple.
Thermostat settings and filter replacement are things you can take care of yourself. You'll need the help of a qualified service technician to find or fix mechanical problems like numbers 6 and 7 above. If you are not sure whether you have a heat pump or some other kind of heating system, or if you would like more information about saving energy, please call Energy Services at 891-4YOU (4968) and route to extension 4, then 2.
Tips For Setting Your Thermostat In Winter
- Set your central heating thermostat carefully and accurately. Recommended daytime indoor temperature in winter is 68 degrees. Nighttime settings depend on the type of equipment you're using:
- If you have an electric Heat Pump: At night, reduce the setting to 65 degrees (or lower if you have a programmable thermostat). With a standard thermostat, if you drop the overnight temperature much lower than 65, raise the temperature slowly the next morning, only 2-3 degrees at a time, to minimize operation of costly supplemental electric heat strips. Your operating cost can triple when the strips are on. Look for a small light on the thermostat that signals strip operation.
- If you have a Natural Gas, Propane Gas or Oil Furnace: At night, adjust your thermostat down to 60 or 55 degrees overnight. A gas or fuel-oil furnace will reheat the house quickly in the morning - it delivers hot air from the registers.
- If you have Electric Resistance "strip" heating: Lower the temperature to 60 or 55 degrees overnight. Electric strip is the most expensive central heating system to operate. Set your thermostat low at night to avoid high costs.
- Set your thermostat's FAN selection to AUTO; never set it to ON. Avoid the ON setting, which operates your indoor-air distribution fan nonstop. The ON setting will increase your costs and reduce your comfort.
- If you have a Heat Pump, look closely at your thermostat to make sure it's not accidentally set to EM HEAT or EMERGENCY HEAT. Operating costs can triple in the Emergency Heat mode. On some programmable thermostat screens, the EM HEAT message appears in very small lettering that is easily overlooked.
More Tips
Use ENERGY STAR® labeled products. A new refrigerator with an ENERGY STAR® label can save you up to $90 a year compared to models designed 15 years ago. - Install compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs in place of standard incandescent bulbs. You can save as much as $40 a year in energy costs by changing out just one 60-watt incandescent with a 14-watt fluorescent lamp, and the CFL will last up to 13 times longer. If you need more light, a long-lasting 27-watt CFL provides as much light as a 100-watt standard incandescent, at about one-fourth the operating cost and one-fourth the heat output.
- Use natural gas for cooking, water heating and drying clothes. For these appliances, natural gas can save up to 30 percent in costs compared to electric.
- Keep lamps or TVs away from your air conditioning thermostat. The thermostat senses heat from these appliances, which can cause your air conditioner to run longer than necessary.
- Keep up the good habit of turning off lights as you leave a room. Lights add a lot of heat to rooms, causing longer air conditioning operation, which increases costs.
- Wash clothes in cold water. Almost all the cost of clothes washing is to heat water. Newer enzyme detergents perform best in cold water.
Water Conservation Tips
Did you know that only 1 percent of water on our planet is readily available for drinking? That's because only 3 percent of the world's water is fresh water rather than salt water; and of that amount, icecaps and glaciers account for two thirds.
Fortunately, our region has a remarkably clean and abundant supply of drinking water underground in the Florida Aquifer. To preserve this vital resource, your Water Utility encourages you to take measures to conserve and protect it.
In a typical household, four people would use approximately 9,000 gallons per month or 108,000 gallons per year. That's enough water to fill a bathtub more than 2,500 times! More than half of this usage occurs in the bathroom--from toilets (24 percent), baths (9 percent) and showers (21 percent). Leaks in bathroom faucets add another 5 percent, so the total amounts to much more than just a drop in the bucket. Also, washing machines use a substantial amount of water (or 22 percent of the total).
Here are a few tips to help save water and reduce your utility bill:
INDOORS
In the bathroom
- Turn off the water while brushing your teeth, washing your face shaving and lathering in the shower.
- Dispose of waste in the trash rather than in the toilet.
- Repair leaky faucets and toilets (one drop per second wastes 2,700 gallons of water per year).
- Take a shorter shower and install a low-flow showerhead with a 2.5 gpm (gallons per minute) rating.
- Use less water for baths. Filling the tub uses about 50 gallons. Also, plug the tub before running the water and then adjust the temperature as the water fills up.
In the kitchen
- Chill a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap while waiting for the water to cool.
- Use the dishwasher only for full loads and set the washing machine to the appropriate load size.
- Thaw food in the refrigerator rather than using running water to thaw frozen items.
- Install water-saving aerators and flow restrictors on all faucets.
- Repair dripping faucets by replacing washers.
- Use the garbage disposal sparingly and compost vegetable food waste.
- When buying new appliances, consider energy efficient models.
OUTDOORS
- Adjust sprinklers so only the lawn, rather than the house, street or driveway, is watered.
- Install a rain sensor on your irrigation controller so the system doesn't run when it's raining.
- Check for leaks in garden hoses. An average water hose sprays about 10 gallons per minute, but a pinhole-sized leak can waste as much as 170 gallons of water per day.
- Collect water from your roof to water your garden and indoor plants.
- Report any broken water lines or errant sprinklers to the property owner.
By making these small changes to our daily activities and encouraging others to do so as well, we can protect our water supply for years to come.