Are you worried about rising costs? We hear a lot about what to do, do not understand, but how does it work? This article offers simple tips to save on energy costs and how you get to save money.
AT HOME:
1 Turn off unnecessary lights. A single 60-watt bulb to light for 2 hours a day, 5 days a week, may be turned off when they left will cost at least $ 27.50 per year. Here's why:
60w X 10 hours / week x 52 weeks / year = 31.2 hours X $ 0.8815 per kilowattKWh = € 27.50. The cost: nothing.
2 Heating and cooling account for about 50% of the families.
(A) Set the thermostat to 68 degrees for heating. Each additional degree of heat costs at least 1-3% more on their bills. If you normally use the thermostat to 72, it means that your account could be as much as 12%.
(B) In the summer, the thermostat must not be less than 78-80 degrees. Is activated for every degree the thermostat, can save 4-8%on cooling costs.
We say that heating costs $ 120 in July, where the temperature is 72 degrees. 50% of the electricity bill, this means that $ 60 was spent on air conditioning systems. With savings of 4% per degree, this means that 24% or $ 14.40 bill, increasing the temperature to 78 to save. The math works the same way during the winter months when the temperature drops. The cost: nothing.
3 Use a Programmable Thermostat ENERGY STAR rated. These thermostats arewith an accuracy of + / - 2 degrees, and if used properly, can save up to $ 150 a year on your heating and cooling costs. Your cost: $ 30 and up, depending on the options, a small price to pay in exchange for a big savings in energy costs.
4 Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps. The results are similar to point 1, the switch from 60 watts to 13 watts, saving 47 watts, but in this case, you get the same result as the light. If you use the light 20 hours a week,will save at least $ 43.08 per year. CFL bulbs are available in a variety of color temperatures, produce a little 'light' white 'than others. If you're worried about off-white light, try the day or hobby-type of CFL bulbs.
20hours/week 47W X X 52 weeks / year = 48.88 kWh x $ 0.8815 per kWh = $ 43.08.
Your cost: about $ 1.50 to $ 4 per bulb, a small price to pay for the potential savings.
5 Verify that leaks and drafts on the frames of the windows, with doors, windows or walls of airAir conditioners, attic doors, baseboards, etc. An easy way to do this is to use a candle or tape yarn, just look for him to deviate. Use strips forecast for moving surfaces (doors, windows and insulation for the rest, saving between 5 and 30% on heating costs.
6 Replace your furnace / air conditioner air filter every 3 months. Clogged filters cause the fan to work harder and waste of energy. Clean filters save 3-5% per month of your air conditioning orThe heating costs. Your Cost: $ 7 to $ 20, depending on the degree of filtration.
7 Use a water heater blanket and insulate the first 3 or 4 feet of line pressure (more if you have easy access). This will reduce energy consumption by 10 to 15%. Your cost: about $ 40.
8 Use Energy Star rated ceiling fans. The cost can be $ 100 in advance or so for everyone, but can save more than $ 600 per year if you compare the costs of operating an air conditioner.
9 Clean the condenser coils and air conditioningFins, when you see the grass in the air and debris collected on them. To clean them, remove the top cover, and with a garden hose with a shower. The capacitor is a device outside the home.
10 Fix leaky faucets, you can save up to $ 35 per year in heating costs for heating water. Your Cost: about $ 6 for a valve repair kit, with O-rings and gaskets.
11 Instead of a timer or manual control to guide the installation of a lighting photocell. They are much more accurate and notrequire disposal as the time of sunrise and sunset changes. Your Cost: $ 15 and above.
Clean refrigerator coils 12 with a soft brush at least once a year, more often if you have pets that shed. This ensures a more efficient heat transfer and lowers the amount of energy used. The cost: nothing.
13 To maximize the efficiency dryer. Remove and replace anything flexible system of pipes, particularly plastic slinky type stuff. Keeps nothing and causes the fan to work harder. Tapthe back and bottom of the oven and vacuum cleaner to remove dirt and lint additional.
14 Lower the settings of your water heater to 120 degrees F for both energy saving and safety. The cost: nothing.
Shade 15 is a great insulator. Maybe there are places where trees or shrubs can be planted on the east side and west side of the house. Leave the south side more clearly, the sun's heat in winter to accept. A further push is that trees are good for the environment. If the trees are notOption must, curtains and window treatments, window film.
16 Consider the use of low clothesline, but very efficient, if the weather cooperates.
17 Go home part of the ENERGY STAR website www.energystar.gov and taking the survey of household energy. You can find a way even more to reduce energy costs.
By car:
1 All political jokes aside, you can improve gas mileage by maintaining tire pressure. Tyres have impressed on them the pressure field,and even a tire pressure of your car manufacturer listed on a sticker usually in the driver's door. Check the tire pressure when they are "cold" and have not traveled much about them. Use the pressure listed on the stickers door.
2 Rotate the tires regularly (about every 10,000 miles). This gives the tire a longer life and helps to ensure they wear evenly.
3 Check and, if necessary, replace the air filter every time you get the oil changed. Ignore the dirt onLeading edges of the folds, the use of a flashlight or shop light to see how much dirt and oil has penetrated the entire thickness of the filter. Replace them if 50% of the light is blocked by debris.
4 Get regular oil changes and high quality oil and filter manufacturers suggested interval. Unless you change the oil yourself, you should go to a reliable service provider.
5 Turn off the car instead of idling, while driving at banks, ATMs and otherWindows.
6 To reduce use of air conditioning while driving at low speeds, in hot weather. At 50 mph and above, the motor load by drawing the windows open more expensive wind.
7 Disc smarter challenge for the opportunity to learn how to save fuel. You can also get vouchers from AutoZone and ExxonMobil. And 'to www.drivesmarterchallenge.org.
AT WORK:
1 Ensure that all air conditioning and heating is by default the application is obtained from 2 stores11%. Consider the age of your equipment, its remaining service life, cost of repairs and maintenance. You may find it cheaper to upgrade to new more energy efficient equipment. The best way to do this is with a life-cycle cost analysis.
2. Calibrating thermostats to ensure their settings equal the actual space temperature can save up to 3%.
3. Heat office buildings to 68° when occupied, 50 to 60° degrees when unoccupied. Interior spaces tend to gain significant amounts of heat from lighting, equipment, and people.
4. If you have electric reheat units, turn them off during cooling season except in areas where equipment requires humidity control.
5. Preheat buildings so that they reach 65° by the time occupants arrive and complete warm-up during the first hour of operations. In the evening, cut off heating an hour before the building is closed and let the temperature drift down to the nighttime setback temperature.
6. If you have a central plant with multiple air compressors, operating one at full load is more efficient than operating two or more at a reduced load. Set them up in a lead-lag configuration and rotate the lead compressor on a weekly basis.
7. Wasted lighting consumes about 24% of total lighting usage. Reduce janitorial services lighting use by having these services performed during work hours. Ask the service to do team cleaning, where each floor is done at one time rather that cleaners spread throughout the building. It can save up to 8%.
4 hours wasted per building per day X 7.2% of total building energy wasted x average cost of per SF for cleaning X Body.09 per KwH will save 160,000 KwH per year or ,400 per 100,000 SF of space. It will cost you nothing to implement this, and the quality of the work done and tenant satisfaction generally will improve.
8. Turning off equipment, harvesting daylight, implementing an energy awareness program, using work station task lighting, and installing computer power management software can save between 3 and 15%.
9. I can't say enough about the cost benefits of an active preventive maintenance program. Although the up-front costs in implementing such a program can be expensive, the increased service life and reduced frequency of catastrophic equipment failure more than make up for it. Want proof? Contact me, and I will send a copy of "Thinking Like a CFO: Analysis Shows Prevention Pays to you as a PDF file.
10. Everyone is plagued by a lack of time. Consider the cost of delay; given a business with an annual energy cost of ,000 and an upgrade program that could save them 30%, this could be as much as 00 per year. Assuming that the improvements would pay for themselves in 3 years, delaying the upgrade is equivalent to forfeiting a low risk investment opportunity at 27%. The savings will continue for the life of the equipment, usually an additional 7 to 13 years or as much as ,500.00.
NOW LET'S LOOK AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
1. Say NO to plastic grocery bags! A plastic grocery bag will last almost 1000 years in a landfill without breaking down. We go through 380 billion of these things, at a cost of 1.6 billion gallons of oil every year, and less than 6% get recycled. Please, please use paper sacks or bring a cloth shopping bag with you when you go shopping. You might even get a cash credit for each bag you bring with you.
2. Recycle, Recycle, Recycle. Cardboard, white paper, aluminum, tin, and plastic. And don't forget to save drink cans and bottles for the deposits. You could even save money on your trash removal costs.
3. Curtail unnecessary driving and carry out an energy upgrade program at home and at work. This will cut down on production of greenhouse gases (CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, perfluorocarbons, and hydrocarbons). In the atmosphere, these greenhouse gases act much as the roof of a greenhouse, creating climate changes on a worldwide scale. Even if you do not believe in the existence of global warming, use of sustainable practices and green technologies will provide you with lower operating costs and a healthier environment.
If you take action to improve energy efficiency, there is good news. In 2004, Americans reduced U.S. greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 20 million cars off the road and saved over billion on their energy bills. Let's all keep up the good work!
