Winchester, VA | Go Green | Energy Savings Guide

Energy Savings Guide

What is electricity?

A secondary energy source
Non-renewable by itself
Produced by processing primary sources such as coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power and other natural resources
Electricity is billed by kilowatt-hour
Each kilowatt-hour costs between 8 to 15 cents
One kilowatt-hour =1,000 watts of electricity used for one hour

Save Energy and Money (1)

Did you know that the typical U.S. family spends more than $1,600 a year on home utility bills? Unfortunately, a large portion of that energy is wasted. And electricity generated by fossil fuels for a single home puts more carbon dioxide into the air than two average cars. And as for the road, transportation accounts for 66% of all U.S. oil consumption. The good news is, there is a lot you can do to save energy and money at home and in your car. Start making small changes today (see the tips below).

The key to achieving these savings in your home is a whole-house energy efficiency plan. To take a whole-house approach, view your home as an energy system with interdependent parts. For example, your heating system is not just a furnace—it's a heat-delivery system that starts at the furnace and delivers heat throughout your home using a network of ducts. Even a top-of-the-line, energy-efficient furnace will burn a lot of fuel if the ducts, walls, attic, windows, and doors are not insulated and leak. Taking a whole-house approach to saving energy ensures that dollars you invest to save energy are spent wisely.

Energy-efficient improvements not only make your home more comfortable, they can yield long-term financial rewards. Reduced utility bills more than make up for the higher price of energy-efficient appliances and improvements over their lifetimes. In addition, your home could bring in a higher price when you sell. This booklet shows you how easy it is to reduce your energy use at home and on the road. The easy, practical solutions for saving energy include tips you can use today, throughout your home—from the roof, walls, and insulation that enclose it to the appliances and lights inside. Please, take a few moments to read the valuable tips in this booklet to start saving energy and money today.

Tips to Save Energy Today (1)

Set your thermostat comfortably low in the winter and comfortably high in the summer. Install a programmable thermostat that is compatible with your heating and cooling system.
Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher's drying cycle.
Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.
Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use (TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power).
Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120° F.
Take short showers instead of baths.
Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.
Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gasoline.
Look for the www.energystar.gov® label on home appliances and products. ENERGY STAR® products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the www.epa.gov and the www.energy.gov .

Heating and Cooling (2)

Pie chart shows heating fuel types for U.S. homes: 53% natural gas; 29% electricity; 9% fuel oil; 8% other; 1% no heating system. Household Heating Systems
Although several different types of fuels are available to heat our homes, more than half of us use natural gas.

Heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 45% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. What's more, heating and cooling systems in the United States together emit 150 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, adding to global climate change. They also generate about 12% of the nation's sulfur dioxide and 4% of the nitrogen oxides, the chief ingredients in acid rain.

No matter what kind of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system you have in your house, you can save money and increase your comfort by properly maintaining and upgrading your equipment. But remember, an energy-efficient furnace alone will not have as great an impact on your energy bills as using the whole-house approach. By combining proper equipment maintenance and upgrades with appropriate insulation, air sealing, and thermostat settings, you can cut your energy use for heating and cooling, and reduce environmental emissions, from 20% to 50%.

Heating and Cooling Tips (2)

Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer.
Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed.
Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they're not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season; if in doubt about how to perform this task, call a professional.
Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls and the radiators.
Turn off kitchen, bath, and other exhaust fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing; when replacing exhaust fans, consider installing high-efficiency, low-noise models.
During the heating season, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to allow the sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.
During the cooling season, keep the window coverings closed during the day to prevent solar gain.
$ Long-Term Savings Tip: Select energy-efficient products when you buy new heating and cooling equipment. Your contractor should be able to give you energy fact sheets for different types, models, and designs to help you compare energy usage. For furnaces, look for high Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) ratings. The national minimum is 78% AFUE, but there are Energy Star® models on the market that exceed 90% AFUE.
$ Long-Term Savings Tip: For air conditioners, look for a high Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER). The current minimum is 13 SEER for central air conditioners. Energy Star models are 13 SEER or more.

Windows (3)

window Windows are the weakest link in a well-insulated home, with a square yard of conventional single-pane glass exposed to direct sun on a hot day generating as much heat as an electric space heater. On a cold day, that same glass will lose more heat than the same area of insulated wall. Double-glazed windows, using two sheets of glass with air or gas sealed between them, are up to twice as expensive but also up to twice as efficient. TIP: Use an outer pane that will block unwanted solar radiation and an inner pane that will reduce heat loss from inside. Consider replacing your single-pane windows with low-e coated or Energy Star® windows. If that is not feasible, simply using storm windows can reduce your winter heating costs by 25-50 percent. Plus, substantial tax credits are available for energy-efficient windows. To find out more, visit www.efficientwindows.org or www.energystar.gov.

Energy Efficient Appliances (3)

Cooking in the average U.S. home uses enough energy to generate half a ton of greenhouse gases a year. Every gallon of water boiled produces one pound of emissions. There is no standard energy rating for cooking appliances, but bear in mind that a conventional oven will produce a third more greenhouse gas emissions than a convection one, an electric stove produces double the emissions of a gas or microwave oven, and bigger appliances are less efficient than smaller ones. Use a microwave or toaster oven whenever possible. Also, when buying new appliances, choose one with the Energy Star® label for reduced energy consumption and electricity bills.

Energy Star® is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, aiming to help citizens save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

DID YOU KNOW?
With the help of Energy Star®, Americans saved enough energy in 2006 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 25 million cars - all while saving $14 billion on their utility bills.

CFLs – Energy Efficient Light Bulbs (3)

CFL Bulb The ordinary incandescent light bulb remains the most popular form of home lighting because it is so affordable. But it is also very inefficient, with 95 percent of the electric current being converted into heat, not light. A 20-watt compact fluorescent light (CFL) provides as much light as a 100-watt incandescent bulb and lasts about 8 times longer. Though a CFL will cost approximately 10 times more to buy than an incandescent bulb, over its average life of about 5 years it will use roughly a quarter of the power and save more than 1,400 pounds in greenhouse gases.

If every home in America changed just one incandescent bulb to CFL, we'd save enough energy to light seven million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equal to that of one million cars.

Reference Sources: back to top

"Save Energy and Money Today"
www1.eere.energy.gov
12 June 2006. U.S. Department of Energy – Energy Efficient and Renewable Energy. 14 Aug. 2008 http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/save_energy.html
"Heating and Cooling"
www1.eere.energy.gov
21 Jan. 2008. U.S. Department of Energy – Energy Efficient and Renewable Energy. 14 Aug. 2008 http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/heating_cooling.html
Bonnin, Jenny and KimMcKay
True Green
Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2006

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