Energy Savings For Your Home

Our residential customers count on us for the energy that powers their homes every day, and for solutions that support a more sustainable future. We encourage you to use energy efficiently.

Lighting

  • Lighting accounts for about 15 percent of a typical residential utility bill, so turn off the lights when not in use.
  • Electric lighting also adds extra heat to a space that must be cooled by air conditioning in the summer.
  • To improve energy efficiency even more, replace the incandescent light bulbs in your home with energy saving LED lights.
  • Install dimmer switches to save energy and extend the life of light bulbs.
  • For outdoor security lights, install lights with motion detectors so they only come on when needed.

Appliances

  • Look for the Energy Star label when buying home appliances.
  • Use energy saving products such as small electric pans or toaster ovens to cook small meals instead of heating your large stove or oven.
  • Save considerable energy by using your microwave oven and pressure cooker whenever possible. They cook quickly using less energy.
  • Foods will cook faster and use less energy if you put lids on the pots and pans and make sure they’re the right size for the burner.
  • Preheat the oven only when the recipe calls for it. There’s no need to preheat the broiler.
  • When you open the oven door to peek at food inside, you lose 25–75 degrees of heat. Look through the oven window or wait until the food is almost done before opening the door.
  • If you have a self-cleaning oven, clean it immediately after use. Because it’s already hot, it will take less energy to get to the heat cleaning stage.
  • Vacuum and clean the condenser coils, motor, and evaporator pan of your refrigerator once or twice a year.
  • When washing clothes, use warm or cold water and rinse.
  • Air dry clothes, but not indoors as this creates unwanted mold and moisture problems.

Refrigerators and Freezers

  • Let hot foods cool on the counter before putting them in your refrigerator or freezer. Hot foods cause the unit to work longer and harder.
  • If cold air is escaping around the refrigerator door seal, adjust or replace the seal. To check, close the door on a dollar bill. If it’s easy to pull out, cold air is escaping.
  • Set the temperature in your refrigerator between 35 and 38 degrees, and the freezer between 0 and 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Defrost your refrigerator’s freezer regularly so it can operate more efficiently.
  • Use the right temperature setting for your refrigerator and freezer. Keeping foods colder than necessary costs more and rarely pays off in extended shelf life.
  • Leave space between your refrigerator and the surrounding walls and cabinets to allow air to circulate around the coils.
  • Organize your refrigerator and freezer to avoid leaving the door open while you locate items.

Electronics

  • Power off computers and other electronic appliances when you’re not using them.
  • Many computer monitors have a sleep mode setting which, when activated, greatly reduces energy consumption.
  • Avoid leaving transformers and charging units for appliances and battery-operated devices (e.g., cell phones, tools) on when they are not being used.