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You'll be
surprised at just how easy it is to save electricity in your home, and how much
money you can save, too!
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Change
furnace filters regularly.
You should do so every other month or
monthly if you have pets. A dirty furnace filter reduces air flow and
makes your furnace work harder; clean filters can save up to 5% of energy
use.
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Use a
special tape to seal leaky heating ducts - it's easy to apply and keeps the
hot or cool air going to where it's needed.
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Take a
quick shower instead of a bath. A typical bath uses about 75 litres
of hot water, while a five-minute shower with an energy efficient showerhead
will use about half that amount.
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Don't
overcool your food. Is the temperature of your refrigerator and your freezer
set only as cold as you need? Defrost your manual-defrost freezer
regularly to ensure it operates at maximum efficiency.
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Get rid of the old
"energy hog" fridge in the basement. It's wasting both space
and energy. The fridge you bought in 1975 costs about four times as
much to run as a new ENERGY STAR®
model.
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Wash
your clothes in cold or warm water. Did you know that 85-90% of the
energy used by washing machines is used to heat the water?
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Use
energy-savings small appliances, and use the big ones less often. Electric
kettles, toaster ovens, or microwaves use much less electricity than stoves
and ovens.
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Go for the
full load. Run your dishwasher and washing machine only when you
have a full load, and use the energy-saving cycle, if your appliance has one.
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Dry
naturally. If you have the space, use old style clothes drying racks
which also add humidity to the dry winter air in your house. When the
weather is right, use an outdoor clothesline to dry laundry, if permitted by
your municipality.
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Use fans
as a cool alternative to air conditioners. Install ceiling fans to help
keep rooms cooler, instead of using an air conditioner. Make sure they
blow downward in summer, and upward in winter.
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Use air
conditioning responsibly.
How low do you really need to go?
During last summer's heat wave, 20% of all the energy consumed in the
province was for air conditioning. The combined benefits of everyone
setting their temperature a little higher would be impressive. And
remember, air conditioners cool people, not homes. Don't run the A/C
when you're not home.
- Turn off
the lights - a unlit light does not use energy. Use compact
fluorescent light bulbs whenever possible - they use 75% less electricity and
last much longer than incandescent styles. Motion sensors can also help
you ensure those lights go off when you're not in the room.
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Turn
down the lights. Dimmer switches help you use only the amount of light -
and electricity - you really need. And remember, keep your lights clean
- a cleaner bulb is a brighter bulb.
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Seal the
deal on electricity savings. Weather stripping and caulking around
windows, ducts and doors can cut your heating and cooling bill by 10%.
Beef up you insulation. Larger projects such as increasing ceiling
insulation to R-30 standards can cut the home heating and cooling costs of a
properly sealed home by 20-25%. Purchasing an R-2000 or ENERGY STAR®
home could save you 30-40% of the energy of
a home built to the minimum Ontario Building Code standards.
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Landscape
for energy efficiency. Planting trees for wind barriers and shade,
installing energy efficient windows, air conditions and furnaces can also
provide large energy savings.
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Ghost
bust your phantom power by purchasing a power bar to turn off computers and the
peripherals, TVs, stereos, DVD players and the like. Spot the phantoms
by looking for the telltale read and green LED lights on your equipment - if
you see one glowing, the power is still flowing!
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Put your
pool pump on a timer so that it's working 6-8 hours a day, rather than
24/7. Use a solar blanket to keep the heat from escaping from your pool
at night.
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Unplug
you old patio lights and replace with solar lights.
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Ready to
go the extra mile for energy efficiency? Consider investing to improve
your home's energy efficiency. With increasing energy costs, pay-back
periods are becoming shorter and the benefits are being realized more quickly.
And some financial institutions are even offering preferred rates on loans to
improve the energy-efficiency of your home.
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Plan
your savings. Having a professional energy audit of your home can
provide you with a plan to improve your home's energy efficiency and help you
maximize your investment.
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