GINI's Energy-Saving Tips

A "Bakers' Dozen" (Plus 1)

✔Check them off as you accomplish them!

Easy Behavioral Steps

1. Remember to turn off lights as you leave the room, and turn off computers and TVs overnight.

Put TVs and/or computers on a surge-protection power strip that can easily be turned off at night. Then put stickers on switches (or post-its on your pillow, the first few nights) to remind yourself to turn them off. It will quickly become part of your evening routine.

2. Check the temperature setting on your hot water heater. Check the manufacturers' recommendations and trust that your dishwasher will heat the water adequately to kill germs.

3. Clean or replace filters in your HVAC unit and cold-air return vents in the house.

4. Be conscious of your behaviors in situations where excess energy is being used.

·  Think about what you want in the refrigerator, before opening the door.

·  Close outside doors quickly.

·  Turn the car off if idling for more than three minutes.

·  Set thermostats as low as can be comfortably tolerated in winter, and as high as can be tolerated in summer. (Even 1 degree makes a difference!)

·  Open windows when a breeze can help to cool, rather than using AC (unless allergies are a problem).

·  Close blinds, curtains, and drapes to block incoming sunlight in the heat of summer, and open them to help warm (and brighten) the house in winter. Retailers also offer insulated, UV-resistant, and room-darkening window treatments.

·  Use a humidifier in winter and a dehumidifier in summer to maximize your comfort.

·  Use washing machines and dishwashers only for full loads (as much as possible).

·  Take short showers and/or turn the water off while you soap yourself, and on again to rinse.

·  Cook hot foods in summer in large batches that can be frozen and/or reheated, and use the exhaust fan (especially in summer).

·  Use the oven for baking multiple items, once it's hot.

Important Steps That Take More Time

5. Monitor your thermostat settings and establish a pattern of times when you can turn it down (or up) and still be comfortable. Consider installing a programmable thermostat to simplify this step.

6. Check for drafts around windows and doors. Use a tissue to see if air is moving near door and window frames, then use caulk or weather-stripping to seal them.

7. Clean the coils of any refrigeration or freezer unit, saving energy and extending the life of the unit.

8. Clean the vent from your clothes dryer for both safety and energy savings.

Cost-Effective Steps that Require Purchases

9. Purchase and install foam gaskets under switch and outlet covers on the outside walls of your home. Remove the switch plate (or outlet cover) and put a foam gasket (pre-cut and available from home improvement stores) in place. Then replace the cover.

10. Fill the open spaces where pipes enter and exit the walls of your house with spray-in insulation foam.

11. Replace lights with LED bulbs. (This saves energy--and time spent replacing bulbs.)

12. Purchase and place insulation "blankets" on water heaters. (Pay-back typically occurs in the first year.)

13. Install solar-powered lights for outside lighting.

Plus 1: Check insulation in the attic and crawl spaces to ensure that it's dry and in place.

If it's a "blown in" type, it will have shifted over time (to look like waves). Redistribute it. If it's the sheet type and appears to have been wet or is torn, sections may need to be replaced.

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