POST
Energy & Water Saving Tips
HEATING
- It is recommended to turn thermostats back 7 to 10 degrees C from their normal setting for 8 hours per day to achieve annual savings of up to 10%.
- Furnaces should not be turned off in the winter. Raising the temperature slowly will help keep your bill lower.
- Don’t block baseboard heaters. Ensure furniture and window coverings are away from the heaters.
- Clean and replace filters in the furnace at a minimum every 3 months. Check regularly during high heating months. A dirty filter slows down air flow and the system must work harder resulting in higher costs.
- In colder weather, open curtains facing the sun; close curtains/blinds at night.
- Leave bedroom doors open to increase air circulation.
APPLIANCES
- Use microwave and toaster ovens to cook or warm leftovers.
- Keep the oven door closed when cooking, the temperature can drop as many as 25 degrees each time you open it.
- Ceiling fans set clockwise can save as much as 10% on heating.
- Clean the dryer lint after each load to keep your dryer running efficiently.
ELECTRONICS
- Plug in home electronics into a power bar; turn power bar off or use timers for when the equipment is not in use.
LIGHTING
- Use LED bulbs. Turn off incandescent lights when you are not in the room; 90% of the energy is given off as heat, only about 10% results in light.
WATER
- Wash only full loads of dishes in the dishwasher.
- Air dry or dry dishes by hand instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle. Opening the door after the rinse cycle and letting them dry naturally can cut 15% to 50% of energy use (depending on the machine).
- Avoid using the rinse hold settings on the dishwasher as this feature uses 3-7 more gallons of hot water per use.
- Take shorter showers. If you reduce daily shower time by 4 minutes per day you can save up to 3,650 gallons annually.
- Report leaks such as toilets running or leaky faucets. One leaky faucet can waste the equivalent of 7,881 litres of bottles per year.
- Regularly remove scale build up on faucets and showerheads. Fixtures maintained regularly will run efficiently.
- Wash only full loads of clothes; wash in cold water. Air dry clothes.