More Ideas & Tips

Traditional incandescent light bulbs consume a lot of electricity; wasting much of it. This is especially true in large homes, and in homes with large numbers of occupants. Newer bulbs, such as Compact Fluorescent Lights ("CFLs") consume one fifth of the energy used by traditional bulbs. Switching to CFL bulbs is one of the lowest cost ways to get huge savings on your electricity bill.

While light dimmers have a useful role setting the mood in a room, they also play a useful role in reducing the energy consumed by the lights under their control.

LED lighting makes more efficient use of electricity than all other forms of commercially available lighting methods, while offering superior functionality over other efficiency lighting (light-up time, color options, dimmable).

In certain situations, particularly in infrequently visited rooms, a light left on unnecessarily can remain on for some time. In these circumstances it is likely advantageous to install occupancy sensors, such that lights are shut off several minutes after a room is left unoccupied.

Outside pathway lighting may be well served by stand-alone, solar-powered light units. Such a system avoids any use of your utility supplied electricity.

Outdoor lighting is often used for security purposes, to illuminate the presence of unauthorized persons. To avoid the use of energy to light areas unnecessarily, it is likely advantageous to use motion detectors to turn on lights only when there is movement.

Several vendors offer systems that allow you to centrally control many of the energy-related systems in your home. With such a heightened level of control, such as shutting off pre-programmed sets of equipment when you are leaving your home or remote controlling equipment, it is likely that you will be able to reduce the wasted operating time of that equipment.

A thorough energy analysis on your property will provide you with the detailed information you need to properly evaluate your options. That information will increase the level of confidence for actions you may be considering, will provide a better understanding of your system, as well as provide specific information for you and professionals.

Your pool filter pump uses much more electricity than newer pool filter pumps. This is because it runs very fast for a few hours, whereas new pumps can be installed and tuned to run much slower and longer; this improves filtration and dramatically reduces electricity consumption.

Some pool heaters simply lose much of the heat they consume. This is especially true of older and lower cost models, and running costs are higher in pools in cold climates, with little/poor insulation and/or are heated for a lot of the time.