Energy efficiency tips & resources

• Open drapes, blinds and curtains during the day to allow the sunlight to enter and warm your home. Close them at night to prevent the chill you may feel from cold windows.
• Weatherize your home – caulk and weather strip doors and windows that may leak air.

Adjust your thermostat down two degrees in the winter. Using a programmable thermostat can help you save up to 10% energy usage.

Properly maintain and clean your home's heating equipment.

Check and, if necessary, add insulation, especially in your attic and the exterior and basement walls or crawl spaces in your home.

Keep fireplace doors and dampers closed when the fireplace is not in use.

If using a space heater, make sure it meets the latest safety standards and carries the Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) label. Keep space heaters at least three feet from anything that can catch fire, such as drapes, bed linens and furniture.

• Add blankets to your bed.
• Wear warm clothing and socks and/or shoes in your home during the winter to help you feel warmer.

The average household has approximately 70 light bulbs. An ENERGY STAR® certified light bulb uses about 70 to 90 percent less energy and lasts 10-25 times longer. If every household replaced just one light bulb with one that has earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save enough energy to light 2.6 million homes for a whole year and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that of 648,000 vehicles.

• You can save up to $5 per month by replacing your five most-used light bulbs to ENERGY STAR certified LEDs. The more bulbs you change, the more you'll save.  
• Turn off lights when they are not in use. Consider using timers to reduce the amount of time your lights are on.
• Use task lighting. Focus the light where you need it so you are not brightly lighting an entire room.
• Use dimmers, motion sensors or occupancy sensors to automatically turn on or off lighting as needed.
• Turn off your outdoor lights or use a timer so they are not left on during the day.
• The outdoor porch light is one of your home's most used fixtures, so replace any incandescent bulbs with ENERGY STAR certified bulbs rated for outdoor use. They come in a variety of styles and finishes, and many include features such as a motion sensor or automatic daylight shut-off.
• Three-way lamps make it easier to keep lighting levels low when brighter light is not necessary.
• During the winter, open the curtains on your south-facing windows on sunny days to allow the sun to naturally heat your home.
• Close the curtains and drapes at night to retain the heat.

• Light emitting diodes, or LEDs, are small light sources that are illuminated by the movement of electrons through a semiconductor material.
• LEDs are exceptionally energy efficient when producing individual colors, many using up to 90% less energy than an incandescent bulb to produce the same amount of light.
• The benefits of LEDs include:
  • Less frequent bulb replacements
  • Improved color and quality of light
  • Produce much less heat
  • Performance and savings independently certified