Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk.
Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)
Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)
Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.
Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
HOUSTON -- With gas and grocery prices going up, almost everyone is looking for a way to save money.
Getting your house an electricity audit may help.
Homebuilder Dan Schieffer knows how to be energy efficient.
“I don’t keep the house real cool; I keep it normally 77 all the time,” he said. “In the summer, we turn on fans.”
He built the house with insulated windows, doors and walls. Part of the audit he’s having done by Standard Renewable Energy includes an infrared test. It will show if he missed a spot.
“You are going to have variations throughout the house, nut from green to red that’s a spot where we are missing some insulation,” Schieffer said.
The windows check out, but a smoke test of the electrical outlets and back door expose a slight energy leak.
“So the weather stripping just needs to drop down another ½ inch or so,” he said.
They find no trapped heat in the attic thanks to the tech shield that keeps the attic cooler, along with the house.
The house is tip-top shape. Scheiffer’s monthly bill is a little more than $500, but he knows it could be more.
With a few quick fixes, he might even save a few dollars.
