Conservation Tips

Be smart about your home’s energy use. Here’s a room-by-room guide to help you identify ways you can reduce energy consumption.

Laundry Room
Kitchen
Living Areas
Bathroom

Laundry Room

• Use only the necessary water level and temperature for the clothes you are washing.
• Dry only full loads of clothes, and take advantage of the heated drum by drying several loads back-to-back.
• Load washer to capacity. Washing one large load will take less energy than washing two small or medium loads.
• Clean the dryer filter after each use. A clogged filter will restrict air flow and reduce dryer performance.

Kitchen

• Place lids tightly on pans to speed cooking time.
• Keep oven door closed while cooking to prevent heat loss. With each opening, the oven loses about 20 percent of its heat.
• Preheat your oven only if the recipe calls for it.
• Use glass or ceramic pans in your oven. You can turn down the temperature about 25 degrees, and foods will cook just as quickly.
• Use a stopper in the sink so water won’t run constantly while you’re washing dishes by hand.
• Limit the “rinse hold” feature on your dishwasher. This setting uses up to seven gallons of hot water for each use.
• Only operate dishwashers when they are fully loaded.
• Repair leaky faucets.
• To reduce cooking time, defrost frozen foods in the refrigerator first.

Living Areas

• Warm air rises, so use registers to direct warm airflow across the floor.
• Close off doors and vents in unused rooms to conserve heat within your home.
• During the heating season, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to let sunlight in. Be sure to close draperies and shades at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.
• Remove dust and lint from return air grills and warm air outlets.
• Add extra blankets to your bed for more warmth.
• Move furniture away from windows. It’s warmer to sit near an interior wall.
• Close off heating vents (no more than 1/3 of them) in unused rooms.
• Close fireplace damper when not in use.
• Don’t open outside doors unless necessary.
• If you don’t use a programmable thermostat, lower it at night while sleeping.

Bathroom

• Install shower heads and faucets with water-flow restrictors.
• Bathing uses the most hot water in the average household. You use 15 to 25 gallons of hot water for a bath but less than 10 gallons during a five-minute shower.
• Use a stopper in the sink so water won’t run constantly while shaving or brushing your teeth.
• Repair leaky faucets.
• Turn down the thermostat on your water heater to 120° F.