Energy Saving Tips

Refrigerators

1. Choose a refrigerator with an external ice & water dispenser, to greatly reduce opening the fridge to retrieve those items.
2. Purchase a Bottom Mount or French Door refrigerator as these models use, on average, 16% less energy than side by side models (according the consumer energy center).
3. Choose a refrigerator that has a manual defrost, as they use half the energy of an automatic defrost model. This does come with a tradeoff, as the manual unit will need regular servicing.
4. Make sure your refrigerator is sealed tight, if air is escaping the compressor is working harder than it needs to. Look for units that have a door open/temperature alarm as a feature, they will audibly alert you if something is wrong.
5. Look for the ENERGY STAR ® label on your appliance, as it guarantees it falls within energy efficient guidelines.

Air Conditioners

1. Proper installation is the most important way to keep an AC energy efficient. If it is not properly sealed at its borders cool air is constantly escaping, and the compressor is working harder to keep the room at the desired set temperature.
2. Take advantage of your AC’s timer and programming functions. Set them for appropriate times to reduce continuous usage and reduce energy consumption.
3. Clean your AC’s filter regularly, a dirty filter restricts air flow and makes the unit work harder than it needs to. Most AC’s will have a check filter feature to inform you when it needs to be cleaned.
4. Turn off the AC when no one is the room. If you want the room to not be too hot upon returning, leave it running at higher temperature setting to reduce energy usage.