Tips to Save Electricity

The Alliance to Save Energy promotes energy efficiency worldwide to achieve a healthier economy, a cleaner environment, and greater energy security.writes here:

Energy efficiency is the quickest, cheapest, cleanest way to extend our world's energy supplies.

Here are some Electricity Tips from The Alliance to Save Energy:

Head off Power Blackouts/Brownouts, Cut Energy Bills
Computers, printers, air conditioners, TVs, VCRs, microwaves... We’re more "plugged in" than ever before.

Power blackouts and brownouts will increase in years to come, predicts the Alliance to Save Energy. Growing power demands, warmer weather patterns, simultaneous heat waves, severe cuts in energy-efficiency investments by utility companies in a deregulated climate, and governmental inaction are causes. The Alliance urges business, government, utility companies, and consumers to be part of the solution. Here’s how consumers can easily and comfortably lighten the power load in their own homes — and cut energy bills and pollution, too:

Cooling puts the greatest stress on your family's energy bill and the power grid. Maintain your air conditioning equipment with a professional "tune-up" to save you the cost and inconvenience of a breakdown during the hottest days! Clean or replace filters monthly. For central air conditioning systems, make sure the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) is 12 or higher.

Listen to your mother. ("What do you think — we own the electric company?!") Turn off everything not in use: lights, TVs, computers.

To cut your utility bills by 30 percent, look for the Energy Star label, the symbol for energy efficiency, when shopping for room air conditioners, major appliances, lighting, windows, and home electronics. Find retailers near you at www.energystar.gov

"4 for the Planet." Just replace your four most used 100-watt incandescent bulbs with four comparable 23-watt compact fluorescent bulbs to save $108 over three years. If all U.S. households did the same, we'd save as much energy as is produced by 30 power plants annually.

About 15 percent of an average home energy bill goes to heating water. To save hot water, take five-minute showers instead of baths. Do only full loads when using the clothes washer or dishwasher. Use cold water for laundry and save up to $63 a year—detergents formulated for cold water get clothes just as clean.

Only heat or cool the rooms you need—close vents and doors of unused rooms. Many more tips and much more detailed info can be found here.