Lower your utility bills and help protect the environment by making a few simple changes at home. Changing the way you do laundry and wash dishes can help reduce the amount of energy you use, which means less greenhouse gas emissions. These ENERGY STAR tips and tricks will help you make a difference.
1. Optimize Your Layout
When re-doing your kitchen, make sure your hot and cold appliances are not right next to each other. Keeping your oven away from the refrigerator reduces the amount of energy required to keep the fridge cold.
2. Choose an ENERGY STAR Qualified Refrigerator
It’s about 15% more energy efficient than the minimum federal standard. It even uses less energy than a 60-watt light bulb run continuously.
3. Clear the Air
A typical room air purifier, operating continuously, uses more electricity than some new refrigerators. Look for the ENERGY STAR label, which means the model is 40% more energy efficient than most others on the market. Now isn’t that a breath of fresh air?
4. Make the Most of Your Dishwasher
Scrape, not rinse, dishes before putting them into the dishwasher and use the air-dry option when available. ENERGY STAR rated dishwashers are on average 10% more energy efficient and 20% more water efficient than non-qualified models.
5. Turn the Faucet Off and Put Down that Dish Detergent
Washing dishes by hand uses more water than using a dishwasher.
6. Save with ENERGY STAR Qualified Clothes Washers
They reduce water consumption by over 35% and energy use by 20%, compared to regular washers. Check with your local utility to see if they offer rebate programs for upgrading to an energy efficient model.
7. Wash Clothes with Cold Water
Much of the energy used in washing is to actually heat the water. You’ll save money and your clothes.
8. Load Up on Savings
Save energy by running your dish and clothes washers only with full loads.
9. Keep Moisture Out of the Air and Money in Your Wallet
ENERGY STAR compliant dehumidifiers use 15% less energy than conventional models and can save you roughly $175 over the life of the product.
Now that you know how easy it is to save energy with your appliances, learn more about conserving energy in every room of your home. Check out ENERGY STAR @ home and explore the animated rooms to find out what you can do to help protect the environment. Take the room-by-room tour.
