By Rachel X. Weissman

It all comes down to using power efficiently. You already know many of the energy-saving dictums. (Number one: Turn off the lights.) But some are less obvious. Not only has today's market produced many hyper-energy-efficient products, but there are also plenty of resources available to help consumers painlessly curb their power appetites -- and save bundles on their utility bills. To get you started, Amicus has researched the most up-to-date information on saving energy, including online sources for those who want to be energy experts, activists, or just better consumers.

Rollin McGrail

• California Governor Gray Davis recently asked janitors to leave notes for forgetful employees who fail to flip the switch or shut down their computers at the end of the day, which goes to show that many of us still need to be reminded: Turn off lights and appliances when not using them. According to PG&E, the troubled California energy provider, switching off three 75-watt bulbs for two hours each night can save 2 percent on monthly energy bills.

• Avoid using energy during peak hours. "The key thing in regions suffering from energy shortages is to reduce electricity usage between noon and 7 p.m.," says David B. Goldstein, co-director of NRDC's energy program. "Defer things. Do your wash in the morning or evening. Don't put an apple pie in the oven at 5 o'clock. Wait till 7:30."

• Air conditioners are the major energy culprits during peak hours. Try this method to cut down on all-day use: In the morning, turn your AC to a relatively cold setting to pre-cool your house, then turn it off before noon, making sure to pull down shades and blinds. In a well-insulated, modestly sized house, this simple act should allow you to coast through the hottest part of the day. If it doesn't, try to keep your thermostat setting no lower than 78 degrees. A room cooled to 75 degrees costs about 18 percent more than one cooled to 78, according to New York power supplier Niagara Mohawk.

• Throw out that extra fridge that you only use on Super Bowl Sunday for six-packs: It contributes 9 percent to your monthly electricity bill. Call your utility company to find out if it has a program to dispose of refrigerators in an environmentally friendly way.

• In California, about half of a city's energy bill goes for pumping and treating water, according to the California Energy Commission. Reduce your contribution by only doing full loads when you wash clothes, and by fixing leaky faucets, pipes, and especially toilets -- which can account for a third of all indoor water use.

• Don't leave your computer on for more than an hour if you're going to be away. If your machine has the Energy Star label, check its system settings to make sure the energy-saving feature is enabled. (For more on Energy Star, see The Big Stuff section of this story.) Energy Star machines go into a low-power (sleep) state when they haven't been used for a while. "Screen savers don't save energy, they save screens," notes Goldstein.

Rollin McGrail

• When a light blows, replace it with a compact-fluorescent bulb. (Don't worry -- they don't make you look green anymore.) These bulbs produce close to the same quality of light as incandescents, and they don't take extra time to light up, as the old fluorescents did. Still not convinced? Consider this: A 27-watt fluorescent puts out the same amount of light as a 100-watt incandescent. While the price of the fluorescent is substantially more ($14 versus $.50), its lamp life is up to 4.5 years -- versus 167 days for conventional lighting. That means fewer bulbs in the landfill and more money saved: A fluorescent will lower your energy bills by about $15 a year, more than $60 during its lamp life.

• Install dimmer switches, timers, or motion sensors on as many lights as possible. Clock-controlled thermostats can be set to raise the temperature at a specific time each night or while you're at work, so you're not cooling when you don't need to.

• Use ceiling fans only when you're in the room. Fans don't cool down the house -- they just make people feel cooler by providing a breeze.

Rollin McGrail

• When you're ready to get rid of an old appliance, upgrade your gluttonous home-heating and cooling systems by looking for the Energy Star label. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rolled out the Energy Star program in 1992 to encourage manufacturers to increase energy efficiency in their products. It now covers thirty product types. Those that make the Energy Star grade use energy more efficiently than three-quarters of their cohorts, and switching over to these appliances can save you about 30 percent on your energy bills. A typical 1980 refrigerator, for example, uses more than 1,200 kilowatts a year; a 2001 Energy Star model uses just 450. Many Energy Star products, such as TVs, VCRs, and fax machines, cost no more than their wasteful kin. And while others, such as washing machines, can cost $200 to $500 more, manufacturers typically offer a variety of rebates, so ask about these before you buy.

• Your water use costs energy, and if you're using a standard toilet it can account for about 30 percent of all water used in your home. Consider installing an ultra-low-flow toilet, which uses between one-quarter and one-half the water. But they don't work very well, right? "That's an urban myth," says Goldstein. "Surveys say that consumers like them as well as or even better than standard toilets."

• Your lawn may be using 20 to 50 percent of all your water. Forgo (or reduce) the increasingly old-fashioned expanse of golf-course green in favor of xeriscape landscaping, which has water conservation as its core design philosophy. By using native plants, mulch, and water-capturing irrigation systems, you can lower both your demand for water and the hours you spend tending your yard. Good xeriscapes also happen to be stunningly beautiful.

If you're going to remodel your home or build a new one, think about making energy efficiency improvements or finding a builder who employs Energy Star standards. Depending on the size of your house (smaller homes demand fewer resources and fewer cleaning hours), energy-efficient construction can save you hundreds of dollars a year in energy bills. The Energy Star website has a list of lenders who will finance energy improvements and a list of builders. Before getting started, you'll need to hire an energy rater who can help you assess the cost-effectiveness of various energy-saving upgrades. You can find more information and resources through the Residential Services Network at www.natresnet.org.

Resources

The Amicus Journal. Summer 2001
Copyright 2001 by the Natural Resources Defense Council

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