With the weather getting hotter during summer, it can “shock”
you when you receive your electricity bill. There are a few things that you can
do to make sure your appliances are running efficiently to save you money and
energy consumption.
1. Make sure to have ENERGY STAR- rated appliances. These
devices are ranked by the U.S. Department of Energy as using less energy than
the standard amount. ENERGY Star-rated appliances use about 20% less energy and
can save you more than $270 in your energy costs.
Refrigerators:
2. Make sure not to overload the amount of groceries in your
refrigerator. Having tons of items in your refrigerator will require more
energy to keep it cool.
3. Don’t keep your refrigerator door open for a long period of
time. Also make sure to not open your door repeatedly in a short period of
time. Opening the door will cause the
cool air inside to escape and makes the refrigerator motor work harder.
4. Keep your refrigerator temperature in between 32- 40 degrees
F. Your freezer temperature should be set between 30-0 degrees F.
Washing Machines:
5. Using cold water when doing most of your washes can save you
money and still have your cloths perfectly cleaned.
6. Just like dishwashers, you should make sure that you run
full loads because most washers will use the same amount of electricity.
7. Have a front-load washing machine. Front-load washing
machines use two-thirds less water than top-load washing machines, reducing
electricity and water.
Drying Machines:
8. Selecting to have a faster spin cycle can help reduce less
time to dry your cloths.
9. When the weather is hot, you can dry some of your cloths
outside on a clothesline or a drying rack to save energy costs.
10. Place your washing machine in a room that is warmer than a
cold location like a cold basement. The warmer air going into the dryer will
use less energy to heat the air up.
Dishwashers:
11. Make sure to load your dishwasher fully for each cycle. Most
dishwashers use the same amount of electricity and hot water for each load
whether it’s a full load or half of a load.
Ovens or ranges:
12. Don’t open your oven door frequently to check on your food.
The temperature can drop about 25-30 degrees and requires more energy to
regenerate the set temperature.
13. Use glass baking dishes as much as possible. Glass retains
heat better than other materials. This can cook your food faster and you can
even decrease the oven temperature.
What other things do
you do to consume less energy in your home? Leave it in the comments section.
