Energy Efficiency Tips

Conserving energy is the single most effective way to lower your energy bill, no matter what the season. To manage the impact of the rising natural gas costs and the potential cold chill of winter, Vectren and the U.S. Department of Energy offer the following energy efficiency tips.

Quick tips - quick and easy tips with minimal time commitments and costs.

Increasing efficiency in specific areas throughout your home.

Water heating

Home heating

Lighting

Appliance usage

Or for more specific details, review one of nearly 30 efficiency topics from the Energy Services department. These one-page pdf documents cover everything from how to caulk or improving efficiency in your duct system to the importance of storm windows or insulating your basement. Click here for more information.

For the complete list of energy conservation tips, visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s "Energy Savers" web site. Upon availability single copies of Energy Savers products are available to individuals (o en espanol) at no charge by contacting the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse (EREC) by e-mail or phone:

Phone: (800) DOE-3732 (800-363-3732)
E-mail doe.erec@nciinc.com

Quick Tips

Regularly cleaning or replacing your filter will help your furnace run at full efficiency and supply better air flow.
Keep the heat in by caulking, sealing and weather-stripping around your doors and windows to prevent heat from escaping to the outside. This makes your home more energy efficient and can create a savings on your energy bill.

Close fireplace dampers when they are not in use. Having your fireplace cleaned and checked out by a professional every year keeps it operating safely and efficiently.

Doors and fireplaces account for 11% and 14% of your home’s heat loss respectively.

Reduce energy costs and increase comfort with a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat can maximize your energy savings without the hassle of manually adjusting your thermostat. Large energy savings are possible when thermostat settings are set back during the sleep hours and times when no one is home.
Set the thermostat at an energy efficient setting (between 68 and 72 degrees F or lower). Remember that for each degree the thermostat setting can is lowered, you could see a 3% energy savings on the heating portion of your bill.

Reverse the direction of your ceiling fan. By changing the direction to clockwise in the winter, the fan will push rising warm air back into the room.

Only 20% of homes built before 1980 were well insulated.

Consider adding insulation in your attic. You can increase the comfort of your home while reducing your heating and cooling needs by up to 30% by investing just a few hundred dollars in proper insulation and weatherization products.
Open your draperies and let the sun in. The sun's rays will warm your home. Conversely, after dark close your draperies to hold heat inside your home.
Close doors and/or heating vents to unused rooms.
Be sure heating registers and vents are not blocked by draperies or furniture. These vents should also be cleaned regularly with a broom or vacuum.

If your home has single-pane windows, as almost half of U.S. homes do, consider replacing them. New double-pane windows with high-performance glass can reduce heat loss. Storm windows can reduce your heat loss through windows by 25% to 50%.

Windows can account for 10% to 15% of your heating bill.

Repair leaky hot water faucets immediately. A hot water faucet leaking one drop per second wastes 160gallons per month - or 16 hot baths!

Water Heating

Use less hot water.
Turn down the thermostat on your water heater to a temperature of 115/120 degrees. If you have a dishwasher, check to make sure this lower temperature will clean the dishes properly.

Wash clothes in cold water.
Repair leaky hot water faucets immediately. A hot water faucet leaking one drop per second wastes 160 gallons per month - or 16 hot baths!

Water heating can account for 14% of your utility bill.

Wrap an insulating blanket around your water heater to keep the heat from escaping. You can also save on your water heating bill by insulating at least the first six feet of the hot water pipe and the first three feet of the cold water pipe that extends from your hot water tank. Make sure you follow all safety precautions, especially if you have a gas water heater with a pilot light

Home Heating

Have your system maintained and inspected annually by a qualified technician.
Ensure that your thermostat is located on an inside wall away from drafts and heat sources.

Consider upgrading your furnace. If your furnace is more than 10 years old, it's likely only about 60 -70% efficient. This means your furnace wastes as much as 30 to 40% of the available heat and you lose 45¢ of every heating dollar you spend. Compare this to a state-of-the-art high-efficiency furnace. Newer high-efficiency natural gas furnaces are up to 96% efficient. This means nearly all of the energy goes to heating your home, not the outside air.

44% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling.

Install a programmable thermostat; leave it on a lower temperature while you're away, and set it to warm the house half an hour before you return home. You can save as much as 5% a year on your heating bills by simply turning your thermostat back 5 degrees for 8 hours.
Set lamps, TV sets, and other heat-producing devices away from the air conditioner thermostat. Heat from the lamp could cause the thermostat to read higher temperature and keep the air conditioner running more than necessary.
Adding a humidifier to your heating system may enable you to turn your thermostat down and still be comfortable at lower temperatures.
Make sure heating vents are open and not blocked by curtains or furniture.
Close doors and/or heating vents to unused rooms.

Lighting

Use linear fluorescent and energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in fixtures throughout your home to provide high-quality and high-efficiency lighting. Fluorescent lamps are much more efficient than incandescent bulbs and last six to 10 times longer.

Turn off the lights in any room you're not using, or consider installing timers, photo cells, or occupancy sensors to reduce the amount of time your lights are on.

Florescent lighting uses 25% of the electric power as incandescent lighting for the same amount of light output.

Use task lighting; instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where you need it. For example, use fluorescent under-cabinet lighting for kitchen sinks and countertops under cabinets.
Consider three-way lamps; they make it easier to keep lighting levels low when brighter light is not necessary.

Appliance Usage

When shopping for a new washer, look for an ENERGY STAR® appliance. These machines may cost more to buy but use about a third of the energy than other appliances.

Dishwashers

Check the manual that came with your dishwasher for the manufacturer's recommendations on water temperature; many have internal heating elements that allow you to set the water heater to a lower temperature.
Scrape, don't rinse, off large food pieces and bones. Soaking or prewashing is generally only recommended in cases of burned-on or dried-on food.

Be sure your dishwasher is full, but not overloaded.
Don't use the "rinse hold" on your machine for just a few soiled dishes. It uses 3 to 7 gallons of hot water each time you use it.

ENERGY STAR® appliances have been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and DOE as being the most energy-efficient products in their classes.

Let your dishes air dry; if you don't have an automatic air-dry switch, turn off the control knob after the final rinse and prop the door open a little so the dishes will dry faster.

Refrigerators

Look for a refrigerator with automatic moisture control. Models with this feature have been engineered to prevent moisture accumulation on the cabinet exterior without the addition of a heater. This is not the same thing as an "anti-sweat" heater. Models with an anti-sweat heater will consume 5% to 10% more energy than models without this feature.
Don't keep your refrigerator or freezer too cold. Recommended temperatures are 37° to 40°F for the fresh food compartment of the refrigerator and 5°F for the freezer section. If you have a separate freezer for long-term storage, it should be kept at 0°F.
To check refrigerator temperature, place an appliance thermometer in a glass of water in the center of the refrigerator. Read it after 24 hours. To check the freezer temperature, place a thermometer between frozen packages. Read it after 24 hours.
Regularly defrost manual-defrost refrigerators and freezers; frost buildup increases the amount of energy needed to keep the motor running. Don't allow frost to build up more than one-quarter of an inch.

Make sure your refrigerator door seals are airtight. Test them by closing the door over a piece of paper or a dollar bill so it is half in and half out of the refrigerator. If you can pull the paper or bill out easily, the latch may need adjustment or the seal may need replacing.

Your refrigerator accounts for 8 to 9 % of your utility bill.

Cover liquids and wrap foods stored in the refrigerator. Uncovered foods release moisture and make the compressor work harder.
Move your refrigerator out from the wall and vacuum its condenser coils once a year unless you have a no-clean condenser model. Your refrigerator will run for shorter periods with clean coils.

Washers and Dryers

Wash your clothes in cold water using cold-water detergents when-ever possible.
Wash and dry full loads. If you are washing a small load, use the appropriate water-level setting.

Dry towels and heavier cottons in a separate load from lighter-weight clothes.
Don't over-dry your clothes. If your machine has a moisture sensor, use it.

About 80% to 85% of the energy used for washing clothes is for heating the water.

Clean the lint filter in the dryer after every load to improve air circulation.
Use the cool-down cycle to allow the clothes to finish drying with the residual heat in the dryer.
Periodically inspect your dryer vent to ensure it is not blocked. This will save energy and may prevent a fire. Manufacturers recommend using rigid venting material, not plastic vents that may collapse and cause blockages.

Other Energy-Saving Kitchen Tips

Be sure to place the faucet lever on the kitchen sink in the cold position when using small amounts of water; placing the lever in the hot position uses energy to heat the water even though it never reaches the faucet.
If you need to purchase a gas oven or range, look for one with an automatic, electric ignition system. An electric ignition saves gas - because a pilot light is not burning continuously.
In gas appliances, look for blue flames; yellow flames indicate the gas is burning inefficiently and an adjustment may be needed. Consult your manufacturer if needed.
Keep range-top burners and reflectors clean; they will reflect the heat better, and you will save energy.
Use a covered kettle or pan to boil water; it's faster and it uses less energy.
Match the size of the pan to the heating element.
If you cook with electricity, turn the stovetop burners off several minutes before the allotted cooking time. The heating element will stay hot long enough to finish the cooking without using more electricity. The same principle applies to oven cooking.
Use small electric pans or toaster ovens for small meals rather than your large stove or oven. A toaster oven uses a third to half as much energy as a full-sized oven.
Use pressure cookers and microwave ovens whenever it is convenient to do so. They can save energy by significantly reducing cooking time.

For the complete list of energy conservation tips, visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s "Energy Savers" web site.