Save Energy
The average home in the U.S. spends about $1,600 on utilities each year, and with rising energy costs, many will spend much more.
For most people, though, making small home improvements and more informed purchases could save you up to 25% - about $400 each year.
Rocky’s wants to make it easy for you to get started with some low- and no-cost tips to increase the energy efficiency of your home.
Tip #1 — Use More Efficient Lighting
Making small changes in your home lighting is one of the fastest, easiest and most cost-effective ways
to save energy. Over 10% of the average energy budget is for lighting alone. Easy changes can cut your lighting costs by over 50%, including:
- Use compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) throughout your home. CFLs use up to 75% less electricity and last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
- Install timers or sensors to reduce the amount of time your lights are on.
- Use task lighting to focus light just where you need it. For example, use fluorescent under-cabinet lighting for kitchen sinks and countertops.
- Three-way lamps keep lighting levels low when brighter light is not necessary.
Tip #2 — Use Power Strips
Power strips can help you control the amount
of energy used by your electronics when they are not in use.
- Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips
- Turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use. TVs, DVDs, stereos and other electronics in standby mode still use several watts of power
Tip #3 — Seal Air Leaks
Another one of the quickest money-saving tasks you can do is
caulk and
weatherstrip all seams, cracks, and openings to the outside in your home.
Doing so can save you as much as 10% on your heating and cooling bill.
- Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows that leak air.
- Caulk and seal areas where plumbing, ducting, or electrical wiring penetrates through exterior walls.
- Look for dirty spots in your insulation, which often indicate holes where air leaks into and out of your house. You can seal the holes by stapling sheets of plastic over the holes and caulking the edges of the plastic.
- When the fireplace is not in use, keep the flue damper tightly closed.
Tip #4 — Maintain Heating and Cooling Systems
Heating and cooling systems in the United States together emit 150 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.
You can help reduce your emissions by over 20% by properly maintaining and upgrading your equipment.
- Using a programmable thermostat, you can operate your heat or air-conditioning according to a preset schedule. As a result, you won’t use as much energy when you are asleep or the house is not occupied. You can save around 10% a year on your heating and cooling bill by simply turning your thermostat back 10°-15° for eight hours.
- Clean or replace filters in furnaces once a month or as needed. Consider purchasing an electrostatic filter which is 97% efficient at filtering all indoor air pollutants, including dust, bacteria, pollen, mold and more.
- Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters and radiators as needed; make sure they're not blocked by furniture, carpeting or drapes.
- Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season. If you are not sure how to do this, consult a professional or your local Rocky’s store.
- Look for the Energy Star label when purchasing air conditioners.