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Even older appliances can be more efficient
Whether you have the newest, most efficient electric appliances or you’re hanging onto some that practically qualify as antiques; you can use them smarter so they waste less energy.
September 2010
Here are some free and easy ways to cut waste—and your energy bill:
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- Move your refrigerator away from the stove, dishwasher and heating vents. The heat from those devices makes the refrigerator work harder to stay cold, so it runs less efficiently.
- If your refrigerator’s coils are exposed, vacuum them every three months. When dirt builds up on the coils, the appliance has to use more energy to keep your food cold.
- Repair the gaskets on your refrigerator’s door if they come loose. Damaged gaskets let cold air leak out of the refrigerator.
- If your old freezer doesn’t self-defrost, do it yourself—as soon as a quarter-inch of ice builds up. An ice-laden freezer is inefficient.
- Stop rinsing dishes by hand before you load them into the dishwasher, especially if yours has a pre-rinse or rinse/hold cycle. Simply scrape leftover food from the plates and let the dishwasher do the rest.
- Set your dishwasher to its “energy-saver” feature and leave it there so it saves energy every time you use it.
- Match the size of your pots and pans to the size of the stovetop burner you’re using. Placing a small pot on a large burner wastes a lot of heat.
- Cover pots and pans with lids so you can cook at a lower burner setting.
- Select the “small load” setting on your washing machine when you don’t have enough laundry to fill the tub. At that setting, the washer will fill with less water.
- Clean your clothes dryer filters after each load. This not only keeps the appliance from overheating and working too hard, it can prevent a fire.
- Set your water heat to 120 degrees. That’s hot enough, even though some manufacturers preset theirs to 140 degrees.
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Check your attic
insulation
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Stick your head into the attic so that you can see above the insulation.
July 2010
If you see a lot of lumber, you don’t have enough insulation. What you should see is a continuous sea of loose-fill insulation with no mountains or valleys—and no joists or lumber peeking out over the top of it.
You also shouldn’t be able to see any drywall. That’s your ceiling, and it should be covered with insulation.
Even properly installed insulation can become ineffective if it falls out of place or wears thin. Check yours every now and then to make sure it’s doing its job.
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