Top Ten Power Saving Tips

Power-saving changes are easy! We’ve put together a list of the top tips that will help you save power, save money and help protect the environment.

1. Unplug your second fridge and save over $100 a year
2. Dry a full load of laundry. Compared with drying only half loads you could save $44 a year. Even better, if your area permits it, hang your clothes outside to dry
3. Use a programmable thermostat. Set it to automatically turn down the temperature when you’re not at home and when you go to sleep
4. Turn off the lights when you leave the room. The average Saskatchewan home uses forty light bulbs. Turn lights off for four hours a day and save hundreds of dollars a year!
5. Use motion sensors or photocells on your outdoor lights and save over $50 a year
6. Shut down your desktop computer and monitor when you’re not using them. Just by turning them off at night you can save over $50 a year!
7. Did you know that 40 per cent of all electricity used to power your home electronics is consumed while they are turned off? Reduce standby power by unplugging your chargers when not in use and putting your electronics on a power strip so you can easily turn them off
8. Thinking of buying a new TV? Consider an ENERGY STAR® LCD TV instead of an ENERGY STAR® plasma TV. LCD TVs use approximately two-thirds of the electricity of comparable plasma TVs. For instance, a 40-inch LCD TV uses two-thirds the electricity of a 42-inch plasma TV
9. Look for the ENERGY STAR® symbol when buying new appliances and reduce your annual energy costs by up to 30 per cent! According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on average, if consumers replace all their appliances with ENERGY STAR® qualified products, they can reduce their annual costs by up to 30 per cent
10. During the hot summer months use light coloured curtains or blinds, and close windows and outside doors in the morning, to keep cool air inside

Source: http://www.saskpower.com