Use clothes lines & racks to dry at least half of your laundry
Clothes dryers use 5-10% of a household’s daily energy use and are one of the most expensive home appliances to operate ($100-$200/year). They are also one of the most dangerous causing more than 15,000 home fires annually. If you would like to know how much energy and money it takes to launder your household’s clothes, try out this calculator.
Instead, line-dry your clothes inside or outside. Explore clothesline and rack options on urbanclotheslines.com. If you think that your homeowner’s association or condominium prohibits the use of clotheslines, here’s some good news! Maryland’s “Right-to-Dry” legislation (SB 224) went into effect on October 1, 2010 and requires condominium associations, homeowner associations, and cooperatives to allow homeowners to install clotheslines on their property. Learn more about the benefits of air-drying clothes.
TIP: Using hangers can really reduce the length of clothes line you need. (You’ll need a rod or taut wire for this approach). Use each hanger as a mini-clothes line for socks, dish towels, and the like. Install a rod over your washer dryer or use your shower rod for hangers during rainy or winter weather.
If you have severe allergies to pollen, check the weather and the Air Quality Index before you hang your clothes outside.
Use a microwave, outdoor grill, pressure or solar cooker
Cooking on a stove or using your kitchen oven, even for about an hour a day, can raise the overall temperature in your home by as much as four degrees. Heating caused by using your oven or stove makes it more difficult for your air conditioning thermostat to maintain proper room temperature. Using a microwave (which uses 66% less energy) or grilling outside can ease some of the burden on your air conditioning system, lowering your summer energy bills.
Go even greener by trying solar cooking! Search online for “solar oven retailers” or find instructions for making your own at home. Pressure cookers are another tool to save energy, and may be up to 70% more efficient than other cooking methods due to drastically reduced cooking times.
Test the seals on your refrigerator and freezer and replace them when needed. Warped or damaged gaskets on your refrigerator or freezer not only waste energy, they can lead to drips and mold. To test their effectiveness, place a dollar bill in the door and close. Gently tug it. If the dollar comes out easily, the gasket is not working properly, and you are losing energy and money. Learn more about how to replace your refrigerator gasket. Watch this fridge gasket replacement video or freezer gasket replacement video.
Defrost your freezer when you notice that a layer of ice has built up. Frost can prevent the evaporator coils from cooling your food effectively and efficiently. To defrost, remove food from the freezer, turn off the freezer, and mop up ice as it melts. Alternatively, you can scrape ice out of the freezer.
Keeping refrigerator coils clean can help you save money and avoid service calls. To clean the coils, first move the appliance away from the wall carefully and unplug it. Locate the coils - either on the back or at the front bottom of the fridge. If they're at the bottom, remove the grill in the front covering them and use a coil cleaning brush (available at hardware and appliance-parts store) to loosen the dirt; then remove it by vacuuming. You may also need to remove the back panel and clean it from the back. If the coils are on the back, clean them the same way. Do this at least twice a year (more often if you have pets) to help keep your refrigerator operating efficiently. Watch this coil cleaning video to learn more.
Check temperature settings on your refrigerator and freezer
The EPA recommends keeping refrigerators between 34 to 40°F and freezers between 0 and 5°F. To test the temperature in a freezer, place a thermometer between frozen packages and check the reading after 24 hours. For the refrigerator, place a thermometer in a glass of water and set it in the center of the fridge for 24 hours before taking the reading. Limiting the frequency of opening and closing doors helps to keep the temperature consistent, saving energy and preserving food longer. Learn more about refrigerator and freezer temperatures from EnergySavers.gov.
Eliminating the use of a large appliance can be one way to reduce the overall energy consumption of household appliances. When appliances reach the end of their useful life, consider if a replacement is really necessary. Also remember to recycle or properly dispose of old appliances when you purchase a replacement. Continuing to run an inefficient appliance, such as an extra refrigerator in the garage, can be costly. Not only will the old unit be less efficient than its replacement, but it may even use more energy by being operated in an unconditioned space.
Upgrade your refrigerator to a high-efficiency ENERGY STAR® model
ENERGY STAR® certified refrigerators are required to be 15% more efficient than standard models. Utility companies and some retailers offer rebates for appliance upgrades, and the State of Maryland offers sales tax free shopping for selected ENERGY STAR® appliances each year over President’s Day weekend.
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