This is the simplest behavioral change that you and your family can make to your daily energy-saving regimen! Making a difference starts with small changes. Learn more about when to turn off your lights from EnergySavers.gov.
Open your curtains to allow natural lighting in, and close them if the room gets too warm. Using light that is already available during daytime hours reduces energy output from light bulbs, saving you money. Learn more about daylighting from EnergySavers.gov.
Use energy-efficient lighting in at least 75% of your lighting fixtures
Fluorescent lights use up to 75% less energy than incandescent light bulbs, and can last up to 10 times as long. If you replace 20 bulbs with more energy-efficient lights, you can save up to $600 over the lifetimes of the bulbs. Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs) now come in all shapes and sizes. There are dimmable models, and models for recessed or outdoor lighting. Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting is even more efficient than CFL lighting, but with a greater up-front cost.
If you tried a CFL and didn’t like it, it may be because you didn’t select the right wattage, color, brightness, or size. When purchasing CFLs, use these equivalencies to get the brightness you are looking for (or roughly divide by 4):
Set up Power Management on desktop computers and laptops
The average desktop PC wastes half of the energy it consumes and 75% of energy consumption occurs when no one is in front of the computer! Did you know that a desktop computer left on 24/7 without power management can use up 600 kWh per year? That same computer will use only 200 kWh per year if power management is enabled. Of all the energy savings possible from household plug-in electronics, power management accounts for as much as 40%! By turning on your computer’s energy saving features, you can save over $60 a year in energy costs and reduce your CO2 emissions by nearly half a ton. Learn ten ways to reduce your computer’s energy consumption.
Use the ENERGY STAR® guide to activate power management settings on your computer or run the ENERGY STAR® Wizard for CPUs running Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating systems.
Using a Smart Strip can cut the cost of vampire power in a home entertainment system in half. Even when your TV, DVD player, video game systems, and other electronics are turned off, they are still using electricity as long as they are plugged in. A Smart Strip makes it easy to cut off power to multiple devices when they aren't in use. Plug your TV or computer monitor into the "master" outlet on the Smart Strip, and plug any devices that you want to remain always on, such as a DVR or lamp, into the "constant-on" outlet. Other devices will only come on when the TV or computer monitor does, while devices plugged into the “constant-on” outlet remain on all the time.
Unplug power adapters and small electronics/appliances when not in use
Standby power, vampire power, and phantom loads refer to the electric power consumed by electronic appliances, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances, while they are switched off or in standby mode. A very common "electricity vampire" is a power adapter which has no power-off switch.
Make sure to unplug your cell phone and reusable battery chargers from the outlet when not in use. These use energy even when not charging! You can also save energy by plugging electronics and appliances into power strips and turning them off when not in use.
Studies at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have estimated that standby power may account for 5% to as much as 10% of total residential household power-consumption in the U.S. That adds up to that $3-6 billion in energy costs and is equivalent to the power generated by between 18 and 36 average power stations.
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