ENERGY STAR continued

ENERGY STAR continued

Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR

Heating and Cooling

· Since nearly half of annual home energy costs goes to heating and cooling, making smart decisions about your home’s HVAC system can have a big effect on your utility bills as well as your comfort. Proper installation and use of ENERGY STAR qualified heating and cooling equipment can cut your energy bill by nearly $200 per year.

· Dirt and neglect are the top causes of heating and cooling system failure. One of the most important steps you can take to prevent future problems and unwanted costs is proper maintenance. To ensure heating and cooling systems are at peak performance, clean or replace the air filter about once every month, three months being the maximum. Also have a contractor visit during the spring or fall to check your heating and cooling system.

· Ducts circulate heated or cooled air evenly to every room in a house. Poorly performing ducts can leak conditioned air and reduce your system’s efficiency by as much as 20 percent, causing it to work harder to keep your home at a comfortable temperature. Sealing ducts helps to properly and efficiently circulate air.

Programmable Thermostats

An easy way to save energy, save money, and fight global warming is to purchase and properly install an ENERGY STAR qualified programmable thermostat. With proper use, ENERGY STAR qualified programmable thermostats can save you about $180 every year in energy costs. Visit energystar.gov/pts to learn how to set your thermostat, and save! It’s simple.

Seal and Insulate

The average U.S. household spends more than $2,000 annually on utility bills, with heating and cooling accounting for as much as half of a home’s yearly energy costs. Sealing air leaks and adding insulation with guidance from ENERGY STAR can reduce the overall home energy bill by up to 10 percent, or about $200.

Whether you do it yourself or have a contractor work on your home, the benefits of using the Seal and Insulate with ENERGY STAR guidance include:

Improved comfort—especially during periods of hot or cold weather
Lower energy use (lower energy bills)
A quieter home due to less noise entering from outside
Fewer holes where pollen, dust, pollution, and insects can enter your home
Improved durability of the building structure through the reduced movement of moist air.

ENERGY STAR Qualified Home Office Equipment

Create Change - Cable Muse Network

· When considering additions to your home office, purchasing ENERGY STAR qualified products for your equipment needs can save you money, energy, and help fight global warming. A typical home office furnished with a desktop computer, LCD monitor, printer and multifunctional device that meet the ENERGY STAR requirement is projected to save more than $80 over the life of the products, and even more if you enable power management.

· If each desktop and monitor in U.S. homes was to sleep when not in use, we would save $1 billion in annual energy costs while preventing more than 15 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, equivalent to the emissions of 1 million cars.

· Copiers and fax machines are the most energy-intensive type of office equipment because they are left on for long periods of time—in some cases, 24 hours each day. ENERGY STAR qualified imaging equipment delivers the same performance as conventional equipment.

Home Electronics

· As many as 1.5 billion external power adapters are in use in the United States—about five for every person. These external power supplies contribute to about 11 percent of the national electric bill. To help save energy, save money, and fight global warming, purchase ENERGY STAR qualified home electronics and external power supplies, and use power strips as a centralized turn-off point when you are finished using equipment.

· ENERGY STAR qualifies all types of home electronic products like televisions, DVDs and VCR products, home audio, digital-to-analog (DTA) converter boxes, and more. You can make a complete ENERGY STAR qualified home theater system and save even more!

· A digital-to-analog (DTA) converter box is a device that converts digital television broadcast signals to analog signals. You will need a DTA by February 17, 2009 if you own an analog TV, you do not need to subscribe to cable or satellite services, and may rely solely on over-the-air broadcasts for your TV viewing. Look for the ENERGY STAR label when purchasing your DTA to save energy, save money, and help protect the environment.

E-Cycling

Old electronics are a fast-growing portion of America’s waste. They can present an environmental hazard if they are disposed of improperly. With an average of four pounds of lead in many older TV picture tubes, along with other potentially hazardous materials, electronics call for special handling at the end of their lives.

Donating or recycling your outdated electronics encourages the safe management of their potentially hazardous components and supports the recovery and reuse of valuable materials. It also helps reduce the pollution and energy use tied to the production of new electronics. Finally, it can put a computer, TV, or cell phone in the hands of someone who needs it.

ENERGY STAR Qualified Appliances

ENERGY STAR qualified appliances have two price tags: what you pay to take it home and what you pay for the energy and water it uses. ENERGY STAR qualified appliances incorporate advanced technologies that use 10 to 50 percent less energy and water than standard models. The money you save on annual utility bills can more than make up for the cost of a more expensive but more efficient ENERGY STAR model.

Clothes Washers

Clothes washers that meet ENERGY STAR criteria reduce energy by about 30 percent and water consumption by more than 50 percent compared to regular washers. Many qualified clothes washers have a greater capacity than conventional models, which means fewer loads of laundry. Some washers can hold more than 20 pounds of laundry at once, while conventional models average 10 to 15 pounds. By dramatically reducing energy use and water consumption, these units can reduce annual utility bills by about $50.

Refrigerators

In most households, the refrigerator is the single biggest energy-consuming kitchen appliance. To save energy, save money, and flight global warming, choose ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators, which are 20 percent more energy efficient than the minimum federal standard. ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators use less energy than a 60-watt light bulb that is run continuously.

Dishwashers

girl and boy having fun

ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers are on average 20 percent more energy efficient than non-qualified models. To help your dishwasher run more efficiently:

Run your dishwasher with a full load. Most of the energy used by a dishwasher goes to heat water. Since you can’t decrease the amount of water used per cycle, fill your dishwasher to get the most from the energy used to run it.

o Avoid using the heat-dry, rinse-hold, and pre-rinse features. Instead use your dishwasher’s air-dry option.

Join Cable Muse Network, the EPA and ENERGY STAR and take the pledge to make a change. Join us today!