What Uses Energy In Your Home

The average American family spends about $1,900 a year on energy. Consumers can reduce their energy use and save significant money by understanding how energy is used in their homes and taking action to use energy more efficiently.  Heating and cooling accounts for the greatest energy use in a home – about 44% of total use during the year.  Water heating comprises about 14% of energy use, while a refrigerator accounts for another 9% of energy consumption. 

Homeowners can reduce their fuel bills significantly by weatherizing their house against the weather. Although windows, doors, walls, attics, and ducts do not use electricity, they can contribute significantly to heating and cooling costs if they are not properly caulked, sealed, and insulated. 

Lighting, cooking, and home appliances consume about one-third of a home's electricity use. Most households still use inefficient incandescent light bulbs, as well as refrigerators and other home appliances that are more than 10 years old and use far more energy than comparable newer appliances.   Many of these appliances continue to use energy even when they have been turned off. This consumption of “stand-by” power adds up: Each year, Americans spend roughly $1 billion to $2 billion in energy costs on standby power alone.

Energy Saving Tips for Consumers

• Turn off unneeded lights. Avoid lighting an empty room and take advantage of natural light whenever possible.
  It is a myth that leaving them on uses less energy than turning them off.



• Replace regular incandescent light bulbs that are used more than two hours per day with ENERGY STAR quali-
  fied compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). Replacing just four standard incandescent lamps with CFLs can save $35
  annually in electricity costs.
• Turn down the thermostat. Set your thermostat to 68°F when you are home during colder months and lower when
  you are away. You can save approximately 10% on your heating bills by turning the thermostat down 10 degrees
  for 8 hours a day, which is easy to do if you turn down the thermostat at night or while away at work. You can
  save up to 3% on your energy bill for each degree that the thermostat is set below 72 degrees.



• Use a programmable thermostat. Better still, install an ENERGY STAR qualified programmable thermostat. An 
  ENERGY STAR thermostat can save as much as $115 per year and perform more energy-saving functions than 
  standard thermostats.



• Push warm air down. In the winter, reverse your ceiling fan motor so that the blades push air up toward the ceiling,
  where hot air normally rises. The fan will drive the warm air back down around the edges of the room, which can
  result in more even heating. Better heat circulation will help combat the problem of sweating windows that some
  homes experience in the wintertime because of condensation on the glass.



• Install glass doors on fireplaces. These act as a barrier against warmed air returning up the chimney. Some
  models of glass doors are equipped with small vents along the bottom or sides to allow a controlled amount of
  combustion airflow into the fireplace. The glass allows the heat from the fire to radiate into the room. Because
  glass doors reduce the amount of conditioned air that is drawn up the chimney, they also reduce infiltration of
  outside air into the home.



• Have a heating professional check your oil furnace to ensure that it operates at peak performance. If you have an
  older furnace, consider equipping it with a flame retention head that can reduce oil consumption by 15% or more.
  Depending on the age and condition of your furnace, consider replacing it with a new, high-efficiency unit that uses
  20–40% less fuel than older furnaces.



• Clean furnace filters monthly. Dirty filters restrict airflow and increase energy use. Keep the furnace clean, lubric-
  ated, and properly adjusted to save up to 5% of heating costs.



• Use the warm- or cold-water setting to wash clothes. About 90% of the energy used for washing clothes comes
  from heating water. Some laundry detergents are made to clean clothes in cold water. Use hot water only for very
  dirty clothes and always use cold water for rinsing.



• Buy an ENERGY STAR clothes washer. If you need a new washing machine, consider buying an ENERGY STAR
  certified washing machine. These use 50% less energy and 40% less water per load than a conventional machine.
  This can save more than $100 annually on your electricity bill.



• Run full loads if you need to use the clothes dryer. Use the moisture-sensing setting to reduce the amount of time
  that the dryer runs and be sure to clean the lint trap after each use. These tips can save up to 5% on your electric
  bill.



• Run the dishwasher only when it is fully loaded. Turn off the dry cycle and air-dry dishes.



• Reduce hot water temperature. Set the water heater to the "normal" setting or 120°F, unless the owner's manual for the dishwasher requires a higher setting. This can save up to 10% of water heating costs.



• Use low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators. Reduce the amount of hot water used by installing low-flow show-
  erheads and faucet aerators. Older showerheads deliver four to five gallons of water per minute. A new two and a
  half-gallon-per-minute showerhead can reduce water consumption by one-third to one-half. A top-quality, low-flow
  showerhead will cost about $10 - $20 and pay for itself in energy savings within four months.



• Turn off computer, scanners, printers and other devices. Do not leave equipment in sleep mode overnight because
  it will continue to draw a small amount of power. Turn off all equipment every night — especially monitors and
  printers. A computer monitor usually consumes twice the electricity as the computer itself. When not in use, turn
  off home office equipment that are plugged into a power strip simply by switching off the power strip after shutting
  down your computer.



• Avoid leaving electronic products and appliances with small transformers plugged in while not in use. According to
  the Federal government, about 40% of all electricity used to power home electronics in the average home is
  consumed while the products are turned off. Most of these, particularly those with small, block-like transformers
  can and should be turned off when not in use, saving energy and money.



• Choose electronic products and appliances without a built-in clock or timer. The displays only consume about a
  half watt, but the power supply in the appliance is converting 120 volts of alternating current to low-voltage direct
  current for the clock or timer. This inefficient process consumes 20 to 100 watts/hour per day – enough to run a
  compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) continuously for 10 hours.



• Unplug or recycle extra refrigerators. A refrigerator manufactured before 1993 uses twice as much energy as today's
  ENERGY STAR-qualified refrigerators. Question whether you really need to increase your electricity bill by
  nearly 10% just to keep some extra soda and beer cold.

Additional Energy Saving Consumer Resources

• Home Energy Saver Audit Tool
  Determine how energy is used in your home and how you can save energy and money by making your home and
  appliances more energy efficient.
  Home Energy Audit website



• Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE)
  A comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and selected federal incentives that promote renew-
  able energy, DSIRE now includes incentives for energy efficiency.
  DSIRE website and database



• Tips for an Energy-Efficient Apartment
  Tenants should concentrate on four basic energy use areas: heating, lights, water heating and appliances.
  U.S. Department of Energy website



• Reducing Wasteful Standby Power
  Many appliances and machines cannot be switched off completely without being unplugged. These products draw
  power 24 hours a day, wasting considerable amounts of energy and adding to consumer electricity bills. The
  Lawrence Berkeley National Lab established a “Standby Power” website to educate consumers about ways to
  reduce power consumption by appliances that are not in use.
  Lawrence Berkeley National Lab standby power website



• Home Remodeling Advice
  The federal ENERGY STAR website offers tips to help you incorporate energy efficiency into common home
  remodeling projects.
  ENERGY STAR website



• Online Tool Models Energy Savings from Renovation
  The University of California at Los Angeles’ Department of Architecture has created an online tool that allows home
  owners to learn about their home's energy performance and the potential for energy savings from a host of energy-
  efficient design improvements, including wall insulation, roof coating, and new windows.
  Home Energy Efficient Design