April 21st, 2009

From Green Right Now Reports:

Power bills got you down, and you can’t figure out what you’re doing wrong because you’re trying to do so much right?

The Alliance to Save Energy wants you to realize the most from your efforts to reduce electricity consumption, so they’ve released this checklist for you to consider as you try to trim those galloping electric bills:

1 – If the payoff from your home fleet of energy efficient products doesn’t seem to be reducing your electric bill, ask yourself is it the “dreaded Snackwell effect”? Are you gulping energy in the belief that your more efficient computer, TVs and refrigerator will curb the bill so significantly you no longer have to worry? This phenomenon, akin to dieters indulging on low-calorie foods (like Snackwells) because they estimate that they’re consuming fewer calories overall, could be giving you a false perception of the energy-tightening you’ve done.

2. Have you added big energy users – like a big screen TV that doesn’t carry the Energy Star seal – that are undermining your other energy efficiency actions?  Look at what you’re plugging in around the house.

3 – Have energy rates increased in your area? This could account for why your bill is static despite taking strong steps to cut back.

4 – Are you staying home more in this down economy? Watching movies at home, working from home. All these activities consume electricity.

And we might add…

5 – Keeping those TVs/VCR/DVRs on a power strip, which you turn off during the day, can reduce your household’s consumption of “phantom power”, that small, but cumulative trickle of energy that’s used by electronics that are plugged in, even though they’re not turned on.

For more tips on saving energy at home, see the Alliance’s list of ideas.   www.ase.org/consumers. The Alliance is a coalition of business, government, consumer and advocacy groups, founded in 1977.

Advertisement