ENERGY SAVING TIPS
1. Air Conditioning Unit
Check and clean or replace air filters every month. Clean the outside condenser coil once a year.
Schedule periodic maintenance of cooling equipment by a licensed service representative. A "tune up" in the spring will help the air conditioner run at maximum efficiency during the hot weather.

2. Water Heater
Decrease your carbon footprint and reduce your water heating bill by 10 percent by lowering the water heater temperature from 140°F to 120F°. (Keep the temperature at 140°F if you use an older dishwasher without a temperature booster.)
Once a year, drain a bucket of water from the bottom of the water heater tank. This gets rid of sediment, which can waste energy by "blocking" the water in the tank from the heating element.
Locate water heaters as close to the points of hot water usage as possible. The longer the supply pipe, the more heat thatis lost.
Insulate your hot water supply pipes to reduce heat loss. (Hardware stores sell pipe insulation kits.)
For older water heaters, consider buying a water heater insulation kit, which reduces the amount of heat lost through the walls of the tank.

3. Sink
To conserve water, use sink stoppers instead of letting water run while shaving.

4. Vanity Lights
Bathroom vanity lights are one of the most used fixtures in the average home. Use energy-efficient lighting, which can provide bright, warm light while using less energy and generating less heat than standard bulbs.

5. Shower
Taking an 8-minute shower every day can indirectly create as much as 1,368 pounds of CO2 each year. By reducing your shower time to 6 minutes, you can eliminate 342 pounds of CO2 from your annual total.
Install a new low-flow shower head to help you conserve water and save energy—and save more than $75 each year on energy costs.

6. Toilet
A leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water per day. Be sure to repair all toilet and faucet leaks promptly.

7. Lighting
Provide task lighting over desks, tool benches, etc., so that activities can be carried on without illuminating entire rooms. Replace incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient lighting.

8. Outlets
Unplug any battery chargers or power adapters when electronics are fully charged or disconnected from the charger.

8. Light Switch
Remember to always turn off the lights when leaving a room.

9. Outdoor Lights
Install photoelectric controls or timers to make sure that outdoor lighting is turned off during the day. If using energy-efficient light bulbs, make sure that they are compatible with the controls.

10. Porch Light
Install energy-efficient lighting in the front porch light—one of the most-used lighting fixtures in a home. If your porch light is connected to a timer or photocell, make sure the new light bulbs are compatible with the controls.

11. Car
A vehicle emits 12,100 pounds of CO2per year on average. You can reduce your carbon footprint by combining trips and using mass transit, walking or biking when possible. Also keep your car well-maintained to maximize its fuel efficiency, safety, and reliability.

To have a big impact, consider purchasing a hybrid car. A 4-cylinder hybrid with automatic transmission and 2-wheel drive emits nearly 40 percent less CO2 per mile than a sports utility vehicle with automatic transmission, an 8-cylinder gasoline engine, and 2-wheel drive.

Vehicles in the United States average 231 miles per week. There are many ways to reduce your weekly mileage and shrink your carbon footprint. Try carpooling, using public transportation, and combining errands.

Keep your vehicle in good condition to maximize its efficiency. Schedule regular tune-ups, change the oil and filter every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, and make sure the tires are properly inflated.

12. Refrigerator/Freezer
Keep your refrigerator at 37°- 40° F and your freezer at 5° F.
Vacuum the condenser coils (underneath or behind the unit) every three months.
Check the condition of door gaskets by placing a dollar bill against the frame and closing the door. If the bill can be pulled out with a very gentle tug, the door should be adjusted or the gasket replaced.
Do not put uncovered liquids in the refrigerator. The liquids give off vapors that add to the compressor workload.

13. Microwave
Use your microwave oven whenever possible. It draws less than half the power of its conventional oven counterpart and cooks for a much shorter amount of time.

14. Oven
Only use pots and pans with flat bottoms on the stove. Use the right-sized pot on stove burners. A six-inch pot on an eight-inch burner wastes more than 40 percent of the burner's heat.
Develop the habit of "lids-on" cooking to permit lower temperature settings. Keep reflector pans beneath stovetop heating elements bright and clean.
Begin cooking on highest heat until liquid begins to boil. Then lower the heat control settings and allow food to simmer until fully cooked.
Cook as much of the meal in the oven at one time as possible. Variations of 25°F still produce good results and save energy.
Rearrange oven shelves before turning your oven on-and don't peek at food in the oven! Every time you open the oven door, 25° to 50°F is lost.

15. Trash
Recycle your newspapers, plastic and glass containers, and paper products. By cutting the amount of waste you produce in half, and doubling the amount of recycling in your household, you can save about 1,200 pounds of CO2per year.

16. Clothes Washer
Follow detergent instructions carefully. Adding too much detergent actually hampers effective washing action and may require more energy in the form of extra rinses.

Wash only full loads of laundry. Wash clothes in cold water. Sort laundry and schedule washes so that a complete job can be done with a few cycles of the machine carrying its full capacity, rather than a greater number of cycles with light loads.

If you're looking to buy a new washing machine, consider using a front-loading or horizontal axis machine. These new units use 30 percent less water and 50 percent less energy to make hot water and wash clothes than regular washing machines.

17. Ceiling Fan
Run the blades counter-clockwise (downward) to cool more efficiently. Turning up the thermostat by just two degrees and using your ceiling fan can lower AC costs by up to 4-6 percent over the course of the cooling season. Don't forget to turn the ceiling fan off when you leave the room.

18. Computer and Monitor
Computers indirectly create nearly 500 pounds of CO2 per year. Turning them off when not in use will save 43 pounds.
Do not use a screen saver when your computer monitor is active. Instead, let it switch to sleep mode or turn the monitor off.

19. Printer, Fax, Copier
Save energy and space with a multi-function device that combines several capabilities-such as print, fax, copy, and scan. Enable power management features for additional savings. Turn off machines when not in use.
Set office equipment to automatically switch to sleep mode. This will help equipment to save energy, to run cooler, and to last longer.

20. Power Strip
Use a power strip as a central "turn off" point when you are finished using equipment. This will help eliminate the standby power consumption used by office equipment even when it is turned off.