Tips for Home Conservation and Savings

Save energy and money today. Follow these tips to cut your electric, water and natural gas bills.

No Cost

• Turn off lights and appliances when not in use.
• Use the power-management software on your computer.
• Lower thermostat temperature on winter nights and when you’re not home.
• Wear an extra layer of clothing during the winter and lower the thermostat a few degrees.
• Don’t block heating registers with furniture, carpet or drapes
• Open curtains and shades during the winter so the sun can warm your home and close them during the summer to keep your home cooler.
• Open windows on summer evenings to bring in cool outdoor air and close them during the day to keep cool air inside.
• Set your air conditioner’s temperature higher and use other means to keep your house cool (portable fans, ceiling fans).
• Close fireplace damper and doors when not in use.
• Lower water-heater temperature to the lowest comfortable setting.
• Take shorter showers.
• Turn off faucet while shaving or brushing teeth.
• Wash clothes in cold or warm water and rinse in cold water.
• Wash full loads of clothes. When washing smaller loads, select appropriate water level setting.
• Dry clothes on a clothesline.
• Clean dryer lint filter after every load. Make sure vent pipe is not kinked or blocked.
• Use microwave oven for warming, reheating or cooking food.
• Run dishwasher only when full. Use the energy-saver cycle or no-heat drying.
• Make sure the air flow around your refrigerator is not obstructed.
• Consider recycling a second refrigerator or freezer through Fort Collins Utilities’ Refrigerator/Freezer Recycling Program.
• Keep water beds covered (comforters work well).
• Borrow an “appliance meter” from Utilities to learn how appliances use electricity.
  

Low Cost

• Install an insulation blanket on your water heater. Be sure to follow manufacturer instructions carefully.
• Insulate pipes that connect vertically to your water heater.
• Seal air leaks by checking windows, doors, foundations and exterior walls. Other leaks may be found in attics, basements and crawl spaces.
• Seal and insulate air leaks in attic ductwork and crawl spaces. Always use a permanent “duct mastic” material for sealing—never use “duct tape.”
• Close crawl space vents, and cover the crawl space floor with plastic (at least 6-mil) to reduce moisture coming from the soil.
• Install low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators.
• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. For greatest savings, start with lighting fixtures used most often.
• Install plastic covers over single-pane windows during the winter.
• Plant fast-growing vines to block unwanted summer sun (results in months).
• Plant shade trees to block unwanted summer sun (results in years).
• Place insulation beneath water beds sitting on concrete slab floors.
• Block air flow through your fireplace when not in use.

Moderate Cost

• Insulate attics and crawl space walls.
• Schedule a home energy rating for a professional assessment of energy use and savings potential.
• Apply for a Zero Interest Loan for Conservation Help (ZILCH) to make higher-cost upgrades.
• Replace older appliances with ENERGY STAR® products.

High Cost

• Insulate basement walls.
• Blow cellulose insulation into uninsulated frame walls.
• Replace older water heaters, air conditioners, furnaces and boilers with efficient ENERGY STAR models.
• Replace appliances, including washing machines, dishwashers and refrigerators with ENERGY STAR models.
• Install storm windows over single-pane windows.
• Use solar screens over windows with excess sun.
• Replace windows with double-pane, low-e windows. Specify “solar-control” windows in locations where windows are exposed to excess sun.