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More than 30 Billion Kilowatt Hours are Wasted 60 Ways to Save Energy & Money Preparing Your Home for Solar - (video) Simple Steps to Save Energy - (video) June 16, 2008 10 Easy Ways to Beat the Power Company Price Increases May 7, 2008 6 stupidly simple steps to save billions of gallons of gas An absolutely tremendous amount of gasoline could be saved in America with some very simple measures. Energy Costs and Conservation Facts Empty your Mailbox This is a great FREE service. Many of us get a couple catalogs every week. Most of the time we flip through the pages in a few seconds and circle file it. Anytime I get a catalog now I go to this service and have it eliminated. My mailbox is getting emptier every week. This is a huge energy saving tip as it saves thousands of trees from ever getting cut down. Money Saving Tips These tips cover a variety of areas of everyday life. Saved dollars turn into hundreds that turn into thousands when getting organized and disciplined. Slow down a Little, Save a lot of Gas 4-3-2008 Car Energy Saving Tips FILL UP WHEN THE GROUND TEMPERATURE is Coldest. The colder the ground, the denser the fuel, when it gets warmer gas expands.
In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of gas, diesel, ethanol and other petroleum products play an important role. A 1 degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.
DO NOT SQUEEZE THE TRIGGER OF THE NOZZLE TO A FAST MODE. In slow mode it minimizing the vapours that are created. When you pump on the fast rate some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour. Those vapours are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less fuel for your money.
VERY IMPORTANT TIPS TO FILL UP WHEN YOUR TANK IS HALF FULL. the more fuel you have in your tank, the less air occupying its empty space. Gas evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gas storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation unlike service stations.
IF THERE IS A FUEL TRUCK PUMPING INTO THE STORAGE TANKS, DO NOT FILL UP - most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.
The best way to warm up a vehicle is to drive it. No more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days is needed. Anything more simply wastes fuel and increases emissions.
Tune up the car engine regularly to maintain the gas mileage at its highest level.
Use the lowest octane gas your car can tolerate without knocking.
Roof and trunk racks upset the aerodynamics and reduce gas mileage.
Clean out heavy items from the trunk. The extra weight reduces gas mileage.
Check car fan belts regularly and change them when they become cracked or worn.
Keep exhaust systems in good repair to reduce emissions and the mpg higher.
Use the grade of motor oil recommended by your car's manufacturer. Using a different motor oil can lower your gasoline mileage by 1%-2%.
Depress the accelerator gently to drive away and change to a higher gear in time.
Do not approach traffic lights at full speed. If it is clear that you will have to stop, begin slowing down well in advance.
Avoid drag. Where possible keep all windows closed and ensure that the doors, bonnet (hood), and boot (trunk) are securely fastened.
Maintain a sufficient distance between your car and the vehicle ahead. This way there is less need to react suddenly, and you can brake and accelerate more smoothly.
On bends, reduce speed in time and accelerate smoothly when you are halfway through a bend. Braking before a bend followed by rapid acceleration leads to excessive fuel consumption.
If you watch the roads ahead and anticipate any likely problems, your driving style will become smoother and better controlled.
Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration, and hard braking) wastes gas. It can lower your highway gas mileage 33% and city mileage 5%.
Drive the speed limit. Driving 65 instead of 55 reduces your milage by 10%.
As a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.25 per gallon for gas.
Keep tires properly inflated and aligned to improve your mpg by around 3.3%.
Use air conditioning only when necessary.
Check your auto air conditioning systems for freon leaks and repair them properly. Freon damages the ozone layer.
Check into telecommuting, carpooling and public transit.
Use overdrive gearing, your car's engine RPM speed goes down.
Using cruise control helps you maintain a constant speed and will save gas.
Get regular engine tune-ups and car maintenance checks to avoid fuel economy problems due to worn spark plugs, dragging brakes, low transmission fluid, or transmission problems.
Replace clogged air filters to improve mpg by as much as 10%.
Combine errands into one trip. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.
$ Long-Term Savings Tip: Consider a highly fuel-efficient vehicle. A fuel-efficient vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or an alternative fuel vehicle saves you a lot at the gas pump and helps the environment.
Inside the Home Energy Saving Tips
Outside Your Home Energy Saving Tips
Use electric instead of gas powered lawn and garden equipment, as they create less pollution and are usually more efficient.
Heat your pool the smart way - purchase a solar blanket and let the sun do it.
Rehang misaligned windows and replace windows with broken or cracked panes.
Use an inexpensive photoelectric light for nighttime lighting in the yard or home so the lights burn only when it is dark outside.
Motion sensors will turn on outside security lighting only when movement is detected within its range and keep from running the lights all the time.
Replace inefficient incandescent outside flood lights with more efficient high pressure sodium or low pressure sodium lamps. The latter are better in areas with bug problems.
Protect structural wood components from decay by moisture, fungi and termites.
Adjust exterior doors to minimize the crack all around to minimize air infiltration.
Home photovoltaics are an option for remote houses or equipment sheds.
Consider using high-intensity discharge or low-pressure sodium lights.
Exterior lighting is one of the best places to use CFLs. If you live in a cold climate, be sure to buy a lamp with a cold weather ballast since standard CFLs may not work well below 40°F.
Turn off decorative outdoor natural gas lamps; just eight such lamps burning year-round use as much natural gas as it takes to heat an average-size home during an entire winter.
Landscaping Energy Saving Tips
Collect rain water in a cistern for watering plants, garden and landscaping.
Plants purify air in the home. They extract carbon dioxide and create oxygen.
Plant shrubs and trees around the air conditioning condenser to improve its operating efficiency. The shade makes it work less to cool the refrigerant circulating from the inside air handler.
Clean out bird nests and debris from attic louvers so that air can flow freely through the attic space. Your home will be cooler.
Plant grass or ground cover on exposed land to prevent loss of topsoil from erosion. Landscaping also reduces the amount of reflected heat reaching the building.
Plant natural grasses and shrubs that are native to your area and that do not require a lot of extra water in the summer.
Remove concealment and bushes that are so near AC units that they restrict the flow of air.
Keep the lawn a little longer in hot weather - it will use less water and be healthier.
Leave lawn clippings after mowing to fertilize the grass or collect them and use them for mulch.
Discover the extent of the watershed supplying the aquifer or watertable in your area and practice clean water use within its bounds.
Sweep and rake by hand instead of using a power blower.
Abundant shade, greenery and grass around a home keep the building cooler and easier to cool.
Clean the attic louvers of nests, debris or other items that can block the flow of air and cause the attic to heat up.
Water outdoor shrubs before a hard freeze to protect them.
Irrigating efficiently saves water and for large acreages it saves pump energy.
Plant shade trees in the yard, by roadways and in vacant lots.
Gravel, rock and asphalt surfaces prevent rain from soaking through to the water table and aquifer. Plant grass or ground cover where possible to help preserve an ecological balance.
Landscape shading of walls and roof will conserve on summer utility bills.
Planting shrubs, bushes, and vines next to your house creates dead air spaces that insulate your home in both winter and summer. Plant so there will be at least 1 foot (30 centimeters) of space between full-grown plants and your home's wall.
During winter, dense, low-lying trees and shrubbery on the north and northeast sides of your home can help protect your home against wind chill.
Business Energy Saving Tips
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