6/5/2020 Smarter House

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START HERE APPLIANCES + ENERGY HOME SYSTEMS + ENERGY

RESOURCES

Choosing the Right

Bulb
 High-efficiency light bulbs offer more options
when it comes to lighting. Not sure what bulbs
are best for you? Check out our guide. 

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Reduce Your Impact

Are you about to buy a new appliance? Remodel your house? Upgrade your heating or
cooling system? If you’re like most of us, you don’t do these things very often. When you do,
you want to make good choices, both for your pocketbook and for the environment.

H E
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Home Energy
Checklist
This checklist provides a way to
prioritize some important
energy efficiency improvements.
Find out what improvements
can help you start saving energy
today.
Shrink your dorm print
Home Energy Breakdown
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Smarter House
Get an Energy Audit Plan Energy
Before making major efficiency Improvements
improvements to your house,
The decision to make certain
find out from a pro where and
energy improvements can be
why energy is being wasted and
obvious —for example, if you
what you should do about it.
have a broken appliance and
need to replace it. But there
may be other important
priorities for your house that
you are unaware of.
Videos
Easy Energy-Saving Home Tips
Heating - 26% Energy used by your heating system.
Cooling - 17% Energy used by your cooling system.
Water Heating - 13% Energy used by your water heater for
bathing, cleaning, etc.
Lighting - 10% Energy used for lighting your home.
Appliances - 14% Energy used for food storage, clothes
washing and drying, cooking, etc. 
Electronics - 7% Energy used for home entertainment
systems, computers, etc.
Other - 13% Energy used for pool pumps, motors, and other
miscellaneous devices.
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Appliances + Energy
If you're about to buy a new appliance, you'll be most interested in the tips on what to look
for when buying new equipment. Otherwise, look for guidance on how to get the best energy
performance through operation and maintenance of the appliances you already own.

Cooking Dishwashing Food

The key to efficient More than half of
Storage
cooking is the energy used by
If your current
understanding a dishwasher goes
refrigerator or
your cooking towards heating
freezer is more
habits. If you are the water. Thanks
than 15 years old,
purchasing new to national
it may be so
cooking efficiency
inefficient that a
appliances, it is standards, the
new one would pay
worth using energy and water
for itself in energy
efficiency as a consumed by new
savings in just a
guide because they dishwashers has
few years. If your
tend to have long dropped
present unit is
lives. dramatically, while
working fine and a
making great
new
strides in cleaning
purchase doesn't fi
performance.
t your budget,
follow our tips to
boost
energy efficiency.

Home Lighting Laundry

Lighting costs the Most of the energy
Electronics
typical household used to wash
An estimated 10%
between $75 and clothes is for
to 15% of all
$200 per year in heating the water.
electricity used in
electricity. Making New resource-
American homes
the switch to efficient washers
can be attributed
energy-efficient provide excellent
to the buzz of
lighting is one of wash performance
electronic devices,
the quickest, while cutting
not because they
easiest, and least energy and water
use a lot of energy,
expensive ways to use by half or
but because of
cut your home’s more. 
their sheer
energy use.
numbers.  

Home Systems + Energy

Keep in mind that, although heating and cooling consume by far the most energy, your best
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opportunities for reducing these pieces of the pie may come not from replacing equipment
but from improving the efficiency of the building itself.

Air Quality Cooling Heating

This section
Systems Systems
explains how air
More than three- Heating is the
naturally moves
quarters of all U.S. largest energy
through a typical
households have expense in most
house, what the
air conditioners. As homes, accounting
main pollutants
AC becomes the for 35% to 50% of
are, and how best
norm in all regions annual energy
to control
of the country, it is bills. Reducing your
them. Proper
important to heating energy use
ventilation and air
realize that often is the single most
distribution play
the easiest and effective way to
an important role
most affordable save money and
in providing a safe,
way to stay reduce your home’s
comfortable, and
comfortable during contribution to
durable home as
the summer is to global
efficiently as
reduce your need environmental
possible. 
for air problems.
conditioning. 
 

Insulation Water Windows &

Insulation is your
Heating Doors
primary defense
After heating or If your existing
against heat loss
cooling, water windows are
through the house
heating is typically damaged or
envelope. However,
the largest energy broken, you may
putting insulation
user in the be better off
into a house after
home. This section replacing them. If
it is built can be
looks at the high- your windows are
pretty difficult. If
efficiency water generally in good
there isn't any
heaters available shape, it will
insulation, the best
and how you can probably be more
option is to have
reduce water cost-effective to
an insulation
heating costs with boost their
contractor blow
your present water efficiency with
cellulose or
heater.  inexpensive fixes
fiberglass into the
from your local
walls.
building supply or
hardware store.

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