Staying at home with a little more time?
Consider tackling an energy efficiency project or two. Not only can these energy saving tips help keep your home healthy and comfortable, they will drive immediate savings to your utility bill.
Dust off that home energy assessment report and tackle a few DIY projects. These might include:
- Weatherstripping doors and sealing air leaks around windows
- Insulating attic and/or crawlspace hatch doors
- Replacing the furnace filter
- Installing water-saving showerheads and aerators on kitchen and bathroom sinks (as utilities provide these to us often, you might just have one of these sitting underneath your bathroom sink awaiting installation)
- Insulating your water heater with a hot water heater blanket
- Placing pipe insulation on your hot water pipes
- Replacing ALL your light bulbs with LEDs (rebates are available!)
- Put plug loads (computers, monitors, electronics) on advanced power strips and turn off the power strip when not in use
- Replacing non-programmable thermostats with programmable or smart thermostats. For electric heated homes, line voltage (240 volt) thermostats are required.
Financing
Have a larger project you now have time to consider, but not quite sure how to pay for it? A good option available to Colorado homeowners is the RENU loan program established by Colorado Energy Office. This loan program is designed to provide low-interest financing for energy efficiency upgrades.
Additional ways to save energy…
- Always turn off lights when you leave a room (regardless of how long you’ll be gone)
- Choose a slow cooker/instant pot over cooking on the stovetop or oven
- Clean your refrigerator coils
- Set your hot water heater to 120°F
- Hot tub sitting idle? Turn heat down to 85°F
- Reverse the direction of your ceiling fan (clockwise in the winter to bring warm air down & counter-clockwise in the summer to cool the room)
- Turn off heat tape at all breakers
- Wash clothes in cool or cold water
- Place clothes on a drying rack rather than running the clothes dryer
Ready to do more?
- Check out CORE’s Earth Day Scavenger Hunt. If you participate, be sure to post your accomplishments using #COREScavengerHunt to be entered into a drawing for a solar-powered party pack.
- Visit CSU-Extension’s DIY Energy Checklist for more energy efficiency tips.
- Check out energy efficient window treatments.
- Prioritize purchasing ENERGY STAR electronics and appliances (including tvs, computers, printers, monitors, refrigerators, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers.)
- Investigate installing solar on your home – solar bids can be completed by phone and email and through physically distanced visits outside your home
- curious how a PV system might perform at your house?
- CSU’s Solar Calculator, NREL’s PV Watts calculator or Solar-Estimate.org can help you determine your system size.
- Research your next car – electric vehicles are becoming more and more available throughout Colorado.
- Learn more through these activities, ongoing podcasts, books, movies and legislative efforts.
- Use Fort Collins Utilities’ Home Utility Use Estimator to calculate your home’s energy use.
- Calculate your household’s carbon footprint.
Click on your utility provider to view additional energy efficiency tips recommended by your utility company.
Energy Smart Colorado transforms the local energy efficiency market and stimulates home and business energy improvements through access to information, capital and a skilled workforce.
CALL US: 1.833.372.4372
EMAIL: info@energysmartcolorado.com
MAILING ADDRESS: PO Box 4842 • Frisco, Colorado 80443