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Conservation Tips
The best way to lower your utility costs is to practice
common-sense conservation to lessen your utility usage. Here are
some areas
you will want to consider:
Remember that the more you can reduce your energy and water consumption,
the better for your pocketbook—and the better for our environment!
In the kitchen
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- Keep your range elements and reflector pans clean.
They will work more efficiently and thereby save energy.
- Always use
cold water rather than hot in your garbage
disposal unit (better for your disposal, too).
- Microwaves
and pressure cookers save cooking time and generate less heat
than conventional stove-top cooking.
- Keep your refrigerator compartment at 30° to 40°F. Keep the
freezer at 5°F. (Stand-alone freezers for long-term
storage should be kept at zero degrees.)
- Defrost manual-defrost refrigerators and freezers
regularly. Never allow frost to build up more than ¼ “.
- Avoid holding the refrigerator/freezer doors open
when looking for a snack.
Vacuum the coils (at the bottom or on the back
of your refrigerator) monthly for efficient operation.
- Use your dishwasher efficiently, loading it full
but not overloading it so that dishes don’t
get clean. Each load uses approximately 14
gallons of hot water.
A rinse-and-hold cycle uses an additional
3 to 7 gallons of hot water. Avoid using
this feature.
- Let your dishes air-dry.
- Report leaking faucets to your apartment management.
In the bathroom and
laundry
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- Take short showers rather than tub baths.
- Use lukewarm rather than hot water when you shave.
- Report leaking faucets or running toilets to
your apartment management.
- If you have your own washing machine,
use cold water (with cold-water
detergent) as much as
possible. Your clothes
will last longer,
too!
- If you have your own clothes dryer,
use the automatic sensor
settings rather than timed
settings.
Air conditioning and
heating
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- Set your air conditioner thermostat
at 78° when you are home.
- Set your air conditioner
thermostat to 85° -
90° when
your apartment is unoccupied.
- Don’t set air conditioner thermostat lower than normal
when you come home. Your apartment will not cool any faster
but it will
cool longer and use more energy than necessary.
- Leave the fan setting
on automatic. This
helps your
system remove
humidity from
your apartment.
- Do use ceiling, box,
or oscillating
fans with your
air conditioner.
By moving
the air, you
will feel
3° to 4° cooler.
- Change the filter
monthly.
- In the hot part
of the year,
keep windows,
doors,
draperies,
and
shades closed
during the
day to keep out the
hot
air and sun.
- Set heater at
68° when you are up and about.
- In cold parts
of the
year, lower
your heating
thermostat
to 60° - 62° at
night.
- When the apartment is
unoccupied, turn
the thermostat down
to 55°.
- Don’t set heating thermostat above 68° when you
come home. Your apartment will not warm up any faster, but your
heater will run longer and will waste energy.
- In winter, keep windows
and doors closed.
Open draperies
and shades
during the
day to take
advantage of
available sunlight.
- If you have a fireplace,
lower thermostat
to 55° when
you are using
it and close
the warm
air vents
in the
room containing
the fireplace.
Lighting
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- Use one large
bulb
instead of several
small
ones in areas
where bright
light
is needed.
- Long-life
incandescent
bulbs
are less energy-efficient
than
ordinary bulbs.
Use
them only
in
hard-to-reach areas.
- Use lamps
with
three-way switches
(and
three-way bulbs);
keep
lighting levels
low
when
intense light is
not
necessary.
- Use 50-watt
reflector floodlights
in directional
lamps instead
of standard 100-watt
bulbs. They
provide about
the same light
but at half
the wattage.
- Use
fluorescent lights
wherever possible.
Fluorescent lights
give more
light per
watt than
incandescent bulbs
and are
available in
compact styles
that can
be used
to replace
incandescent bulbs.
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