Home Energy Investigation

A great way to investigate how much energy you are using, is by doing a quick and easy check of all the rooms in your home. Here are some directions on how to conduct a Energy Investigation:

1. Draw a map of your home, one page for each floor in a bird's eye view.

2. Go room to room and investigate for how much energy you use by looking for theses clues:

• The lights. How bright are they? Are they left on when they don't have to be? Is it possible to switch some of these lights with compact flourescent bulbs?
• The windows. Do they have shades or curtains on them? Are the curtains or shades used when it is a cold night? When the windows are shut, does the cool air still get in?
• The faucets. Are there any faucets that have a leaks or drips? Do people turn them off all the way?

3. Then, every time you find emnergy being wasted, make a note of it on your map for each room

4. Show your family what you have learned about your home. Then brainstorm ways to stay more energy efficient with your family.

Beat the heat,

Mimi Wyatt

Energy saver tip #11: When you dry your clothes, seperate the fabrics so that the heavy and light fabrics are in their own group so that they dry evenly and at the same time.

Staying Energy Efficient

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Wasting energy is a very easy thing to do, and a lot of people don't realize they are doing it, but making the changes to stay energy efficient is a very easy fix. By staying true to the 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse and Recyle, you can help the environment. Here are 10 tips on saving energy:

1. When you leave a room, turn off the lights
2. Switch to compact flourescent lights and save a ton of energy
3. If your cold, instead of turning the heater on, put on a sweater
4. Don't forget to turn the heater off if you leave, or you don't need it
5. Keep thermostats under control. It is suggested that during the day they are set at 68 degrees F and at night 55 degrees F, and in the summer, leave the thermostat at 78 degrees F
6. Use solar energy!
7. Wash your dishes in only full loads
8.Clean the lint filter in your dryer clean after each use. A clean filter makes it so that the air can circulate efficiently
9. Buy an energy efficient shower head
10. Do an enerfy investigation of your home(more info in next blog post)

Beat the heat,
Mimi Wyatt