Guest Blogger

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, programmable thermostats can help you save anywhere from 5 to 20 percent on your heating and cooling expenses. However, 40-70 percent of the people who own these devices find them to be difficult to operate.

You may have heard of air source heat pumps and how efficiently they operate to heat and cool your home, but did you know heat pumps can also help you save on your water heating costs?

Have you ever sat in the sunshine that streams in through your home’s windows? Although that warmth feels pretty great on a cold winter day, in the summer, it can actually be adding a few degrees to your home’s temperature.

Have you ever received your electric bill and wondered why your use was different from the month before?

It’s easier to save energy (and therefore, money) during the summer than you might think. Some solutions may seem obvious, but can still make a considerable dent in your electric bill. Here are a few simple activities that can help you conserve energy this summer.

Solar and wind energy has become more popular in recent years as many people are looking for cleaner, renewable sources of energy. However, most people don’t realize that we’ve been using solar and wind energy for years – even before electricity was being generated.

Summer has finally arrived! Even though we did have a decent winter, for me, it seemed like summer couldn’t come fast enough. Maybe it’s the trees, or the birds singing, or the fact that it’s only nice outside in Minnesota for about six weeks a year, but everyone seems to be jumping at the chance to get outside.

A fridge and freezer account for one sixth of an average home’s electric usage. This is usually more than any other appliance in the household.

Air conditioners lose some of their efficiency from normal wear and tear over the operating life of the unit. Coils and filters become dirty, belts slip and refrigerant may also begin to leak over time. This causes your home to lose comfort, and your monthly energy costs to soar – by as much as 20 percent!

Imagine using a single, very efficient unit to both heat and cool your home. Heat pumps not only make this possible, but can potentially greatly reduce your heating and cooling costs.

As some of you may know, Wright-Hennepin will be conducting its 75th Annual Meeting on March 29. For those of you who haven’t attended this event, you’re missing out on some valuable energy-saving information as well as fun events and prizes.

Can you save water and still get a great shower? YES! According to the Environmental Protection Agency, showering is one of the top uses of residential water in the United States, representing approximately 17 percent of indoor water use. Stop and think about how much you’re paying for your water usage – especially for showering. You pay to bring the water into your home, to take it away from your home and you pay to heat it as well. Basically, you are paying three times to use water for showering – that can really add up!

Did you know the standard incandescent light bulb only uses 10-20 percent of the energy it consumes for light? The rest of the energy it uses is given off as heat. 

Portable heaters can come in handy for a variety of situations and can save you money on your overall heating costs. There are situations where you may only need to heat a small area, and using a small space heater can be less expensive than turning up the thermostat on your whole-house heating system. Space heaters can also be used to raise the temperature of rooms used by individuals who are sensitive to cold, without the added expense of over-heating the rest of your home.

Conserving energy in your home is about better insulating the envelope inside as well as outside. A very easy and inexpensive project to help you accomplish this is to install wall and switch plate seals.

Have you ever gotten up at night to get a glass of water and noticed a lot of little red lights shining around your living room? Devices that produce these lights are constantly drawing energy – whether they’re on or off.

Even though you may have gotten a great Black Friday deal on an HDTV, that new television may end up costing you more money than your old tube TV in the long run.

There’s been a lot of buzz about energy conservation in recent years, and as you probably know, conserving energy is not always easy to do. However, I’ve discovered a way to save energy while cooking and baking, which may be very helpful during the upcoming holiday season.

The holiday season is approaching fast, and many of you are probably planning on using stringed lights to make your home look more festive. However, it’s important to consider how much these electricity-drawing additions cost.

Air leakage – or infiltration – occurs when outside air enters a house through uncontrolled spaces like cracks and small openings. Properly sealing cracks and openings in your home can significantly reduce your heating and cooling costs, improve building durability and create a healthier indoor environment for you and your family.

Fall is a great time of year to check your mechanical ventilation system. Keeping these systems well maintained is a simple, cost effective way to save you money on your winter energy bills.

What would you do with an extra $1,200? That is what one family calculated their electric bill savings to be over a four-month period of actively conserving energy. This family also won Wright-Hennepin’s 2011 “Littlest User” energy-saving contest.

At Wright-Hennepin, we do regular member surveys to help us provide our members with relevant information. Based on the results of these surveys, you have told us time and time again that you’d like to hear more energy-saving tips that will help reduce energy use in your homes and reduce your electric bills. This blog is meant to help meet that objective.