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Family and Consumer Sciences
: Residential Energy Efficiency
Residential Energy Efficiency
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Articles:
New Partnership Promotes Energy Efficiency
Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) and the New York State Energy Research
and Development Authority (NYSERDA) have formed a partnership to educate
New Yorkers about ways to reduce energy expenses in the home. The New
York Energy $mart Program, administered by NYSERDA, provides energy-related
technical and financial assistance to promote energy efficiency and economic
development throughout New York State. Through the Consumer Education
Program for Residential Energy Efficiency, 23 CCE Educators will work
to increase consumer awareness of the importance of energy efficiency
and programs available through New York Energy $mart to make single family
homes and multifamily buildings more energy efficient.
The 23 Cornell Cooperative Extension offices participating in The Consumer
Education Project include; Albany, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung,
Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Dutchess, Franklin, Jefferson, Niagara,
Oneida, Schuyler, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Washington, Wayne,
Wyoming, Yates and New York City.
Eileen Ciance, Senior Extension Resource Educator, says, "New York
Energy $mart has almost a dozen programs that can benefit homeowners,
multifamily building managers, contractors, builders, and retailers in
Washington County. Making homes more energy efficient not only saves money,
it reduces air and environmental pollution". A number of incentives
are available for owners of single and multifamily homes, including:
- Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program - improving the energy
efficiency of existing homes.
- New York ENERGY STAR - labeled Homes Program - promoting energy efficiency
in new construction.
- Low -interest financing, including the New York Energy $mart Loan
Fund and ENERGY STAR financing through the Home Performance with ENERGY
STAR Program.
- Incentives to install solar (PV) electric systems and advanced meters
on homes.
For information on these and other programs that will help you use less
energy and improve the environment, call Cornell Cooperative Extension
Washington County at 1-800-548-0881, or call the New York Energy $mart
Program at 1-877-NYSMART.
Energy Star Products, Savings All Around
It's time to add or replace appliances and or lighting in your home,
so what do you do? Which products do you choose and where do you get them?
These choices are driven by style, performance, and availability, but
in large part by budget. However, when selecting new appliances and lighting,
the cost of operation is often overlooked which can be an expensive mistake.
How do you know you are getting the best product for your dollars? Simple
- purchase products with the ENERGY STAR label and be assured that you
are getting products of high quality design, superior construction, and
improved performance, along with energy and money savings from lower operating
costs.
ENERGY STAR is a federally backed program designed to help individuals
and businesses protect the environment through superior energy efficiency
- and it's working! NYSERDA, through its New York Energy $mart programs,
promotes ENERGY STAR awareness within our state.
Once you think about it, the ENERGY STAR message is quite simple: make
products we use every day more energy efficient. Energy efficiency saves
you money, reduces the need to generate electricity, resulting in burning
less fossil fuels and a cleaner environment. A great deal, fair and square!
Now, let's look quickly at benefits of some ENERGY STAR products. An
ENERGY STAR clothes washer will use nearly 7,000 fewer gallons of water
a year! This can amount to an astounding savings when you think of the
costs associated with buying clean water, heating water for washing, treating
dirty water, and digging a deeper well in times of drought. Also, many
ENERGY STAR washers spin out more water so your drying time is reduced.
ENERGY STAR refrigerators use 50% less energy than a refrigerator purchased
10 years ago. With improved design and better insulation, the ENERGY STAR
refrigerator works better, has many high performance features and again,
saves you money.
ENERGY STAR room air conditioners use at least 10% less electricity than
non-ENERGY STAR room air conditioners. A compact fluorescent light bulb
(CFL) burns cooler, lasts much longer than an incandescent bulb, has good
color rendering and uses 75% less electricity.
ENERGY STAR products are here to stay, built to last and save you money.
New York Energy $mart programs work to ensure that retailers have a good
supply of ENERGY STAR products for you to choose from. We do all this
to save you money, improve our quality of life and improve the environment.
A winning combination! If you want more information about ENERGY STAR
products and where to buy them or about the New York Energy $mart programs
please call 1-877-NYSMART or visit www.GetEnergySmart.Org.
Hidden Energy Usage
Did you know that we typically have many appliances in our homes that
use electricity even when they are turned off and, therefore, cost us
money? A good clue as to which appliances may be involved is to think
about the ones that
need to be reset or re-programmed anytime the power goes off.
Appliances that have clocks or memories built in need power to keep them
going.
Although it is only a little energy, it is being consumed 24 hours a day,
7 days a week, and adds up overtime.
Take an inventory within your home. How many clocks are plugged in? Does
your
coffeemaker have a timer and clock for turning it on and off at preset
times? How many CD, VCR, and/or DVD players are plugged in that have clocks
or memories? Most televisions also have memories that use a small amount
of electricity all the time.
Consider reducing the number of these appliances that are plugged in
all the time.
When replacing an appliance consider the ongoing impact it will have on
your energy consumption. When in doubt as to the impact it may be having,
remember that if it is not plugged in it cannot be using energy.
Keeping Your Home Comfortable and Affordable
The cost of the energy used to keep our i homes comfortable accounts
for a significant portion of a household's financial resources. Taking
some simple steps to cut down on the amount of energy used can help reduce
monthly energy bills and free up cash for other needs.
Keeping Cool
Use window fans instead of an air conditioner to cool down the rooms in
your home. A window fan uses as little as one-tenth the electricity of
an air conditioner. Run the window fans at night after it has cooled down
to bring cooler air into the home.
Close drapes and shades on hot, sunny days i to reduce solar heat build-up.
Close windows and doors during the hottest parts of the day to keep cool
air inside and the hot air outside.
If you do use an air conditioner set the thermostat at 78° or higher.
Only cool the rooms you will be spending time in and close the doors to
unused rooms. Turn off the air conditioner when you leave home.
Staying Warm
The end of summer is a good time to have your heating system cleaned and
inspected to make sure it is working properly. Replace or clean furnace
filters when they get dirty or once every month.
Do a quick check of all the places where heat enters a room. Make sure
drapes and furniture do not interfere with the flow of heat into the room.
Dust on radiators or baseboard units acts as insulation and wastes heat.
Dust or vacuum these surfaces frequently. Keep cold air returns and warm
air ducts clean also.
If your radiators are near cold walls, a sheet of aluminum foil between
the wall and the radiator will reflect heat back into the room that would
otherwise be lost.
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