Vacuuming the Refrigerator With the Drapes Closed

The "I Cannot Tell a Lie" Chart

It may sound strange, but vacuuming the coils on your refrigerator every three months will keep the condenser running better and energy costs running lower. You'd be surprised what drapes can save you, too. Those are just a few energy-saving hints. But let's start with the area that can save you the most: heating and air conditioning.

Venting Lowers Cholesterol— and Electric Costs
You'd be mad not to vent your clothes dryer to the outside. Of course, there are plenty of other ways to save on your air conditioning costs as well.

1. If you're gone for an extended period, leave your air conditioner off. Don't pay to keep your furniture nice and cool.

2. Keep air conditioner filters clean. Aluminum mesh filters may be washed. Fiberglass filters should be replaced.

3. Keep air vents clear of obstructions.

4. Close the drapes on the sunny side of the house during the day. If it's sunny at night, we're all in trouble and you can just stop reading right now.

5. Leave storm windows and doors in place when the air conditioner is on.

6. Set the thermostat to the highest comfortable temperature. We're not suggesting you break a sweat, but even a 1-degree change can save you money.

7. If you cool with window units, place them on the north side of the house when possible, clear vents of obstructions, shut doors to unused rooms, and close floor or wall registers used for heating.

Put a Damper on It
You can also take the heat off your winter power bills by making some simple adjustments. Like closing the damper in your fireplace when it's not in use. Make sure it's open again before trying to light a fire, unless you think smoke adds ambience.

8. Set the thermostat back to 55 degrees if you're gone for a few days. That will keep the pipes from freezing. Don't think too hard about this freezing and 55 degrees thing. It's a math problem.

9. When you're home during the winter, keep the thermostat at the lowest comfortable temperature.

10. Keep all doors and windows closed when the heat is on. Ask your kids to read this paragraph out loud seven times. Doors and windows should stay closed even if you have storm windows and doors on the outside.

11. Open drapes on the sunny side of the house. Close them at night.

12. Keep heating vents clear of obstructions.

13. Turn off heat and close doors to unused rooms if you have individual room heat. Close doors and vents to unused rooms if you have a central system other than a heat pump. Of course, if you don't have a heat pump, demand to know more about them. In fact, insist on getting a copy of our snappy brochure on the subject.

Don't Run While Shaving
It could really smart when the electric bill comes if you waste hot water. After all, 20 cents of every dollar you spend on electricity goes to water heating. But you can do a lot more to cut your costs than change your shaving habits.

14. Be sure you have an energy-efficient electric water heater. To check just read the label, or call your local power company.

15. Set the water heater thermostat at 140 degrees if you have an electric dishwasher or 120 degrees if you do not. (It's another math thing.) Always turn off the circuit breaker before you adjust the thermostat on an electric water heater.

16. Insulate the pipes going into and out of the tank. Add an insulated blanket around your water heater if it's an older model.

17. Turn the water heater off when you're gone longer than a weekend unless your neighbors want to shower after they water your plants and feed the cat.

18. Wash full loads of clothes in the coolest water possible. Rinse clothes in cold water.

19. A low-flow shower head can reduce water use by 50-70 percent. And it works just as well, despite its goofy name.

20. Fix leaky faucets. One drip per second equals 200 gallons a month. We've checked. Honest.

21. Drain a gallon of water once a year through the faucet at the bottom of the water heater. This removes sediment that decreases energy efficiency.

22. Run the dishwasher only when it's full. That's approximately every 15 minutes in homes with children.

Save The Watts?
You may not rush out and put a bumper sticker on your car after reading this, but using lighting, TVs, stereos, and radios responsibly can save money. Which is always a rather worthy cause.

23. Compact fluorescent lamps can replace bulbs in most table lamps and will produce more light, last up to 10 times longer, and save up to 75 percent in lighting energy.

24. For more light, use one large bulb rather than several small ones. A 100-watt bulb produces more light with less energy than two 60-watt bulbs. We'll pause while you multiply.

25. Tungsten-halogen incandescent bulbs cut lighting costs by 15 percent. Practice the name a few times before asking for them in stores.

26. Use low-watt bulbs where lighting is not critical.

27. Dimmer switches are actually smarter.

28. Place floor lamps and hanging lamps in corners. The reflection off the walls will give you more light.

29. Take advantage of the daylight. This is not an endorsement for playing hooky.

30. Turn off outdoor lighting during the day. Try timer switches or photoelectric controls if the finger method is a bother.

31. Turn off all lights, TVs, stereos, and radios if no one will be in the room.

Stop Staring, Would Ya?
Standing in front of an open refrigerator while you decide what you want wastes a lot of energy. And, frankly, makes you look a bit food-obsessed anyway. The refrigerator and freezer account for eight cents of every electric dollar. Look for energy-efficient models with features like power-saver switches and improved insulation. Then try some of these tips.

32. You know about the vacuuming thing already (see top of page).

33. Keep the temperature between 36 degrees and 40 degrees in the refrigerator and 0 degrees and 5 degrees in the freezer. Use a refrigerator/freezer thermometer to check the settings.

34. Cool foods to room temperature before placing them in the refrigerator unless the recipe specifies otherwise.

35. Place the refrigerator away from the stove, dishwasher, heat vents, and direct sunlight. Follow the manufacturer's instructions on the amount of air space needed around the refrigerator.

36. Keep the freezer full. The fuller the freezer, the less cold air you lose when opening the door. Note: This does not mean you should stop eating frozen foods.

37. Defrost manual-defrost refrigerators or freezers when the frost becomes 1/4" thick. Or when you no longer can shove 12 pints of double-fudge cookie-dough ice cream into it.

Look For Flat Bottoms
There are several nifty little suggestions you can follow in the kitchen to save even more. Like selecting flat-bottomed pans that fit the heating units. And using lids to retain heat and decrease cooking time. Just read on.

38. Plan meals so several things can cook at the same time in the oven. Avoid opening the door until the food is done, unless the suspense is too much for you.

39. Try using a pressure cooker. It can cut the cooking time of a regular pot on a burner by one-third. And it makes really cool noises.

40. While the microwave is great for reheating leftovers, takeout foods or cooking a single dish, a conventional oven may be more economical if you're cooking several items.

41. Baking or microwaving defrosted food uses one-third less energy than starting with frozen food.

42. If you're going to clean your oven, use the self-cleaning cycle right after you finish baking. That will give the self-cleaning cycle a head start in heating the oven. Almost sounds like cheating, doesn't it?

Is Lint a Renewable Resource, and Can I Stop My Subscription?
Now before you turn off your computer monitor ( you DO turn off your computer monitor, don't you?) and go do a load of clothes or something, we have a few more tips to run by you. Your clothes dryer and dishwasher are two more areas where you can save.

43. Besides cleaning your lint filter after every load, make sure you dry full loads of clothes without overloading. If the preceding sentence confuses you, don't be ashamed. Just read it again.

44. Stop the dryer as soon as clothes are dry, or use the moisture sensor control to automatically shut off the dryer. Overdrying wastes energy and sets in wrinkles. And who needs that.

45. Dry loads one right after another. You'll use less energy because the dryer is already heated.

46. Select a cycle with no final drying time or stop the dishwasher after the final rinse. There's no wrinkle problem here, but you could save electricity.

47. It's always a good idea to hang on to appliance manuals so you can refer to them for care information and possible energy saving tips. Of course, you can give yourself four brownie points if you actually remember where you put them.