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Conservation Tips

Anyone can save energy - it’s that easy! By doing so, customers reduce their power consumption to save on energy costs and ultimately help protect the northern environment. Learn about some simple things you can do to get started on conserving energy in your home or business.

Heating

  • Lower your thermostat at night while you are sleeping or when no one is home.
  • Apply weather-stripping to exterior doors and windows to prevent heat loss in your home.
  • When adjusting your thermostat, do not adjust it past the desired room temperature. Doing so will not make the room warm up any faster. It’s easy to forget to turn it back down which can waste energy dollars.

Appliances

  • Turn off your computer, TV and other appliances when they are not in use.
  • When replacing appliances, look for high efficiency, energy star appliances. These typically use a minimum of 20% less energy.
  • Think about replacing your old refrigerator with a new energy-efficient refrigerator. Today’s Energy Star® qualified refrigerators use 50% less energy than models made 10 years ago.
  • Keep refrigerators and/or freezers at the recommended temperatures. Refrigerators should be kept at 1’C – 3’C, while freezers should be kept at -18’C.
  • Move the refrigerator out from the wall once a year to vacuum its condenser coils (unless you have a “no clean” condenser model). It will run for shorter periods of time with clean coils and use less energy.
  • Use your microwave or toaster oven instead of your conventional oven. It can save up to 50% of your cooking energy costs.
  • Use an electric kettle instead of heating water on a stove-top element or in the microwave. Choose one with an automatic shut-off.

Water

  • Install low-flow showerheads and faucets. These showerheads can save up to 15% of hot water costs, while faucet aerators can reduce water usage by about 10%. Low-flow showerheads and faucets are typically rated at 1.0 - 2.5 GPM (gallons-per-minute).
  • Wash full loads of dishes in your dishwasher and air-dry dishes.
  • Avoid washing dishes in hot running water. Fill the sink up halfway and scrub away.
  • Conserve water by fixing drips and leaks.
  • Turn off water when brushing your teeth or shaving instead of leaving it running.
  • Take short showers rather than baths. A five-minute shower uses about half as much water as a bath.
  • Install a water-saver flush kit in your toilet. You would save thousands of liters of water per year.

Lighting

  • Turn off the lights as you leave a room.
  • Replace standard incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient LED light bulbs, which last up to ten times longer. A single 20-25 watt energy efficient light bulb provides as much light as a 100-watt ordinary bulb.

Laundry

  • Use cold water when doing your laundry.  Most of the energy used to wash your clothes is used to heat the water.
  • Wash full loads of laundry rather than partial loads. You will save water, time, and money.
  • Consider buying a front loading energy efficient washing machine. They use less water, less energy, and require less detergent.
  • If at all possible, hang-dry your clothes to avoid using the dryer.

Transportation

  • Buy an electrical timer to plug your vehicle into. Engine block heaters only need to run for 2-3 hours to sufficiently warm an engine.
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