Reducing Energy Use.

I was at the local Walmart today during work, I was reminded of what time of year it is by all of the fall decorations.    (I work with people with developmental disabilities, through a non-profit agency)

This time each year is a good time to see how energy wise you are being.  What you can do to cut your energy cost.

Here is what we have done so far. 

1)     We use compact fluorescent light bulbs in all of our lights. 
2)     Shut all lights off when we leave a room
3)     Our laundry is washed in cold water
4)     Laundry is hung out on a line to dry
5)     In the winter months when the air in the house gets dry, we hang dry our clothes, this not only reduces the cost of running the dryer, but reduces the need for a humidifier.
6)     We have a Lenox Elite two stage energy efficient furnace.  It runs on a lower level the majority of the time, only kicking into the higher stage when it is called for. 
7)     We keep the thermostat at 68 degrees in the winter. 
8)     We have energy efficient double hung windows, they were replace a few years ago.
9)      We have out TV, VCR, and other electronics for the TV plugged into a power switch that is shut off when not in use.
10)    The entry doors were changed out a few years ago as well.  The house had the original wooden door from the year the house was built in the 1930s.  It now has insulated steel doors with insulated storm doors.   
11)   We have some south facing windows that bring in a lot of heat in the winter, we cover those windows in the summer to help keep the house cooler. 
12)   When we leave the house for and extended period of time the power to our hot water heater is shut off, to reduce the energy use when hot water is not needed for extended period.
13)    All of our dishes are air dried,  granted we don't have a dish washer so I guess that is and energy savings right there.

More we feel we need to do.

1)     Wrap the hot water heater in a blanket to prevent heat loss.
2)     Wrap all of the water lines to reduce condensation and heat loss.
3)     Check the weather stripping and door sweeps.
4)     Unplug the coffee pot, and other small appliances when not in use.
5)     Get  an energy efficient dehumidifier.
6)      Reduce our heating bill. 

Steve and I found video's on YouTube of people that have made solar heaters out of pop can.  We will be giving that a try.  With our south facing window that should work well.  When we get the pop can heater going we will show you pictures of how we did it and let you know how it is working. 

If you have any other ideas of things we might try let us know.