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Homes: Home Appliance Efficiency

Here are some tips for using Home Appliances efficiently:

1. Check your fridge and freezer temperature settings. Set your refrigerator temperature at 3-6 degrees Celcius; your freezer should be set around -15 degrees Celcius. Use the power-save switch if your fridge has one, and make sure the door seals tightly (a dollar bill held by a closed door should be hard to pull out!).
2. Don't preheat, or "peek" inside the oven more than necessary. Check the seal on the oven door, and use a microwave oven for cooking or reheating small items.
3. Wash only full loads in your dishwasher. Use short cycles for all but the dirtiest dishes. This saves water and the energy used to pump and heat it. Air-dry with the door open, if you have the time, can also reduce energy use.
4. In your clothes washer, use water widely. Set the appropriate water level for the size of the load. Wash in warm or cold water when practical, and always rinse in cold.
5. Clean the lint filter in the dryer after each use. Dry heavy and light fabrics separately and don't add wet items to a load that's already partly dry. If available, use the moisture sensor setting. (A clothesline is the most energy-efficient clothes dryer of all!)
6. Watch appliances in Standby Mode. Unplug the "secret energy addicts" in your home: TVs, VCRs, DVD players, cable TV boxes, computers and printers, video game consoles, microwave ovens and AC adapters for cell phones, digital cameras and other electronics. Most electronic equipment, including anything that uses a remote control, is designed to consume energy when it is turned off. That "off" setting is actually a "standby" or "idling" mode. Standby power in the average household consumes 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. That's enough energy to power an entire home for two months, or more. The solution? Unplug anything that isn't being used.