Energy

Save the environment and money with these energy-saving techniques!

Did You Know?

• You use 3 to 5 percent more energy for each degree the air conditioner is set below 78 degrees.
• Every year, more than $13 billion worth of energy leaks from houses through small holes and cracks, more than $150 per family!
• Across America, home refrigerators use the electricity of 25 large power plants every year.

What Can You Do?

Here are some tips to help you conserve water, listed easiest to most difficult. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself!

1)   When shopping for an air conditioner, consider an ENERGY STAR® qualified model. They use at least 10 percent less energy than standard models.

2)   Use the right sized pot on the right sized burner when cooking. A 6” pot on an 8” burner wastes 40% of the burners heat. Also cover pots and pans to keep heat in.

3)   Install ENERGY STAR qualified fixtures or replace standard light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). If you replace your five most frequently used light fixtures with ENERGY STAR approved ones, you save $70 each year in energy costs.

Want more tips? Visit Betty’s Home Menu for ideas, and take the pledge to green your home!

Betty Blogs

Want to know more about what Betty has to say about energy? Check out the energy-related blogs below:

• Green Your Kitchen– Easy ways to save energy in the kitchen.
• Green Your Laundry Room– How to conserve energy with your laundry room, try ENERGY STAR.
• 5 Ways to Green Your Summer– Check out these awesome ways to save energy during the summer!
• Want to See Solar Power Installed at Local Schools?– Help Charlottesville become more solar powered.
• Brad Savage Home Energy Makeover– Model your house after your local radio idol Brad Savage.
• Betty Lights Up Your Life!– Light up your life with helpful energy saving tips from Betty.
• What You Need to Know About Cville’s Green Scene– It will take continuous effort from all citizens to make Charlottesville greener, including YOU!
• We’ll leave the (CFL) light on for you– Afraid of the dark? Never fear, CFL’s are here!
• A Greener View from Betty– Green YOUR view and save energy in YOUR home.
• Betty Sheds Some Light on the Subject– As always, listen to Betty shed some light on the subject of lighting efficiency.
• Home and Eco Hearth– Green your hearth, before its too late!
• Betty’s Help in the Kitchen, Saving Energy– Learn more about your kitchen appliances and what you can do to save energy.
• What to do When You’re Snowed in? Make a plan for ENERGY EFFICIENCY– Create a plan for your whole family to save energy over the next month!
• Green Ideas for Right Now– Check out Betty’s Bakers Dozen list.
• Yes We Can Create Clean Energy Jobs in the Ville– Take a peak at other local Charlottesvillians saving energy and see what you can do too!
• Home Energy 101 at CDC– Check out local energy tips from Eric at CDC!
• Getting There…– Check out the small, BUT important things you can do around your home to improve energy efficiency.
• Update on My Personal Focus: Home Energy Use– Even 5 years ago, Betty was dedicated to saving energy (and MONEY)!
• First Thermasteel Home Tour– Find out how you can make your home EVEN MORE energy efficient with this nifty tool.

External Links

Here are some great resources to learn about water use and what you can do about it!

• ENERGY STAR
• ENERGY.GOV
• LEAP
• Home Energy Saver
• American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
• LOWES
• Progress Energy
• Energy Saving Products

Questions?

Ask Betty! Betty’s energy efficiency correspondent, Becky Duff has all the answers to your energy-related queries!

For the past 14 years, Becky has worked in support of U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR Labeled Products program.  A Senior Manager at ICF International, she helps to develop and promote energy and water efficiency specifications for residential and commercial products.  Whether it be a vent fan, computer server, vending machine, or ceiling fan – find an ENERGY STAR label on a product and odds are, her team worked to identify its energy saving potential.  But her commitment to making a difference started many years ago, serving on a green committee in college, educating students on ways to save energy and reduce waste.  Her commitment to making the world a better place led her to a MS in Environmental Sciences and various jobs in pollution prevention and waste management prior to landing in the exciting, dynamic world of energy efficiency.  Eventually it was her love of the natural environment that brought Becky and her family to Charlottesville from Washington, DC three years ago.  When she’s not working to identify the next big energy saving widget or sticking her head in a refrigerator to see how it works, she is working on saving her own energy chasing around two kids under the age of 5.