Reduce Soaring Home, Vehicle Energy Bills, Federal Taxes, Pollution with Alliance to Save Energy's Summer Tips

Washington D.C – Computers, printers, air conditioners, TVs, VCRs, DVD and CD players, fax machines, blow dryers, microwaves — we’re more "plugged in" than ever before. By 2015, consumer electronics and small appliances will account for almost 30 percent of all household electricity use.

As electricity prices rise in summer to handle increased air conditioning demand, the cost for being so plugged in becomes more apparent. Consumers will once again face "sticker shock" – on the heels of record summer 2005 gasoline prices and winter heating prices – as electricity rate caps are removed in some parts of the country.

The average household spent more than $4000+ on energy last year to power their home and vehicles. What if you could cut those costs and related air pollution by up to 30 percent or more? And even cut your federal income taxes with tax credits, effective January 1, 2006, of up to $500 for certain home energy-efficiency improvements and up to $3,400 on purchases of hybrid vehicles? The Alliance to Save Energy shows how:

Air conditioning and "keeping your cool"

• Cooling puts the greatest stress on your summer energy bill and the power grid. Maintain your AC equipment with a professional "tune-up" to save you the cost and inconvenience of a breakdown during the hottest days! Clean or replace filters monthly.
• For central air conditioning systems, make sure the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) is 13 or higher. Tax credits can offset purchases of energy-efficient AC, heat pumps, windows, doors, skylights, insulation, and hot water heaters. Details in English and Spanish at www.ase.org/taxcredits.
• Bigger is not always better. Poorly-sized air conditioning units can inflate your energy costs and contribute to poor indoor air quality, worsening allergies and breathing. Check with your contractor or local air conditioning system retailer to properly size your unit.
• Keep your cool and lower your costs. ENERGY STAR-certified ceiling fans provide additional cooling and circulation, enabling you to raise the thermostat and cut AC costs.
• Forgetful? A programmable thermostat automatically coordinates indoor climates with your daily and weekend patterns, reducing cooling bills by up to10 percent. And you don't have to "remember" to turn the air conditioning off when you won't be home.
• To cut your related energy bills by 30 percent, look for the ENERGY STAR label, the symbol for energy efficiency, when shopping for room air conditioners, major appliances, lighting, home office equipment, windows, and electronics. Find retailers near you at www.energystar.gov.
• Install appropriate insulation for your climate and seal air leaks to increase your comfort, make your home quieter and cleaner, reduce your cooling costs up to 20 percent – and generate a tax credit.
• Go “window-shopping” at www.efficientwindows.org. Discover how high-performance ENERGY STAR windows can increase comfort and reduce fading of home furnishings and cooling costs by as much as 30 percent.
• When refinancing your home, consider wrapping in energy-efficiency home improvements. Your interest may be tax deductible.
• Cut your air conditioning load, reduce pollution, and fight your local “heat island” effect by planting leafy trees around your home, installing reflective tiles on your roof, and insulating.
• No more peeping Toms. Close blinds or shades on the south- and west-facing windows during the day or install shading devices such as trellises or awnings.
• Sip lemonade and think cool thoughts – like how you’ll be freezing next winter and longing for summer again!

Lighting and electronics

• Listen to your mother. (“What do you think – we own the electric company?!”) Turn off everything not in use: lights, TVs, computers.
• Consider safer, more efficient ENERGY STAR torchiere lamps over popular halogen torchiere lamps, which can CAUSE FIRES, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. While inexpensive to purchase, they are expensive to operate.
• Use dimmers, timers, and motion detectors on indoor and outdoor lighting.
• 4 for the planet. Replacing four 75-watt incandescent bulbs with 23-watt fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) that use about two-thirds less energy and last up to 10 times longer saves $190 over the life of the bulbs. If all our nation’s households did the same, we’d save as much energy as is consumed by some 38 million cars in one year.
• Activate “sleep” features on computers and office equipment that power down when the equipment is not in use for a while. Turn off equipment during long periods of non-use to cut costs and improve longevity.
• Plug surprising energy “leaks.” Your idle (turned off) electronics and appliances – TVs, VCRs, cable boxes, CD players, cassette decks, and microwaves – continue to consume electricity to keep display clocks lit and memory chips and remote controls working – costing consumers $4 billion annually. ENERGY STAR products use less energy.

Vehicle purchasing, maintenance, and driving tips

• When buying, leasing, or renting a new vehicle, think high gas mileage. Check out the DOE website, www.fueleconomy.gov, for information on fuel-efficient vehicles and for tax credits of $250-$3400 for purchases of hybrid-electric or diesel vehicles at www.ase.org/taxcredits.
• Keep air filters clean, tires properly inflated, car tuned up to improve mileage by as much as 10, 3, and 4 percent respectively. Curtail speeding and aggressive driving which cuts fuel economy 7-23 percent.