Hamilton's Appliance ~ Gladstone / Portland, OR

Low Cost Ways to Save Energy (From the Oregon Dept. of Energy)

1. Water Heaters

Set your water heater to 120 degrees F. Six hours after resetting, hold a meat or candy thermometer under running hot water to check water temperature. Adjust the thermostat if necessary.
Insulate your water heater. An insulation blanket costs only about $10 and quickly pays for itself -even if your water heater is indoors. Follow manufacturer´s instructions.

2. Showers

Install a new high performance, water-saving showerhead. It will cut the cost of your showers in half. New models deliver a full spray using less than three gallons a minute. They cost only $5 to $15 and are easy to install. You won´t run out of hot water as often, either.
Take shorter showers. Set a timer to remind you when time is up.
Set the water to less than full force.

3. Tub baths

4. Faucets

Don´t leave the water running while shaving.
Fix leaky faucets. Thirty drips a minute of hot water wastes 50 gallons of water a month.
Install water-saving faucet aerators on sinks you use the most.

5. Clothes washer

Rinse all loads with cold water.
Wash with warm or cold water. Follow garment care label. Washing with cold water can
reduce energy costs.
Run full loads. Sort clothes into loads needing the same wash cycle.
Reduce the water level setting for small loads.

6. Clothes dryer

Hang clothes outside when it´s sunny. Sunshine is free. (Drying clothes indoors may cause condensation problems in winter.)
Clean the lint filter after every load. Be sure the vent hose isn´t clogged.
Run separate loads for fast and slow drying clothes. Why run the dryer when just a few items are damp?
Use the MOISTURE or AUTOMATIC setting if your dryer has one. It knows when your clothes are dry better than the timer.

7. Dishwasher

Run full loads.
Use a shorter wash cycle whenever possible. Avoid the RINSE AND HOLD cycle. It uses about eight gallons of water just to pre-rinse dishes.
Use the AIR DRY or ENERGY SAVER setting.
Pre-rinse dishes only if food particles are dried on. Try a load with unrinsed dishes. Your dishwasher probably does a better job than you give it credit for.

8. Hand dishwashing

9. Waterbeds

10. Refrigerator and freezer

Set the refrigerator to 38-40 degrees F. Place a thermometer near the thermostat to check setting.
Set stand-alone freezers to 0 degrees F.
Unplug the second refrigerator or freezer if you don´t keep it full.
Locate refrigerators and freezers away from heat registers and stoves, if possible. Leave two to three inches clearance around the back, sides and top.
Vacuum coils behind or underneath refrigerator twice a year. Clean coils help the compressor run less and last longer.
Set the ENERGY SAVER switch on to turn off "anti-sweat" heat coils in the door gasket. Repair damaged door gaskets with self-stick foam tape.
Keep the door closed. Open the door once to unload several items, instead of opening the door several times in a row.

11. Lights

Turn off lights when you don´t need them.
Install lower wattage bulbs in overhead fixtures. Use floor and desk lamps for close-up work.
Keep bulbs and fixtures clean. Dirty fixtures reduce light intensity by as much as 25 percent.
Avoid "long-life" light bulbs or "energy buttons" except in hard to reach fixtures. They put out less light and don´t save energy.
Install fluorescent lamps in rooms with lights on more than 2 hours a day. Compact fluorescent lamps produce a warm light and fit in many fixtures.

12. Cooking

Cook several meals at the same time.
Cover pans to cook food faster. Use pans that fully cover the burner. Avoid warped pans on electric burners.
Turn off the oven and burners a few minutes before food is done. It will continue to cook. Preheat the oven only when baking bread and cakes.
Use an electric skillet, microwave oven or toaster oven whenever possible.

13. TV, radio and stereo