Save Energy - Save the Planet

ENERGY STAR^® is a government-backed program helping businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency. Energy efficient choices can save families about a third on their energy bill with similar savings of greenhouse gas emissions, without sacrificing features, style or comfort. There are several simple actions you can take to save energy. Visit www.EnergyStar.gov for more details!

Change a light and save a bundle. ENERGY STAR^® qualified light bulbs are 75% more efficient than incandescent bulbs. When just one room in every home is brightened by ENERGY STAR^® lighting, the change will keep over one trillion pounds of carbon dioxide out of our air.

Make a quick trip to the hardware store or home improvement center for a hot water insulation kit to wrap your water heater and save on water heating costs.

Use an ENERGY STAR^® qualified programmable thermostat that can automatically adjust the temperature of your home when you are away.

Ensure that your whole system (i.e., furnace, heat pump, air conditioner, and heating and cooling) is energy efficient. Leaky ducts can decrease the overall energy efficiency of your heating and cooling system by as much as 20%. Duct sealing increases efficiency and lowers your utility bills.

Upgrade your refrigerator if it is 10 years old or older. Refrigerators use more energy than any other appliance in your home, but an ENERGY STAR^® qualified refrigerator uses about half the energy of a 10-year old conventional model.

Consider replacing your central air conditioning system if it is more than seven years old. Look for the ENERGY STAR^® label when you buy and use 20% less energy than a standard model. If just one household in 10 bought ENERGY STAR^® heating and cooling equipment, the change would keep over 17 billion pounds of pollution out of our air.

Replace your clothes washer with an ENERGY STAR^® labeled model when it is time. Clothes washers use energy to both clean clothes and heat water, so to save on energy costs, wash your clothes in cooler water. ENERGY STAR^® qualified clothes washers use 50% less water and 70% less energy per load; that's up to $100 every year.

Run your washer, dryer, and dishwasher only with a full load.

Seal and insulate your home to improve comfort and reduce heating and cooling costs. EPA recommends Home Sealing to improve your home's "envelope" or the outer walls, ceiling, windows and floors. To improve the envelope of your home: Add insulation, seal air-leaks, and choose an ENERGY STAR^® labeled window if you're in the market for new windows.

Check with your local utility or use our Special Offers search to see what incentives or rebates are available for the purchase of ENERGY STAR^® qualified appliances, lighting, or HVAC systems.

Start saving energy by using our Home Improvement Tools. These tools can tell you how efficiently you use energy at home and recommend the most cost-effective improvements.

We thought you might be interested in hearing about a local program that we joined to reduce the environmental impact of my electricity use.

The program is called New England GreenStart, and it is run by the Rhode Island non-profit group People’s Power & Light, who work on energy sustainability and affordability.

By becoming a member you can reduce your contribution to climate change and support energy from clean, renewable resources like wind, solar, and low-impact hydropower. Our membership creates a local demand for more green energy, which is good for our health, our environment, and our local economy.

We encourage you to check out the website at www.ripower.org and join the program!

- Sean & Valerie Griffiths