Conserve Water & Electricity
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<strong>Electric Conservation Tips</strong>
- Doors & Windows
- Check the seals around doors and windows. Air leaks can cause your electric bill to be higher. They also make your heater and air conditioner work harder.
- In hot weather, shut curtains and shades to keep our natural solar heat. In cold weather, open them during the day
- Kitchen
- Run the dishwasher only when its full.
- Open a hot oven as little as possible. Reheat food in the microwave.
- Use glass cookware in the oven. Glass retains heat and heats food faster.
- Don’t line oven racks with foil. This will prevent hear from circulating around food.
- When boiling water, put lid on pot.
- Don’t use small pots on big burners
- Cheak seals on your refrigerator: shut a dollar bill in the fridge door with half of it sticking out. Try to pull the bill out. If it comes out easily, change your seals.
- Check the temperature in your freezer.
- Laundry Room
- According to the Department of Energy, 85% of electricity for washing clothes goes towards heating water. Wash in cold water whenever possible.
- Wash full loads, or make sure water setting matches load size.
- Run the washer/dryer at night. These units generate heat as they run, making your air conditioner run more in the summer.
- Light Bulbs & Electronics
- Turn off all TVs, stereos, computers, and other appliances when not in use.
- Turn lights off when leaving the room.
- Keep the thermostat at 78 degrees in the summer and 68 degrees in the winter.
- Don’t leave fully-charged devices plugged in.
Tab 2
- Inside the House
- Use dishwashers only when they are full. Washing by hand, and not letting the tap run, saves about 25 gallons of water.
- Turn off faucets when brushing teeth.
- Do not use the toilet as a trash can. Only toilet paper down the toilet.
- Use sink and tub stoppers to avoid wasting water.
- Keep a botle of chilled water in the refrigerator for drinking.
- Find and fix leaks in toilets: place a drop of food coloring in the upper tank and don’t flush for 30 minutes. If color appears in the bowl, there’s a leak.
- Take shorter showers and shallower baths. Turn off water while soaping up.
- Don’t use a garbage disposal.
- Use non-phosphate detergent and save laundry water for lawns and plants.
- Outside the House
- Lawns
- Water outdoors before 10:00 a.m. to avoid evaporation.
- Water only when lawn shows signs of wilt. Grass that springs back when stepped on doesn’t need water.
- Water throughoutly, not frequently.
- Use pistol-grip nozzels or valves on hoses to avoid water waste.
- Do not mow lawns shorter than 2-3 inches high to help retain moisture.
- Avoid watering on windy days.
- Install a rain sensor switch which keeps an automatic sprinkler system from running during rainfall events or know how to turn off the irigation system when ground is sufficiently moist.
- Gardens
- Water deeply, slowly, and weekly. Water when cloudy or at night.
- Keep soil loose and put mulch around plants so water can penetrate easily
- Put water where you want it and avoid soil-soakers.
- Trees & Shrubs
- Water deeps using soil-soaker.
- Water only when needed. Check soil dryness beneath the surface.
- Water plants that are in full sun more often than those in the shade.
- Don’t use sprinklers.
- Don’t fertilize during summer. This increases their need for water.
- Install trickle-drip irigation systems close to the roots of your plants. By dripping water slowly, the system doesn’t spray water into the air where it can be lost through evaporation. 
- Lawns
