Saving energy by CCRES

10 Important ways to save energy & fight global warming by CCRES

1. Use energy-efficient appliances, such as energy-saving lightbulbs

2. Switch to an electricity provider that offers electricity derived from renewable sources.

3. Ride a bicycle for distances under e.g. 10km. Consider a bus or train for longer distances.

4. Lower your thermostat by 4 to 5 degrees Celsius during the night and when nobody's home.

5. Make sure your home is well insulated.

6. Completely switch-off appliances that you do not use.

7. Consider going to your holiday destination by bus or train, instead of car or airplane.

8. If possible, work at home instead of an office location.

9. Support forestation programs that focus on planting indigenous trees in tropical regions.

10. Educate others. Tell people of the importance of an energy-efficient lifestyle.

Saving energy > Heating

	To save energy, set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer. You save 3 percent on the day’s heating or cooling costs by setting your thermostat back one degree (higher for cooling, lower for heating) for that 24-hour period.
	Use kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans wisely. In just one hour, these fans can pull out a houseful of warmed or cooled air. Turn fans off as soon as they have done the job.
	Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season. If in doubt about how to perform this task, call a professional.
	Clean air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed. Make sure they're not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or curtains.
	Make sure curtains don't block registers and air returns.
	Install individual room controls to heat and cool rooms only when you use them.
	Leaving heating or cooling running when no-one is home generates more greenhouse gas and costs more money. Timer controls can switch equipment on when it’s needed.
	Have your heating and cooling systems serviced once a year to ensure peak operational efficiency.

Saving energy > Laundry

	Wash with cold water whenever possible.
	Wash and dry full loads to maximize efficiency.
	Don't overload dryers. Overloaded dryers use more energy, cause clothes to wrinkle so they may need to be ironed, and wears out clothes more quickly.
	Use suds savers and front-loading washers for maximum efficiency.
	Always adjust the water level to fit load size. Overloaded washers don't clean clothes as effectively so they even may need to be rewashed.
	Clean the lint filter after each drying cycle to maintain dryer efficiency.
	Spin-dry your clothes (on a highspin speed) to remove as much water as possible before you put them in the dryer.

Saving energy > Lighting

	Use task lighting to target work and leisure activities. This lets you reduce your overall room lighting levels.
	Use energy-efficient light bulbs (CFL's), especially in fixtures that operate more than two hours a day. They use up to 80 percent less electricity and last eight to ten times longer than conventional, incandescent bulbs.
	Select bulbs carefully. Look for the highest lumens at the lowest wattage. Wattage is the power needed to make a bulb work. Lumen indicates brightness.
	Keep light fixtures clean to gain the most illumination.
	Select light fittings with reflectors that direct light where you want it and do not absorb too much light—coloured glass can halve light output, creating a need for higher wattage lamps.
	Install daylight and movement sensors so outdoor lights switch on when they’re needed but don’t waste electricity.
	Modern dimmer controls reduce greenhouse gas emissions as they reduce light output. They also extend lamp life. Dimmer controls can now also be used with some energy saving light bulbs (CFLs), but check the label first.

Saving energy > Cooking

	Select the right pan or appliance. Oversized pans waste energy. The pan you use should match the burner size.
	When boiling foods, keep the amount of water used to a minimum. Using excess water that must be heated wastes the energy required to raise its temperature.
	Keep lids on pans as you cook; cooking without them can require three times as much energy as cooking with them on. Look for pans with glass lids if you like to keep an eye on what you are preparing.
	Cooking temperatures can drop as much as 25º celsius every time the oven door is opened, causing the oven to reheat. If it's not necessary, don't peek.
	Defrosting frozen foods in the refrigerator will reduce cooking time. But allow enough time for defrosting to take place.

Saving energy > Refrigerating

	Free standing appliances positioned in a cool place perform best.
	Keep the coils at the back dust free as accumulation of dust on condenser coils can increase energy consumption by up to 30%.
	Do not fill more than 3/4 full to allow for circulation of cold air.
	Always defrost regularly.
	Test the tightness of the door seal on refrigerators and freezers. If the seal doesn't tightly hold a euro note when the door is closed, it's probably time to adjust or replace the gasket.
	Replace old refrigerators. E.g. a refrigerator from the 1980's will cost up to 75 percent more to operate than a new super-efficient model.
	Don't put warm products in the refrigerator, let them cool-off outside. This avoids the refrigerator from having to use extra energy to keep the temperature low.
	For greatest efficency set refrigerators at 4º and freezers at -18º celsius.

Saving energy > Cars

	Don't over-load a car. The heavier a car is loaded the more gasoline it requires.
	Use air conditioning only when necessary.
	Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration, and braking hard) wastes gasoline.
	When buying a new car, compare the fuel efficiency of different models and let this knowledge guide you in your decision on which car to buy.
	Combine trips: short trips, each one taken from a cold start, can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.
	Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, often, save gasoline.
	Tires need to be properly inflated.
	Make sure the car has clean air and oil filters. Don't miss your car's check-ups.

Saving energy > Houses

	More than half of your domestic energy consumption is used for heating your home. Proper insulation of walls and roofs and the use of insulating glass has a huge effect on your energy consumption.
	Lower your thermostat by 4 to 5 degrees Celsius during the night and when no one is at home.
	On a windy day feel for leaks. Also look for spider webs - if there is a web there is a draft.
	Keep heating radiators clear of furniture, curtains and rugs.
	Plug gaps around pipes, ducts and fans that go through walls, ceilings and floors from heated to unheated spaces.
	If you have a fireplace, close the damper to prevent warm air from escaping through the chimney, and make sure the damper fits tightly.
	Switch-off your home appliances, instead of leaving them in stand-by mode. Stand-by mode account for some 10 percent of your home energy consumption.

Saving energy > Offices

	Install weather stripping around outer doors and windows, and also around doors between heated and unheated or cooled and uncooled rooms.
	Insulate supply pipes, water heaters and install ceiling and wall insulation where appropriate.
	Install blinds, and shades to cool the office.
	Install time clocks or programmable thermostats to turn-off systems when the building is not occupied.
	Install motion detectors to control lighting in often unoccupied rooms, e.g. toilets.
	Use task lighting to illuminate the work areas instead of area lighting.
	If possible, use ink-jet printers - they consume 90% less energy than laser printers.
	Replace incandescent office signs, such as "EXIT", with LED signs. LEDs use about one-tenth the wattage and last up to 50 times longer than incandescent-lamp signs.
	Encourage and educate employees to be conscious on energy and to offer ideas about how to save energy.

More info at: solarserdar@gmail.com
CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (CCRES)