IDT Energy Savings

Now might be the perfect time to change your storage tank water heater to an energy efficient tank-less style water heater. These water heaters are more efficient than the older style where you have to pre-heat your water and store it in a large water tank, ready to use. According to some natural gas suppliers like IDT Energy tank-less water heaters can be anywhere from 10%-20% more efficient saving that much money on your gas bills by making the switch.

Tank-less water heaters are also space savers, usually only about 2 feet high, 1 ½ feet wide and 9 inches deep. Water is heated almost instantaneously at the moment you turn on the faucet.

Another advantage of the tank-less water heater is that because there is no storage tank there can never be a burst water tank, with the mess and loss of money that goes with it.

If you are in the market for a new water heater, check out the possibility of replacing your old one with a tank-less water heater. It might be a great choice for you and your family.

IDT Energy wants its customers to save whenever and wherever they can, so why not explore new ways to save money in the office, too?

Working at home is becoming more and more popular. People who work from home are already saving money on transportation costs, and perhaps the cost of new clothes since you no longer need to dress for the office.  You might be able to also save on childcare costs, the cost of purchasing expensive lunches, and other types of expenses which are no longer needed when you are employed at home.

However you might need expensive equipment in order to do the job properly, such as computers, printers, faxes, etc, which are all energy consumers.
So how can you save money on your energy bill in your home office?

Start with the Energy Star. Office equipment labeled with the Energy Star can in some cases save you as much as 90% to run the product. The average savings on most office equipment is still impressive; as much as 50% can usually be saved with Energy Star labeled office equipment compared to ordinary equipment.

In addition to this respectable energy savings, these office devices also reduce air-conditioning loads, annoying background noise from fans and transformers and electromagnetic fields from computer monitors.

When creating a plan to reduce household expenses on energy, it is crucial to see where most of your energy dollars are going. According to the 2007 Buildings energy Data Book we see the hugest chunk of money spent on household energy goes to space heating, around 31%.

When planning  your household usage energy audit you should be sure to:

•    Check insulation in attic, basement walls and exterior walls, floors, ceilings and all those crawl spaces which can lose a lot of heat if not properly insulated.

•    Inspect in your walls, windows, ceilings, doors, lights fixtures, plumbing fixtures and even electrical outlets, for cracks and/or holes which can leak your expensive warm air out into the cold, cruel world.

•    Are your fireplace dampers open?

•    Look for ways to conserve energy use for lighting. Perhaps using occupancy sensors, dimmers and/or timers can help save electricity. Replacing incandescent lights with compact or standard fluorescent bulbs could save you a bundle.

In our last post IDT Energy discussed ways to get the heat into your house in a cost saving manner, such as exposing your home to daytime sunshine, lowering your thermostat and installing a programmable thermostat.

Here are some ideas on how to keep the heat you’ve paid so dearly for to stay inside where it belongs:

• When is the last time you checked the insulation in your attic? How about your ceilings, exterior walls, basement walls, crawl spaces and floors? Make sure the insulation is adequate for the climate that you live in. New York can have extremely harsh winters, and good insulation can make a huge difference in your heating costs.
• Check for air leaks around windows and doors, then use caulk and weather stripping to seal them.
• Be sure to replace the filters on your furnace regularly to keep the warm air flowing into your house efficiently.
• IDT Energy wishes you and your family a wonderful warm winter in New York.

We are discussing the various fuels to use at your “end of the summer” BBQ. IDT Energy wants you to make an informed choice so you can save money and energy while saving the planet.

An alternative to using charcoal as a fuel for your BBQ you can use LPG, liquefied petroleum gas. Although it does release CO? into the atmosphere when it burns, the other pollutants it releases are less numerous than with charcoal, so it is actually better for air quality than charcoal.

The third possible way to BBQ is with electricity. Since electricity is produced in power stations, a lot of fossil fuels are burned making electricity the BBQ fuel with the highest release of CO? emissions of the three choices. Electricity is also an expensive way to cook.

With summer coming to a close maybe you are planning an “end of the summer” outdoor celebration. A great way to celebrate is with a wonderful backyard barbecue. We usually don’t give much thought about how to make this fun event environmentally friendly, but here are a few tips from IDT Energy that will not only save you money, but will also help save our planet.

• Just because you are eating outdoors doesn’t mean you need to use disposable plates and cutlery. Disposables are expensive and wasteful, and their use should be limited as much as possible.

• Choose charcoal as your fuel for the cleanest way to grill. Made from wood, charcoal releases only as much CO? as it absorbed while it was growing. On the other hand, we shouldn’t ignore the fact that cutting down and transporting the wood, and processing it also uses energy. Burning charcoal also releases soot and other materials into the atmosphere, which is especially problematic in urban areas.

• When choosing charcoal check that it is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. It should also be produced locally and only from sustainable forests.

• Use the lump type of charcoal of you can; briquettes contain chemical additives.

Knowing where all the hot water you use goes is a great first step in starting a savings plan help to get your energy bill under control. IDT Energy suggests that you examine a few of your
simple every day activities which may be using a lot more water than you realize.

Here is a sample of the typical quantities of water used in daily routine activities:

•    Laundry-                       32 Gallons per load of laundry

•    Shower-                          20 Gallons per shower

•    Bath-                                20 Gallons per bath

•    Dishes-                            12 Gallons or water are used per load in an automatic dishwasher

•    Food preparation-     This can typically use about 5 gallons of water

•    Dishes by Hand-          4 Gallons of water are used to wash a sink full of dishes.

Considering that about 12% of household energy expenditure goes toward heating water, it is a great idea to find ways to save on the use of that precious hot water. Here are some simple yet powerful ideas.

•    Low-flow, aerating faucets and shower heads can save lots of water and the energy it takes to heat that water.

•    You can waste a surprisingly large amount of water in a short time if you don’t fix leaky faucets right away.

•    Check the thermostat on your hot water heater. Newly installed heaters have factory settings that are probably way too hot. A moderate setting of 120? Fahrenheit is hot enough for the majority of household needs.

•    In addition to insulating your electric hot-water storage tank and/or natural gas and/or oil hot water storage tank, be sure to insulate the first 6 feet of the water pipes which are connected to the hot water heater, both hot and cold.

•    Be sure install heat traps on the water pipes at the water heater, both hot and cold, so that heat loss is reduced to a minimum. If you are purchasing a new water heater, be sure it has built-in heat traps.

It takes a lot of energy to get the hot water you need for all your household needs, probably more than you think. For most people about 12% of the money they spend on powering their home is used to heat water, which is typically the third largest household energy expense. It therefore is a smart place to start when looking for places to make cuts in their budget for utilities.

There are basically four strategies to consider when planning to reduce your water heating bills. Those strategies are:

1.    Reduce the amount of hot water you use.
2.    Lower the temperature on the thermostat of your hot water heater.
3.    Efficiently heat and retain the heat by properly insulating your water heater.
4.    Purchase a new water heater which heats more efficiently.

Here are some more great ideas to help you save money and energy around the house, from IDT Energy.

•    Many electronic appliances, such as microwaves, TVs, VCRs, DVD players and more use energy even when not in use. Together these idle “vampires” consume 5 % of the nation’s domestic energy, costing consumers a staggering $3 billion each year.
•    An average American family spends over $200 on air conditioning. In some places in the southern states households quite easily can spend double that amount.
•    Over the lifetime of an air conditioner, only one quarter is spent on the purchase price. The rest, ¾ of the cost, is spent on running it.
•    Look for the Energy Star when replacing your old air conditioner and save about 20% on your cooling expenses.
•    Home office equipment and other electronic equipment can be powered down with their “sleep” feature to save as much as $70 a year on energy costs.
•    Wash your clothes in warm or cool water instead of hot water to save 80-85 per cent of the energy cost of laundering your clothes. Your clothes will be just as clean, and you’ll be a lot richer.