5 Energy Hacks That Will Save You Money
October is National Energy Action Month, a national effort to demonstrate how central energy is to our national prosperity, security, and environmental well-being.
To recognize this new observance, we partnered with Detroit-based utilities DTE Energy and Consumers Energy to host informational booths and lunch-and-learns at a few of our Michigan offices and technical centers to raise awareness about energy efficiency and share best practices. Representatives provided their expertise - scheduling home energy audits, demonstrating various energy efficient lightbulbs, thermostats and window seals, and offering tips to help employees reduce energy both at home and at work.
Everyone walked away feeling like an ENERGY STAR, so we caught up with a few employees and asked them to share their ah-hah moments where small steps led to big energy savings.
- Use your ceiling fan instead of turning on the air. Every 1 degree change in temperature also changes energy costs 3 percent.
- Keep your air ducts and filters clean so heating and cooling equipment can operate at maximum efficiency. With clean airways, you won’t have to run the fan as often or as fast to control your climate.
- Use solar-powered lights outside that respond to daylight or darkness. Your outdoor lights will turn on when it gets dark out before you’re even home and be totally powered by the free, clean energy of the sun.
- Do your laundry after peak energy hours. Energy costs less late at night and in the early morning because demand is lower.
- Turn off your dishwasher after the wash and rinse cycles and allow dishes to air dry. Also check to see if your dishwasher can be set to “low.” These switches will save costs on energy to heat the appliance.
For more energy saving best practices, here are 10 more GM employee tips. Our longtime partner ENERGY STAR also offers numerous resources to help you reduce energy use both at home and work.
