Home Energy Conservation Tips

Want to know how you can ‘Reduce your Juice’? Check out the useful tips below to find out how to get started.

Download the Reduce the Juice pledge options and how they can help you to conserve money and blue barrels.

Here are some more useful tips that you can do today to start conserving energy, saving money and Reducing your Juice.

For Homeowners:

  • To save money on heating costs, reduce the temperature of your home a few degrees at night and when
    you leave for the day. Also consider turning down the thermostat when you are away for more than a
    day.
  • Use area rugs on cold floors – if your feet are cold, your body will feel cold.
  • Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they’re not blocked by
    furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
  • Clean or replace the air filter on your furnace every month to improve efficiency.
  • To save more on central AC costs, try cooling your home to only 24ºC or 25ºC instead of the low 20′s. Each degree below 26ºC will noticeably increase your electricity use!
  • Don’t place lamps or TV sets near your air-conditioning thermostat. The thermostat senses heat from these appliances, which can cause the air conditioner to run longer than necessary.
  • Plant trees or shrubs to shade air-conditioning units but not to block the airflow. A unit operating in the shade uses as much as 10% less electricity than the same one operating in the sun.
  • Use a ceiling fan to supplement or even as an alternative to air conditioning – ceiling fans generally use very little electricity. Make sure your fan is blowing air downwards in summer.
  • Keep blinds, shades and drapes closed during the hottest part of the day in the summer. (And open south-facing blinds on sunny winter days!)
  • Turn off unnecessary lights in the house (they produce a lot of heat which works against the AC.)
  • Avoid running large appliances such as washers, dryers, and electric ovens during peak energy demand hours from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
  • Buy Energy Star appliances, products and lights.

    • For Business:

    1. If possible, install a programmable thermostat allowing you to set the temperature lower during non-working hours and on weekends in the winter and set the air conditioning lower as well. For each degree below 24ºC, your air conditioner uses 3-5% more electricity. The same goes for heating.
    2. Turn off all unnecessary lights, especially in unused offices and conference rooms and turn down remaining lighting levels where possible.
    3. Set computers, monitors, printers, copiers and other business equipment to their energy saving feature. Place all electronic equipment on a power bar and turn off the power bar at the end of the day. Most electronic equipment draws power even when turned off, often referred to as “Phantom Load”.
    4. Minimize energy usage during peak demand hours from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
    5. Buy Energy Star appliances, products, and lights.
    6. Consider placing outdoor signs on a timer so they only run until midnight or 1:00 am, saving electricity during non-peak hours.

    Tips for Kids and Teachers

    1. Choose an energy monitor for your classroom every week who will make sure that energy is being used properly.
    2. At home, hold a ribbon up to the edges of windows and doors. If it blows, you’ve found a leak. Tell your parents.
    3. When you leave the room, turn off the light.

    For a more extensive list of tips please download the Ministry of Energy’s ‘Conserve Energy and Save Money’ brochure which the students handed out while going door to door during the summer.