Goldview’s Helpful Conservation Tips

Here are some helpful energy saving tips for all condominium owners.

Conservation Tips PDF File

Lighting and Electrical Consider low wattage light bulbs and fluorescent lighting. Consider use of timers for a more efficient lighting source. Make sure that you turn off all lights as you exit rooms. Use energy saving features on computers, monitors, and other entertainment devices. Use task lighting where applicable – instead of lighting the entire room, focus the light where it is needed (i.e. use lamps). Consider using 3-way lamps. Use energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. Place floor lamps or table lamps in a corner, as light will reflect from the two walls. Ensure light bulbs and fixtures are clean, as dust or dirt can reduce the light that is being emitted by more than 10%. Install a light dimmer – an incandescent light dimmed by 25% can save 10% on energy use and extend the life of the bulb. Install motion-detecting devices in closets, hallways and bathrooms. If you replace 25% of the lights in high-use areas with fluorescent lights, you can save about 50% of your lighting costs. Reduce lighting where possible. Refrigerator Check your refrigerator door gasket over time to ensure a good seal. Ensure refrigerator door is sealed tightly after each use. Do not obstruct any vents inside the refrigerator compartments. Let hot leftovers cool down before putting them in the refrigerator. Do not overload refrigerators and freezers with food. Cover liquids and wrap foods. Uncovered foods create excessive moisture and make the compressor work harder. Defrost your freezer on a regular basis. Move your refrigerator out from the wall, and vacuum once a year to maximize performance. Microwave Defrost food using the natural method rather than using the microwave. Never use a two-prong adapter or an extension cord to plug in your microwave oven. Allow space around the microwave for proper ventilation. Boil large quantities of water on your stove or in an electric kettle. Clothes Dryers Clean the lint filter of the dryer after every use. A clogged lint filter increases drying time. Do not over dry your clothes. Use full loads for clothes dryers. Dry towels and heavier cottons in a separate load from lighter items. Use the cool down cycle to allow clothes to finish drying with the heat that is left in the dryer. Dishwasher Do not overload. Do not do half loads. Use shorter cycles when you have easy to clean dishes. If your dishwasher has an air-dry setting, choose it instead of the heat-dry setting. Check the manual that came with your dishwasher for the manufacturer recommendations on the water temperature. Scrape, do not rinse off large food particles and bones. Soaking or pre-washing dishes is only recommended for heavily soiled utensils. Do not use the “rinse hold” function for a few soiled dishes as it wastes 12-28 litres of hot water each time you use it. Interesting Facts Fluorescent light is 4 to 5 times as efficient as an incandescent light. Standard incandescent bulbs use 90% of their energy to make heat and only 10% to make light. Showerheads can use up to 1/3 of all the hot water used in a home. White walls and ceilings reflect 80% of the light whereas dark walls reflect only 10%. One drop per second from a leaky faucet will waste enough hot water every month for 16 hot baths. Frost free refrigerators cost 50% more to run. Leaky faucets dripping at one drop per second could waste 8,448 litres of water per year. Using a ceramic coffee mug conserves the amount of energy it would take to manufacture 500 paper cups. Recycling paper can cut pollution by 50%, water by 60% and energy consumption by 70%. The average household washing machine is used 416 times per year. Americans buy 2.2 million light bulbs per day. Direct sunlight is 100 times brighter than the light from a strong reading lamp. Compact fluorescent lamps last ten times longer than an incandescent. Dishwashers commonly use water heated to 140 ï‚°, which is hotter than any other water used in the home. About 80% of the energy that your dishwasher uses heats the water. On an average summer day, air conditioners pump enough cold air to produce 16 trillion ice cubes. Refrigerators use 7% of the nation’s electricity. Refrigerators account for 25% of the electricity bill. If each member of a family of four takes a daily five-minute shower, the family will use more than 2,800 litres of water every week, which is a three-year supply of drinking water for one person. About 15% of the energy used for heating homes warms air that is leaking through cracks. Over a refrigerator’s life span (15 to 20 yrs), the electricity it costs to cool costs several times its purchase price. Twelve times as much heat escapes from your house through a single-pane window as through a typical wall. Ceiling fans consume as little energy as a 60-watt bulb, which is about 98% less energy than most central air conditioners use. Canadians waste 340 litres of water per person per day. This is twice as much as the average European consumes. The average home spends close to 10% of their electric bills on lighting the home. It takes more energy to cool an empty freezer than it does a full one. Microwave ovens use up to 75% less energy than an oven. In a typical home about 54% of the energy costs is for heating and cooling and 20% is in hot water usage. Any appliance that is remote control operated still uses electricity even when not in use. Using a dishwasher can actually be more efficient than washing dishes by hand, assuming you use the dishwasher once for every 3 or 4 times you would wash dishes by hand. In the winter, Ontario’s greatest demand for electricity usually occurs from 4pm to 9pm. Try switching non-essential chores to the off peak times between 9pm and 7am. 60% of the energy used by a computer is used by the monitor. Contrary to popular belief, less energy is consumed when lights are turned on and off as you come and go than if a light is left on all the time.

Water Repair leaking faucets by installing new washers. Consider the use of a low flow toilet as these can reduce flow by up to 12 litres per flush. Resist running hot water continuously while shaving or brushing teeth. Shorten showers in order to reduce hot water flow. Keep a container of drinking water in the refrigerator to avoid running the tap unnecessarily. Thaw frozen foods ahead of time, not under running hot water. Do not use toilets for disposing of trash or waste paper. Use a “touch test” to see if your plants need watering. Put a lid on your pot while cooking or boiling water. Take showers instead of baths. A bath can waste 16.20 litres more water than a shower. Keep the faucet lever on the kitchen sink in the cold position when using small amounts of water. Placing the lever in the hot position uses energy to heat the water even though it never reaches the faucet. Water heating typically accounts for approximately 14% of your corporation’s utility bill. Washing Machine Wait for a full load. Wash in warm or cold water whenever possible. Rinse in cold water where possible. Electric Ranges & Ovens Do not preheat your oven longer than necessary. No longer than 10 minutes is recommended. Make sure that over seals are kept clean and properly fitted. Use alternatives to the oven whenever possible (i.e. microwaves, crock pots, or pressure cookers). Choose the burner size that matches your pot. Baking defrosted foods uses one third less energy than starting with frozen food. Never line your oven with aluminium foil as this could reduce hot air flow, instead use a cookie sheet to catch droppings or spills. Thawing foods allows you to reduce the recommended cooking time by 30%. Use glass or ceramic baking dishes as you can lower the baking temperature by 25 Cï‚°. Clean or, when necessary, replace the filter in the range hood above your stove. Grease build-up can create hazards. Tips for Summer Try to operate the thermostat at the highest setting that is comfortable for you. Exhaust fans in kitchens can be used to expel heat and moisture from your suite. Close curtains when leaving your suite for extended periods. Keep doors and windows closed when you are operating air conditioning equipment. Ensure that cooling vents are not blocked. Open a window or opt to use a ceiling fan on cooler days instead of running the air conditioner. Set your air conditioning wisely – each degree setting below 26 Cï‚° will increase your energy consumption by approximately 8%. Turn off unnecessary lights in the house as they produce heat, which works against the air conditioning. Don’t set your thermostat at a colder setting than normal when you turn on your air conditioner. It will not cool your home any faster and could result in excessive cooling. Install white window shades, drapes or blinds to reflect heat away from your suite. Tips for Winter Turn down the thermostat to 16C when leaving your suite for an extended period of time. Try to avoid turning the thermostat up and down frequently – choose an appropriate temperature and leave the thermostat there. Ensure that heating vents are not blocked. Check all filters and fan coil units every few months to ensure that they are operating properly. Open curtains to bring in sunshine during the day and close the curtains at night to ensure that heat is not lost. Shorten showers in order to reduce the amount of hot water flow to your suite. Install insulated draperies or blinds around large windows. Keep windows on the south side of your suite clean to maximize solar gain. Use area rugs on cold floors. Use kitchen ventilating fan wisely. In just one hour, these fans can pull out a suite-full of warmed air. Turn fans off as soon as they have done the job.