Earth Day: Celebrate with a Day of Energy Savings!

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated worldwide on April 22nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, it now includes events coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network in more than 193 countries.

Earth Day provides an excellent opportunity to take small, manageable steps to start saving energy at home. Our Day of Energy Savings will not only provide you with simple tips to help the planet but may also lower your energy bills.

Morning:

Take a shorter, cooler shower.

Everyone loves a long, leisurely shower in the morning, BUT you can save energy by limiting your shower to no more than 5 minutes. You can also make your shower a little cooler if you want to save even more energy. Bonus: Cold showers can boost circulation and increase alertness!

 Limit the time your fridge door is open.

The longer the fridge door is open, the harder the appliance must work to maintain a cool temperature. Therefore, decide what you want in advance to minimize the time the fridge or freezer door is open.

 Bring in sunlight. 

During daylight hours, switch off artificial lights and use windows and skylights to brighten your home.

 Afternoon:

If you are not working, you can celebrate Earth Day by eating lunch outside enjoying mother nature. You can also include participating by planting a tree, picking up trash at a local park, or committing to not driving for the day.

In the office or working from home, you can also:

Enjoy Lunch Outdoors

Before you go, make sure you use the power management settings on your computer and monitors to make sure they both sleep while you're away.

 Commuting

Instead of driving in alone, try public transit, carpooling with a co-worker, or if you are close and enjoy it- bike in!

Evening:

Cook outside

Keep the heat out by using an outdoor grill instead of indoor ovens or stoves.

 After dinner, only run the dishwasher if you have a full load. 

Make sure you wait until you have a full load in the dishwasher before hitting start. More dishes cleaned per load means fewer loads and less energy heating up the water.

 Evening load of laundry

When doing laundry, use cold water whenever possible and don't overload the dryer. Too many clothes reduce the dryer's efficiency by taking longer to dry.

Use a programmable thermostat.

Set a programmable thermostat to higher temp at night if you are already using the A/C and a lower temp and use blankets if you are still using the heat.