I don't have an interesting tidbit, video, or page to link to today, so I thought I would share a few things I've heard people say about saving energy. I'd call them "stories," except I'm paraphrasing and summarizing so much that it's more like random advice that I've heard people give. I think they're kind of fun reminders that, well, we are all pretty energy-savvy here, but there's still a lot of education that needs to be done.

Let's get this started!

Once upon a time, I knew someone who was sure that it would cost less to use a gas fireplace to heat their living room than it would to let the central heating run. They figured the fireplace could heat a small area better than the central air, which would have to heat the whole house. [More]

Happy New Year to all you Energy Savers out there!

Now that 2012 calendars are up and we (hopefully) remember to use ’12 instead of ’11 where necessary (does anyone write checks anymore?), it’s time to think about the New Year’s resolutions we made and are (hopefully again) still keeping.

For instance… if you’ve been putting off getting an energy assessment of your home, why wait? Now is a good time to find out if you have cracks, leaks or other places where heat is escaping; you can start making your home more energy efficient today. [More]

I spent Thanksgiving week in Arizona with my parents, who are very energy conscious although my father says “I find my thoughts are more of efficiency than saving the planet, however the results are the same.” Last year I thought he was crazy to be turning off the computer and the surge protector for the TV system (TV, DVD player, etc.) every night to reduce “vampire energy,” or standby power drains.

During a discussion on energy audits, he showed me his most recent month’s power bill. A really neat feature (if bills can have good features) is that the power company includes on the bill a small bar graph that shows the present year’s power use vs. the previous year’s use by month.* The graph shows very clearly that after an increase in energy use in January and February of this year over last year, when temperatures were slightly lower (= more heat), my parents had a HUGE decrease in the average daily kWh used over the summer months – up to a 22% savings in July, when the average temperature was over 94°! (The Phoenix area had temperatures over 114° this summer, and the daily range can be over 30°.) Their energy savings have continued into the fall, ranging from 8% to over 17%. [More]

It's that time again. It's "X shopping days until Christmas," you're maybe a touch stressed from trying to get a lot of work done despite holiday parties and shopping trips, and, to top it off, it's cold out.

If you're reading this, you're probably familiar with our Stay Warm Save Money seasonal campaign. We've been sending out energy saving tips for the changing season for years now; we hope you've been able (and willing) to take advantage of that information. [More]

This week, Stephanie talked about how she's been procrastinating getting an energy assessment for her house. Sometimes life gets so busy, we neglect to do things that we know are good - even when they're free!

In addition to scheduling that assessment, she also has a great plan to start tracking her utility bills to see the impact of the energy-efficiency improvements she plans to make.

How about you? Have you been putting off any energy-efficiency improvements? If so, what would it take to put those plans into action? [More]

One thing I’ve been putting off doing is an energy assessment. I don’t know why – my utility company offers them for FREE!

I’ve done a few things around the house, like putting insulation behind all the light and plug switch plates I can get at and replacing the insulation around the outside doors and under one garage door, closing off rooms that aren’t used very often, setting back the programmable thermostat, replacing almost all the indoor lights with CFLs – really basic things like that. [More]