Today's Energy Insight

During air conditioning season, when you leave the house for any length of time, you should consider turning up your thermostat to between 80 and 85 degrees (unless you're leaving pets at home). Experts agree that the energy saved from turning your thermostat up in the summer while you're away is greater than the energy used to cool your house back down after you return. Better yet, think about a programmable thermostat to raise and lower the temps for you. Stay Cool and Save Energy!

Today's Energy Insight

It's another hot July day out there so the insight today is all about HEAT. By now you have probably heard CFL or LED bulbs use less energy and last longer than incandescent bulbs but here is another factor to consider...

Standard incandescent bulbs create more HEAT than light, up to 90% of the energy these bulbs consume is given off as HEAT! When running A/C, incandescent bulbs are actually working against you.  If you switch to CFL or LED bulbs your cooling costs will go down along with your lighting costs. COOL!

Today's Energy Insight

Ways to Green Your Summer Travel

Try to eat locally and sustainably. Ditch the chain restaurants and be adventurous. Pack a cooler and stop at roadside fruit and vegetable stands, visit local farmer's markets. CLICK HERE to check out the Eat Well Guide with over 25,000 hand-picked restaurants, farms, markets and other sources of local, sustainable food.

Bring a stainless steel water bottle. Bottled water is plentiful but pricey and also creates plastic waste. With stainless steel you avoid BPA and it helps you save money.

Keep your car tires properly inflated. Tires that are under-inflated reduce performance so keep them full of air to increase your gas mileage. Also make sure your scheduled maintenance is up-to-date to help the engine run as efficiently as possible.

Patronize local businesses. Use your tourist dollars to support local economies by choosing small businesses over big box chain stores. Summer destinations often count on this income to survive the rest of the year.

Today's Energy Insight

Happy Birthday, America!

The best gift you can give our country is to make just one change to your daily routine to help conserve energy. Whether you replace an incandescent bulb with a CFL or LED, flip a switch off when a room is unoccupied, power down your computer monitor at the end of the day or unplug unused electronics; these simple steps DO make a difference, especially in a district our size. Small changes add up to create big savings.

When you save energy, you are stretching our district dollars further and that gives us reason to...

Have a fun, safe and energy efficient 4th of July!