The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Home Energy and Water Savings Toolkit Guidebook provides simple steps to help you take charge of your home’s energy and water use to reduce your utility bills. Check out a toolkit from your local Sonoma or Mendocino County Library branch (not available at Forestville or Occidental branches).
Installing window coverings will keep the heat out and can help reduce cooling costs. Open windows at night when it’s cooler, then close them along with your blinds or curtains in the morning to keep cool air inside all day and prevent the sun from warming your home.
While the temperature won’t change, you will feel cooler with the breeze. If you leave the room, remember to turn the fan off to save even more energy.
Set your air conditioning to cool your home to temperatures of 68-74 degrees before 4pm. At 4pm, turn off your air conditioning unit or set to 78 degrees. You will be able to stay cool while saving electricity when it is most expensive.
Your air conditioner is one of the biggest energy users. By turning it off or raising the temperature, you can save a lot of energy!
Smart thermostats automatically adjust your home's heating and cooling based on your daily behavior. Smart thermostats can save energy by maintaining recommended temperatures.
Try grilling outside or use smaller appliances such as a microwave, electric pressure cooker, or toaster oven, which release less heat in your home and require less energy than a stove or oven.
Major appliances, such as your washer and dryer use large amounts of energy to run. Do laundry earlier in the day to limit use during the afternoon when electricity is more expensive.
Press the pause button on doing the dishes until after the Alert period ends.
Many devices draw power even when they are turned off. Instead of crawling around to unplug the devices, you can use a smart power strip. Smart power strips will turn off power with the flip of the switch.
You can save energy by switching to energy-efficient lighting. LEDs use roughly 10% of the energy of an incandescent lightbulb and last 25 times longer! Last but not least, don’t forget to turn lights off when you leave a room.
