Your Energy Bill arrive and it is way to high. You can start by asking your energy provider to check your meters accuracy, but you will have to do detective work to really save money. Our local utility, PGE, just announced another energy rate increase for 2010. You can go green and save money by following our energy saving tips.  This is an overview of the many energy saving tips we have covered over the years along with links to detailed articles.

Energy Monitoring

How can you save energy without knowing you have reduced usage? The Killawatt is a low cost energy meter that can show you how much energy your appliances use. For serious energy savers, the TED 5000 Energy monitor also helps to measure energy use. It is very advanced with connectivity to Google’s new PowerMeter tools and even an iPhone app.

Federal Tax Credit

Take advantage of the 30% upto $1500 Federal Tax Credit on install Energy efficient items such as solar panels, windows, doors, skylights, water heaters, furnaces, boilers, pellet stoves, etc at a nice discount. This tax credit expires 12/31/2010.

Heating & Cooling

Caulking, weather striping, thermostats, fixing any leaks are easy to do. Set your thermostat to come on before you get home and before you wake up. Set heat to off when you are gone.
Get a home energy audit to help find your problems. They use blowers that will detect areas causing heat loss.

Computers

Set your Mac – PC to sleep or hibernate after of inactivity. There are tutorials on how to do this and free software. Use a smart power strip as wall warts draw power even when nothing is on. No need to buy a new PC or operating system to save power. Also consider installing a Digital Timer to control the smart power strip.

TVs

People are realizing their TVs eat a ton of power. California’s CEC is proposing new power rules for TVs. When purchasing, try to buy a green LCD TV. You can optimize your TV set’s power use by making sure all energy saving options are on and that the picture is not set to the energy draining “Torch mode” setting used in stores to show off the brightest of pictures. Also use a smart power strip as wall warts draw power even when nothing is on.

Water

Water rates are sky rocketing.  Save water in your bathroom and kitchen. Check your sprinkler system for leaks. Buy an advanced sprinkler controller that uses weather or soil information to adjust watering times. Switch to native drought tolerant plants.

Solar

It is a great time to go solar.  The Federal 30% Tax Credit is now uncapped. Panels are more efficient than ever.  A solar system can pay itself back in 7-10 years.  There are no money down leasing options that drop your monthly bill and require no large initial outlay. Solar Panels require a little Maintenance and cleaning.

Swimming Pools

Cover your pool with a vinyl cover, not a solar blanket. You’ll reduce the water evaporation, chemical usage, and lower the time you need to run the pool pump.  Newer multiple speed pumps run longer but at slower speeds, reducing power use. Upgrade to one when your current one fails. Install a solar pool heater system, they work great.

You can easily optimize the picture settings of your TV and reduce your energy bill and save money.  Most TVs are set so they are optimized with high brightness and contrast levels to ‘look good’ or deliver wows in a TV store.  The brightness and colors are cranked way up or set to what is known as “Torch Mode”.  You can set your TV to optimal image settings and save money in the process.

Set your TVs mode to one called Standard, Cinema, or Movie. Avoid modes named Dynamic or Vivid. Turn the brightness and contrast down to an acceptable level.

Our Sony XBR LCD TV has a Power Saving setting you can set to OFF, Low, High, and Picture OFF.  We set this to High. It also has a PC Power Management setting to have the TV save energy when there is no signal.

CNET has a good description of how they test power usage.  After they calibrate the set to optimal setting, it almost always uses less power.  A top rated Pioneer Plasma TV used 40 less watts of power when calibrated.  This translates to $13 a year power savings. Use a Killawatt to measure before and after power use.

If you are buying a new HDTV, be sure to look for a green LCD TV. Energy Star 3.0 standards requires less than 1 watt of power usage when the TV is off and  has a formula for maximum energy use based on screen size. Look for this mark on any TV you purchase.

The California Energy Commission has passed new rules for TV sets.  In 2013, it would save 6515 gigawatts of power a year, reduce greehouse gas emissions by 3.1 million metric tons annually, and save you $18 to $30 a year. This would affect the entire nation as electronics companies will not want to make special sets just for California.

This would affect sets 58inches or smaller and would mandate that televisions sold in California would consume 33% less energy by 2011 and 49% less energy by 2013. For example, a 42 inch screen would consume 183 watts by 2011 and 115 watts by 2013, and a 36 inch screen would consume 148 watts by 2011 and 95 watts by 2013.

More than 1,000 models already meet the 2011 standard so buy a set on this list

Costco has a new electronics Trade-In & Recycle Program powered by Gazelle. Another way to rid yourself of unwanted items.

“Costco’s Trade-In & Recycle Program now puts more money in your wallet. Responsibly trade-in electronic gadgets (such as laptops, cell phones, LCD monitors, digital cameras, MP3 players, gaming systems & more) for Costco Cash good for anything in Costco warehouses or at Costco.com.”

How much do you get?  We check the value of a Canon SD1000 digital camera. $41 for one in good condition with all accessories. Used ones had been sold for $70 to $100+, so you are paying a hefty premium to use Costco’s convenience.

The new eco friendly Sony KDL-40VE5 eco 40″ LCD HDTV is now available. All the desirable specs: Full HD 1080P, 120Hz refresh. Price around $1100.

Plus new ones we like to see:

“High-efficiency HCFL backlight that provides optimum brightness and reduces power consumption up to 50 percent versus Energy Star 3.0 requirements. In fact, this set consumes only 90 watts” – A similar model lacking these new features, the Sony 40″ KDL-40V5100, uses 155 watts.

“This HDTV has a Presence Sensor which detects if you’ve stepped away from your TV and automatically turns the picture off. If after 30 minutes, the sensor still doesn’t detect movement in the room, the set turns off completely.”

“The VE5 is equipped with a new Energy Saving Switch which reduces power consumption of the TV to zero when you’re not watching television.”

“Dim the lights to watch a movie and the integrated Light Sensor automatically adjusts to your room’s ambient light and lowers the brightness of the TV’s backlight to conserve energy”