Kilowatt Ours Blog

Since we are now in the heating season, and the big storm is
coming (or past if you are in the West), I feel inclined to share
with you some tips on keeping your heating bills down.

Today’s tip is about thermostats. Do you have one? They come
in many shapes, sizes and technologies, posing a challenge to
come up with a tip that works for everyone.

In a recent meeting with NES (our local power company), we had
a long discussion about thermostats. [By the way, Kilowatt Ours
is now partnered with Nashville Electric Service (NES) -- one of the
12 largest public utilities in America. Our work together is to offer
energy saving workshops for low-income neighborhoods in our
region of Tennessee. I will share some of the materials and
learnings from these workshops over time.]

The topic we recently discussed with NES was, “does it save energy
to turn down my thermostat at night, or when our home is empty
during the day?” Answer: YES, this does save energy. And YES, if
you have an electric heat pump, and you crank up the heat after
having it set down for a few hours it may turn on your emergency
resistance heat and end up consuming more energy than you
saved. So, it does matter “how” you bring the temp back up.

***Rule of thumb***
There is a rule of thumb to keep your savings: when you are
ready to crank the heat back up, turn up your thermostat one
degree at a time to prevent your system from kicking on the
emergency heat (if you have natural gas heat, this doesn’t
matter. Crank it up baby!). Here’s what I mean: Turn your
thermostat up one degree. When the room has reached this
temp and the heat pump clicks off, turn it up another degree.
And so on until you are back in your comfort zone. This will
keep your savings in place.

Special thanks to NES for helping us improve our energy savings
knowledge!

All the best. Stay warm. Keep it at 68 or lower for greatest
savings (and put on a sweater, or do some jumping jacks).

Jeff

PS: Please make a donation to support our work at:

http://www.KilowattOurs.org/savekilowattours

Last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving (a.k.a. “Black Friday”),
Heather and I observed national “Buy Nothing Day.”
We postponed our holiday shopping spree til Saturday when we
went to Target and found great deals on a wide assortment of
LED holiday lights — we bought a 66-foot string for $20.

I also discovered energy- and comfort-saving insulated draperies
that keep out light and keep in warmth during the cold winter months.

We haven’t made this purchase yet, but it’s on my list
now. I just took a quick look at Target.com and found another
great product — outdoor holiday lighting powered by a mini solar
panel. Solar holiday lighting at a fairly reasonable price!

Please do your part this holiday season and celebrate with energy
savings in mind. Save a lump of coal or ten!
(remember — every kilowatt hour saved is one less pound of coal).

***More Gift Ideas — Shop online AND support Kilowatt Ours***

Purchase a bunch of KO DVDs for gifts at:

http://www.KilowattOurs.org/donate

BUY 4 GET 1 FREE!!

Or purchase Shaklee home cleaning products, or EFI energy saving
products at http://www.kilowattours.org/donate.php#other
(just scroll down the page for all sorts of wonderful gift ideas!)

And please support Kilowatt Ours this holiday season by making a
donation at http://www.KilowattOurs.org/savekilowattours

A portion of the above purchases support Kilowatt Ours (except
Target.com).

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Jeff