Energy Awareness Month - What you need to know

Home energy use is something that we all know we need and many times just take for granted that we'll use electricity and natural gas, paying the bills when they come in the mail. In Ohio, October is Energy Awareness Month. Having worked for an agency where energy usage was the main topic I had the opportunity to write and guest column about energy awareness which you can read below.

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Save money and energy with a few simple steps

Guest Column – Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel

Knowing what you can do to lessen your energy usage without sacrificing your comfort is important to also lowering your monthly utility bills. In honor of October as Energy Awareness Month, the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) wants to help you learn how to control the energy you use in your home and also connect with incentives offered by the utility companies for home energy audits, appliance rebates and more.

The first step is to identify what areas of your home need work in order to reduce the amount of heating or cooling you are losing to the outside. This can be because of lack of appropriate insulation in the walls or attic, old windows that leak or insufficient caulking around windows and doors. To learn exactly what you need to do in your home can be as simple as scheduling a home energy audit or home energy walk-thru. Qualified energy auditors will search for ways that energy is escaping from your home and offer tips on how to avoid this from happening. Some companies even offer rebates on contractor fees to have recommended work done.

Another way to lower energy usage is to remove old, outdated appliances, such as refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers and clothing washers in favor of newer, more efficient models. Many utility companies offer rebates or incentives to purchase and install newer appliances. Some even provide free removal of your old refrigerators, as long as they are in working order. This also helps to make sure your old appliances are recycled and don’t end up in the landfill.

If purchasing new appliances is not in your budget, there are still many upgrades and repairs you can do, or even simple habits you can change that will save on your checkbook each month. One of the easiest is to replace old light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs that give the same about of light but use less electricity. Another way is learn the best way to use landscaping and drapes to help heat and cool your home naturally. Make sure that you do not have any water leaks inside or outside your home. Even a slow leak can amount to huge water bills. Installing a programmable thermostat to help regulate the temperature in your home at various times of the day makes a big difference as well.

To learn more about energy efficiency visit OCC online at www.occ.ohio.gov and click on our Smart Energy page. You will find energy efficiency tips, information about Vampire Power, a step-by-step guide to conduct your own energy audit and more. 

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 In addition to OCC, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has information on energy efficiency and other utility topics. To view its press release about the 2014 Energy Awareness Month visit http://www.puco.ohio.gov/puco/index.cfm/media-room/media-releases/october-is-energy-awareness-month2/#sthash.O3bX2wUL.dpbs.