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Energy Tips: What to Unplug

posted by TrueNorth Risk Management on Wednesday, February 1, 2017

If you live in a typical American home, chances are your appliances and home electronics are responsible for about 20 percent of your energy bills. Here are some ways you can reduce electricity use in your home and save money.

High Energy Appliances

The following is a list of appliances that generally use up a lot of electricity. Please note this list is not exhaustive.

• Washers and dryers
• Dishwashers
• Refrigerator and freezer
• Room air conditioners
• Water heaters
• Computers
• Home audio equipment (speakers, stereo system)
• Televisions
• DVD and Blu-Ray Players

While you can't do a lot about the energy consumption of some of these appliances, such as your refrigerator, you can do something about how much energy you use with other appliances. 

Power-Controlling Devices 

Appliances older than 1990 use more electricity than newer appliances. If you have an old appliance in your home, you can easily reduce the amount of electricity it uses by installing a power-controlling device, which applies and regulates the correct amount of power to the appliance's motor. For more information, visit www.energysavers.gov.

Turn off Your Computer

Computers eat up a lot of energy when they are left on for long periods of time, such as overnight. Most computers have a feature known as sleep mode, which consumes less energy if your computer is on - but you should still shut down your computer if you're not going to use it for more than two hours. 

Reduce Standby Power

Many appliances use electricity even when they're turned off; that electricity is known as standby power. While this power is necessary for some appliances, like your refrigerator, it can add up on your energy bill. A simple fix is unplugging those appliances you don't use often, such as your DVD player or printer.

You can also plug a group of appliances into a power strip - this reduces the electricity they draw from using many outlets at once. An example would be grouping your computer, monitor, printer and speakers.

TrueNorth Offers Protection

As always, TrueNorth is happy to assist you by providing comprehensive insurance and financial solutions for both home and business. Visit www.iTrueNorth.com or call (319) 739-1277 for an insurance quote to help safeguard the things that matter most to you.