Saving Energy During The Summer

 June 17, 2009
Interview with Jordana Gustafson, Editor of
www.sustainlane.com
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Mike Carruthers:
In order to save money on air-conditioning, many people believe it's best to keep a room at the same temperature all the time rather than turn the A/C up and down.

Jordana Gustafson:
And this is actually not true - the energy that's used to re-cool a space is always going to be less than or equal to the amount of energy used to keep it at a consistent lower temperature.

Jordana Gustafson, Editor of the green website www.sustainlane.com…

So the idea is to set the thermostat where you need it when you're home and then put it at a more reasonable temperature so that you're not using so much energy when you don't need it.

If the sun is shining through your windows in the summertime it is creating heat.

Particularly windows on the south and west side of the home - keep the curtains drawn on that side of the home during the day when the sun is brightest and hottest.

Your refrigerator uses a lot of electricity, even more if the seal on the door is loose.

And one way to check that is to take a piece of paper, put it in the fridge and shut the door. If it stays snugly then you know that you've still got a good seal on your refrigerator and you're not wasting energy.

And if you're using fluorescent light bulbs to save energy, that's great but remember they contain mercury so when they burn out you should dispose of them as hazardous waste.

One way is to go to earth911.org and you can put in your zip code and it'll tell you where to take them.

To hear the complete unedited interview, click here