{"id":652,"date":"2015-01-26T00:00:56","date_gmt":"2015-01-26T00:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/providerpower.com\/power-to-help\/?p=652"},"modified":"2015-05-05T14:23:02","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T18:23:02","slug":"energy-efficient-appliances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/providerpower.com\/power-to-help\/energy-efficient-appliances\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Your Appliances Efficiently"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you recently purchased an EnergyStar appliance? Congratulations on doing your part to save energy \u2014and money! \u00a0Last time we looked at the benefits<\/a> of EnergyStar appliances and the value of spending a little more on your purchase to save money in the long run.<\/p>\n

Your appliance is only as energy efficient as the way you use it. Here are some simple tips to help you maximize your energy savings:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Stay full.<\/strong> Your washing machine or dishwasher uses the same amount of water and energy when you run it half-full as completely full, so run full loads for maximum efficiency. Your freezer and refrigerator do better when they\u2019re full too. It might sound counterintuitive, but in the event of a power outage<\/a>, a full freezer and fridge will keep your food at the safest temperature longer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    1. Take your temperature.<\/strong> Almost 90 percent of the energy consumed by your washing machine is used to heat the water\u2014dialing down from hot to warm can cut energy use in half, while effectively cleaning your clothes. Also, keep in mind that many of today\u2019s laundry detergents are formulated for use in cold water, so they might do the job just as well. Saving energy can also help save your clothes\u2014washing them in cold water can help keep colors bright and avoid setting stains, as can air drying them rather than using your dryer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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      1. Cook smart.<\/strong> Did you know your microwave uses 30 to 80 percent less energy<\/a> than a regular oven does? And, if microwaving isn\u2019t the ideal method for cooking your food, consider using a toaster oven\u2014its smaller size will use less energy too, and a crockpot is even better! Here\u2019s another crazy fact<\/a>: a pot without a lid uses 60 percent more energy on the stove. They say there\u2019s a lid for every pot \u2013 so find the right size for yours!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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        1. Make your oven a multitasker.<\/strong> Got your oven heated up anyway? Take advantage of the energy used to heat up the oven in the first place, and do as much baking as you can. Go ahead and throw in an extra chicken breast to bake for soup tomorrow, or mix up some banana bread. Ditto the dryer\u2014drying multiple loads one after the other lets you make use of the residual heat.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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          1. Maintain your machines.<\/strong> Keep your appliances clean for maximum efficiency. That means cleaning out the lint trap as well as hoses in your dryer; checking the trap and spray arm in your dishwasher for food particles; and vacuuming the coils of your fridge.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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            1. Make the most of modern machinery (usually).<\/strong> Worried that these \u201cenergy-saving devices\u201d are wasting energy while you\u2019re saving yours? Don\u2019t!\u00a0Hand washing dishes<\/a> actually wastes both water \u2013 up to 5,000 gallons compared to an ENERGY STAR dishwasher \u2013 and uses twice as much energy as a dishwasher. And it would be impossible to fathom how much less energy a washing machine uses than the ol\u2019 fill-up-the-tub-and-slosh-them-around method. The one appliance where you should go easy? The dryer\u2014air dry whenever possible!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Don\u2019t waste the energy-efficient properties of your appliances by using them improperly. A little forethought and planning will ensure that you are getting the maximum value from your hard-working household helpers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Your appliance is only as energy efficient as the way you use it. Here are some simple tips to help you maximize your energy savings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[177,108],"class_list":["post-652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy-savings","tag-appliances","tag-energy-saving-tips"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/providerpower.com\/power-to-help\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2014\/08\/iStock_000034566180Small.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7rbwO-aw","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/providerpower.com\/power-to-help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/providerpower.com\/power-to-help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/providerpower.com\/power-to-help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/providerpower.com\/power-to-help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/providerpower.com\/power-to-help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/providerpower.com\/power-to-help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/providerpower.com\/power-to-help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/providerpower.com\/power-to-help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/providerpower.com\/power-to-help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/providerpower.com\/power-to-help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}