The world will celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, April 22, 2023, but there is no reason we can’t celebrate Earth Day, every day! As we look for ways to help save the planet and be better environmental stewards, saving energy is great place to start. We asked City Light staff to share some earth-friendly energy-saving tips with our readers:
A Sr. PR Specialist and forest steward with the Green Seattle Partnership, Wesley Matlock offers up his plant know-how with this tip:
“Keeping indoor house plants will reduce cooling and heating costs by adding humidity to the room. In a warm room, the humidity created by house plants can cool the room by up to 10 degrees. In a cool room, the moist air holds heat better and will make the room feel warmer, allowing you to set your thermostat lower.”
Armando Berdiel, a Technical Development Supervisor with City Light’s Building Electrification team, has a few suggestions around lighting, of course:
“Improve comfort and save energy by having a smart lighting system in your home. I use LED lighting that is connected to a smart device, an Amazon Echo or Google Home for example. The system allows for solid comfort with voice control, tunable white, and multi-color for entertainment as well as efficiency with programmable timers and remote turn-off.”
Our team of Energy Advisors who regularly communicate with customers on home energy solutions and saving on their energy bills shared:
“Use your thermostat wisely. Space heating is the largest user of home energy, so don’t waste energy by heating an empty house. If you know you’ll be away for an extended period of time, set your thermostat to 55 degrees. It will keep the house just warm enough and your pipes won’t freeze.”
“Did you know that you can monitor your energy usage online with City Light’s interactive customer portal? Log in to view your consumption history, seasonal weather trends, and manage your account. By reviewing your daily reads, you can keep track of your energy use between bills.”
“Curtains and drapes are there for more than just privacy. Closing your curtains can add a layer of insulation between the outside air and inside the home. Air leakage can be responsible for up to 30% of your heating costs!”
Energy Management Analyst Len Kanepell reminds us that carpooling is always a good bet:
“Whether it’s commuting to work, transporting the kids to soccer practice, or heading out to volunteer events, carpooling uses less energy. By sharing the driving, you save on gas (or electricity for EV owners out there!) and you get to know fellow neighbors, parents, and volunteers better.”
City Light veteran Nicole Schultz, Senior Marketing Strategist, has been communicating with customers about energy solutions for many years:
“Leaving computers and game consoles continuously plugged in means they are constantly consuming power. For added convenience, use a power strip to easily shut things down without having to unplug each element.”
Let Mother Nature do the work is the suggestion of Sr. PR Specialist Jamie Oakes:
”Air-drying your laundry is an environmentally friendly way to save energy and money. Plus, your clothes will shrink less and last longer!”
Despite what your mom may have told you, Amy Jetson, Web Lead, encourages us to skip the pre-rinse when using a dishwasher:
“The most efficient dishwashers now use close to two gallons to clean a load of unrinsed plates. Standing at the sink to wash a single place setting consumes more water than that. Plus, on average, dishwashers create half the greenhouse gas emissions as handwashing, mostly thanks to heating less water.”
Remember Earth Day is every day and there are plenty of opportunities to give one of these tips a try in the next 365 days.