Residential

Energy Saving Tips Listed on this page are tips and suggestions that will help you reduce your electricity usage. TXU Energy is committed to providing our customers with efficiency information, billing options and ways to save on their electric bill. For TXU Energy’s Home Energy Advisor “Personalized Audit”, go to www.txu.com/waystosave to perform a personalized energy evaluation that can save you up to 20% on your energy bills. Select a tip from the following: ENERGY SAVING TIPS COOLING ENERGY SAVING TIPS LIGHTING ENERGY SAVING TIPS APPLIANCE ENERGY SAVING TIPS WATER HEATING AND DRYING ENERGY SAVING TIPS ENERGY SAVINGS TIPS FILTERS - Check your filters monthly. Clean or replace if dirty. SYSTEM CHECKS - Have your systems checked and tuned up once or twice per year, especially older units. Losses from a poorly maintained system accumulate over time - sometimes at a rate of 1-2% each year. Check www.txu.com/acdealer  for a TXU Energy Authorized Dealer in your area. WEATHERSTRIP / CAULKING - Weather-strip and caulk around windows and doors to prevent drafts. INSULATION - Make sure that your walls and attic are properly insulated. Adding insulation in your attic is one of the most cost effective savings measures and one that you can do yourself. SYSTEM CHANGEOUT - If the cooling unit is more than 10 years old and needs major repairs, it is usually more cost-effective to replace with a new unit than to repair the old one. Minor repairs to older units and major repairs to newer units are usually more cost effective than replacing them. Check www.txu.com/acdealer  for a TXU Energy Authorized Dealer in your area. POOLS - If possible, avoid running the pool pump constantly, 8 hours a day should be sufficient. An automatic timer on your pool pump makes this convenient and helps to keep the costs down. back to the top   COOLING ENERGY SAVINGS TIPS TEMPERATURE SETTINGS - Set the thermostat at 78° F or higher. Each degree below 78° F means more energy use and higher cooling costs. You may want to set the thermostat even higher when you're not at home. Portable fans can help you feel comfortable at higher thermostat settings. Turn the air conditioner off when you go on vacation. THERMOSTAT CHECK - Check the accuracy of the thermostat by placing a thermometer next to the thermostat and comparing the readings for room temperature. You may be cooling your home more than you think. For example, an inaccurate thermostat may indicate 78° F when the room is really 72° F, increasing your cooling cost up to 30 percent or more. PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTAT - A programmable thermostat lets you easily raise the thermostat during periods when no one is home, as well as raise the temperature overnight. You might save as much as 20% on your cooling costs and recover your investment in the first year. THERMOSTAT SETTINGS - For energy savings set the fan switch on a central system or room air conditioner on "automatic" instead of "on" or "continuous." WEATHERIZATION/CAULK AIR LEAKS AND INSULATE – Sealing air leaks with caulking and weather stripping and installing adequate insulation in the attic are some of the most cost effective savings measures you can do in your home. SEER - Air conditioning units with a higher SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) will save you money over the life of the unit. We recommend an ENERGY STAR® rated system. (SEER of 14.0 or greater and an EER of 11.5 or greater.) DAMPERS - If you have a fireplace, keep the damper tightly closed when not in use. A glass fireplace screen can help minimize the loss of conditioned air. OUTSIDE VENTS - If a room air conditioner has a fresh air intake, or exhaust vent, keep the vent closed when not in use. KEEP THE SUN OUT - Keep blinds or draperies closed on sunny days to help keep heat out. This is especially important on any windows or glass doors receiving direct sunlight. LET HOT AIR OUT - Open the upper vents in your attic to let warm air out, and make sure any lower (soffit) vents are not blocked. KEEP DOORS CLOSED - Shut the door or at least try to minimize the number of times that doors to the outside are opened and closed. Each time you open the door warm air enters the house. CEILING FANS - Ceiling fans create a breeze over your body and spreads the cold air more evenly throughout the room, making you feel cooler. The fan direction should be DOWN for summers and UP for winters. Fans should be turned off when not present in your home. OUTLETS - Electric outlets can let hot air into the house. Remove the outlet covers and insert special foam insulation underneath. DUCT LEAKS - Leaks develop in air ducts over time. Sealing these leaks in ducts can reduce cooling costs by up to 20% with reductions of 10% extremely common! back to the top   LIGHTING ENERGY SAVINGS TIPS LIGHTING - Turn lights off when not in a room. LIGHTING - Use daylight whenever possible, rather than turning on redundant overhead lighting. LIGHTING - Keep fixtures and bulbs clean. Dirt, along with being unsightly, can absorb as much as 50% of the light. LIGHTING - Use fluorescent lights when possible. That halogen torchiere was cheap and attractive; but did you know you could be spending 2-3 times the purchase price PER YEAR in electricity costs. A compact fluorescent torchiere is safe, and can save up to $30 per year in electricity costs. LIGHTING - Compact fluorescent bulbs are up to 4 times more efficient than incandescent bulbs and up to10 times longer lived. Replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs as they burn out is cost and energy efficient. back to the top   APPLIANCE ENERGY SAVINGS TIPS PCs - Turn off your computer and monitor when you're not using them. If your computer has a 'sleep' mode, make sure that this feature is enabled. With this feature active, the computer will automatically convert to a low energy mode when not in use, cutting energy usage to less than half. MICROWAVES / GRILLS - Use microwaves or outdoor grills to cook when possible. COOKING - Once water reaches a state of boiling, you can turn down the burner and still maintain a boiling temperature. COOKING - Thaw foods completely before cooking. If you have time, thaw foods in the refrigerator. It takes longer, but you are also saving energy in your refrigerator. If you are really pressed for time, it is more efficient to thaw foods in the microwave than in the oven. REFRIGERATION - Refrigerators and freezers operate most efficiently when full, but not overloaded, and in the event of a power outage foods will stay cold longer. REFRIGERATION - Keep your refrigerator out of direct sunlight and in as cool a location as possible. Keep away from oven, stoves, water heaters, etc REFRIGERATION - Allow leftovers to cool before putting in the refrigerator. Allow at least one inch of space on each side of the refrigerator for good circulation. Poor circulation can increase energy consumption for the refrigerator up to 10%. REFRIGERATION - Vacuum behind your refrigerator at least once a year, making sure to remove dirt and dust from the coils. Dust build-up not only increases energy use, but it can cause the unit to break down. (Some refrigerators have the coils inside or underneath where you can't get at them. Most built-in models have them readily accessible on top, typically behind a removable grille). REFRIGERATION - An older second refrigerator consumes a significant amount of energy: it could be costing you up to $200 per year! Perhaps you can get all your food into one refrigerator and turn the other off permanently. Alternatively, if you only need the 2nd unit on certain occasions, you can pull the plug and then plug it back in only when you need it; this won't hurt the refrigerator and can result in significant savings. ENERGY LABELS - Review the ENERGY GUIDE label when buying or replacing larger appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, washers and dryers. If you are thinking about purchasing a new TV or VCR, look for ENERGY STAR® models. ENERGY STAR® TVs and VCRs use less energy and save money. back to the top   WATER HEATING AND DRYING ENERGY SAVING TIPS DISHWASHER - Your dishwasher uses the same amount of water regardless of how many dishes are washed. Wash full loads whenever possible. DISHWASHER - Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher's drying heater. DISHWASHER - Use a lighter wash cycle for lightly soiled dishes. CLOTHES WASHER - Your clothes washer uses just about the same amount of energy regardless of how much clothing is being washed. Washing two small loads uses approximately twice as much electricity as combining them into one full load. By combining loads together you reduce the number of loads you wash which in turn reduces your energy use. DRYERS - Don't overload the dryer. Overloading makes the dryer work harder and may cause excessive lint and wrinkling. DRYERS - Clean the lint filter after every load. Lint on the filter reduces air flow and makes the dryer work harder, increasing the time it takes to dry clothing. DRYERS - Lightweight items take less time to dry than heavier items like towels. Dry like-weight items together. DRYERS - Dry loads consecutively to take advantage of heat build-up in your dryer. DRYERS - Periodically inspect your dryer vent to ensure it is not blocked. This will save energy and may prevent a fire hazard. WATER HEATER TEMPERATURE - Lower the temperature of your water heater. This not only saves energy, but it reduces the chance of scalding. A 10° F reduction in temperature saves about 13% of your water heating costs. For an average family this amounts to savings up to $30 to $60 per year on an electric water heater. A back to the top