Posted 5/3/2009

Posted 5/3/2009.

This weeks tip, as most comes directly from my life experience. I constantly remind myself that I should do what I say. Some of the most common energy saving tips come from simple home maintenance, things "to do", as well as things "not to do". As we have been going through some hot weather lately I have had a chance to deal with both. First- things not to do; In hot weather, keep doors and windows on the south side of your home closed. No need to let in the hot air and radiant heat. To block the radiant heat even further, keep the shades down and the curtains pulled. If you need air and ventilation, open the windows on the north side of the house.

Now to the tip of the week which falls into the category of what I hope becomes standard operating procedure. One of the largest energy hogs in your home is your refrigerator. The good news is that there is a lot you can do. If you have a refrigerator older then 7 years old, and can afford to replace it, now is the time to do so. With the economy where it is there are plenty of sales and a new 2009 Energy Star® refrigerator will operate between 15% and 20% better than the old one and between 40%-50% better than a 10 year old model. You'd be helping the economy too. (All husbands can send hate mail to me at the address above.)

If you can't spend the money right now or if you have a newer model, I still have a few more tips on the subject. Get a fridge thermometer and use it to adjust the main section to between 38°F. and 42°F and the freezer section to between 0°F and 5°F. If thee is a "Power Savings" or "Economy" switch, use it.

Lastly- and this is the one that will be tough, clean the coils that make the whole thing work once every other month. Your fridge uses a fan and compressor to make the cold air used to keep food frozen or cold. If the coils get clogged, the compressor has to work much harder and cycle more often. While this takes a bit of work, its work it. If you look at your fridge, you will see that at the bottom there is a removable grill.

There are usually two clips that hold the grill on. You will be able to pull the grill off by just holding it on the outside edges and pulling. Below is a close up of what you will see when you pull the grill off. In this case I hadn't cleaned it in months. Way too long. You really only need to do this every other month, but better more than less so if your not good at maintenance, do it monthly. (One of the great things that is a byproduct of my writing this column is a reminder of all the good maintenance items we all need to do in our houses that we simply forget to do.

The coils may be hard to get at without an extension on the end of the vacuum. In my case I had to use two extension tubes to really get in there. When complete, just put the grill back on.

Last good energy saving tip related to our refrigerators; The more stuff we have in our freezers and refrigerators the better the energy usage. When my son and daughter were home I had a packed fridge. Now its half empty. One way to make up for that is to put plastic containers 3/4 full of water to take up space and make our fridge more efficient. (I know it sounds crazy but it works. Also is a great conversation subject when friends or neighbors come over and open the fridge.)

Unrelated advice- Just got a email from Main Care, a local supplier of oil, gas and LP in Albany county and they gave me next years price on natural gas, 89.9 cents a therm. That's 10% less than last year. If you get natural gas in Albany county, call them, you won't get a better price. I'll keep all my Greene county neighbors about prices here as they come in. Speaking of fuel, some of you noticed my link on the top of the page for next years pellets. I get my 2 tons of pellets from this company each year. I recommend them. Also, check out the link for 350.org. Have a great week.