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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Sunday, July 13, 2003

Low-cost measures can reduce energy bills

By Eileen Alt Powell
Associated Press

Energy-saving resources

• A program of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency, Energy Star, has a Web site at www.energystar.gov that offers "A Guide to Energy-Efficient Cooling and Heating" which gives suggestions when to invest in new products and which ones to consider.

• The Alliance to Save Energy has produced a booklet titled "PowerSmart — Easy Tips to Save Money and the Planet." An interactive version of the booklet is available on the alliance's Web site at www.ase.org/consumer.

• The Department of Energy offers a consumer guide, "Energy Savers — Tips on Saving Energy and Money at Home." It's available at the Web site of the department's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse at www.eere.energy.gov/
consumerinfo.

• Hawaiian Electric Co. offers energy tips on its Web site, www.heco.com. Click on the Residential Services menu.
NEW YORK — It's summertime, and that means energy bills climb along with the temperature.

Air conditioners and water coolers boost electricity use significantly at a time when energy prices are rising because of a shortage of natural gas, which is used to fuel many of the nation's power plants.

The Department of Energy estimates the average American family spends close to $1,300 a year on utility bills, about half of it for cooling and heating.

But the bills can be held in check with some no-cost or low-cost steps in the short run and some conservation-minded investments in the longer term.

"There are a lot of things people can do that don't cost anything," said Ronnie J. Kweller of the Alliance to Save Energy in Washington, D.C.

"People just have to become more conscious of their behavior."

The alliance notes that many energy-saving steps have little or no cost:

• Simply closing the blinds to block the afternoon sun can help keep a house from overheating. Leafy trees or vines also can help to shade windows.

• Turning off lights, television sets, computers and other electrical devices when they're not in use will lower electricity consumption.

The "sleeper" functions on computers and other office equipment can also cut electricity use.

• Cleaning or changing the filters in air conditioners regularly will provide more efficient cooling.

At the same time, cleaning the coils on refrigerators will improve performance.

Consumers will get even more for their money by adjusting their thermostats just a few degrees, Kweller said.

"If you turn the thermostat up and use ceiling fans, you won't sacrifice comfort at all," she added.

Even better is an investment in a programmable thermostat, Kweller said.