Category Archives: Energy Saving Tips
Energy Saving Tips | Simple Ways to Save on Your Energy Bill
Whether we’re trying to save the planet or simply trying to save money, we all could benefit from some manageable energy savings tips. With all the talk these days about 
green construction and innovations in energy saving solutions, it’s easy to get discouraged if you don’t have a newly constructed home or the latest in high-efficiency appliances—but take heart! With a few simple energy saving tips, you can save money right where you are, with the things you already have.
- Be wary of phantoms. In energy terms, a phantom load is the energy that an appliance or device uses when it’s not in use. Unplug home electronics when they’re not in use, and you’ll find it’s that simple to reduce your energy bill. To make it even simpler, use a power strip so that you can turn off the power to several devices with the flick of a switch.
- Choose better light bulbs. One of the simplest and least expensive energy saving tips is to replace your old light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Using 75 percent less energy and lasting about ten times longer than incandescent bulbs, CFLs pay for themselves in about six months, according to Mother Earth News.
- Adjust the thermostat. Bump up the setting on your thermostat during warmer weather, and lower the setting during cooler conditions, especially during times you’re going to be away for several hours or when you’re sleeping. Changing the thermostat setting by a few degrees can save up to 10 percent on energy costs. Even better, install a programmable thermostat that automatically adjusts the temperature in your home to suit your schedule. This can save as much as 15 percent on your heating and cooling bill.
- Save water to save money. Using less water is best when using less hot water, which reduces your water bill and your energy costs. Use cold water to wash clothing, and only run your washing machine and dishwasher when you have full loads. Be aware of your water consumption; encourage family members to take shorter showers, and consider lowering the temperature setting on the hot water heater to 120° Fahrenheit.
- Landscape to save energy. Planting shade trees around your home can significantly reduce energy consumption in the summer by limiting the home’s exposure to direct sunlight. In addition, planting shrubs and bushes a foot away from the home can increase its insulation against the cold during the winter months. As an added bonus, this is one of those energy saving tips that can improve your property’s curb appeal!
When you’re looking for energy saving tips, don’t overlook Cirro Energy. Committed to providing great customer service, Cirro makes things simple, with low fixed rates and simple online account management. To see more energy saving solutions, or for more information about Cirro Energy, visit www.cirroenergy.com today! You can also join Cirro Energy on Facebook and follow Cirro Energy on Twitter to stay up to date on current news and trends in the energy industry.
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Affordable Appliances Don’t Necessarily Save You Money
If you’re building a house, or simply in need of new appliances, it may seem a great idea to buy the most affordable appliances on the market. Because appliances are a major investment, many people opt to save money by purchasing used appliances, or buying the cheapest model. But is that always the smartest choice? Even at the cheapest electricity rates, older or less efficient models can be more costly to operate. While high efficiency options may not be the most affordable appliances, the money you’ll save on energy over the long run may be worth the higher initial investment.
Affordable Appliances
All appliances are costly to run. This is a fact. You can reduce energy costs with common sense measures, like running the washer and dishwasher only with full loads, hanging clothes to dry whenever possible, and unplugging appliances while not in use – but there’s no denying that modern convenience runs up your energy costs.
Energy Star-compliant appliances can reduce energy costs significantly. For instance, replacing a ten-year-old refrigerator with an Energy Star-compliant model can mean a savings of about $100 per year in operating costs. Even when you’re comparing new appliances, Energy Star estimates that a compliant model will save you anywhere from 10 percent to a whopping 50 percent annually over one that might seem like a more affordable appliance. That is significant enough to warrant paying a “high efficiency premium” over what you’d have spent on more affordable appliances: because those cheaper appliances can grow more costly over time.
A high efficiency appliance also uses fewer resources. Research by the National Resources Defense Council, the U.S. Government, and other sources all arrive at the same conclusion: Energy Star-compliant appliances reduce greenhouse emissions, decrease water consumption, and ease our dependence on fossil fuels. If a goal is to reduce your carbon footprint, you might want to forgo the seemingly more affordable appliances, in favor of those that make better use of resources.
Older or cheaper appliances are more likely to break down.We expect our appliances to last for a long time, but sometimes with what seems to be an affordable appliance, repair costs may outweigh the savings. Many higher-end appliances, however, come with a ten-year warranty, which means that even if something does go wrong, you’re not left footing the bill.
Cirro Energy offers smart money saving plans.
When you’re shopping for appliances, it pays to do your homework to not just find the best price, but the best value. Affordable appliances may seem like a deal, but in the long run, they may be a drain on your budget.
Of course, another way to save money on operating appliances is to make sure you have a great, low fixed electricity rate. In Texas, that’s easy to do, because deregulation gives you the power to choose your electricity supplier. Cirro Energy offers smart money saving plans, online and mobile account management, convenient payment options, excellent customer service, and some of the lowest fixed rates in Texas. For more information, visit the website, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
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Energy Efficient Solutions – Affordable Appliances and Saving Money
Energy Efficient Solutions are critical when trying to save money on your energy bill. Do you maximize efficiency of large appliances? What do you keep your thermostat on while away? Do you have proper insulation? These are just a few questions to ask yourself when trying to figure out how to save money on your electricity. The best energy efficient solutions vary from household to household depending on the dynamics of your living situation. However, the tips and tricks provided in this video can help any size household with any amount of residents save money on electricity.
Energy Efficient Solutions can be anything from having affordable appliances that reduce energy usage to knowing helpful tricks for lowering your overall energy usage. Proper energy efficient solutions in your home can help you save a significant amount of money on your electricity.
These basic energy efficient solutions will help you lower your energy bill and minimize energy usage in your home.
For more information on how to save money in your home, visit Cirro Energy today! You can also join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
Dallas Electric Company Cirro Energy Provides Top Energy Saving Tips
Long known as a Dallas Electric Company that offers low rates and top quality service, Cirro Energy cares about saving customers money. Now, in addition to the low fixed rates and money-saving plans, Cirro is proud to offer the installation of smart meters, which will help customers pinpoint exactly how they are using electricity, so that they can save even more money. As if that weren’t enough good news, here are a few energy saving tips to help you start thinking of ways to lower your Dallas electric bill.
Dallas Electric
• Monitor your thermostat. Setting the thermostat to 78°F when you are not going to be home is an excellent way to save money during the summer, and the more you can keep it at that setting, the better off you’ll be when it’s time to pay the bill. In the winter, try to keep the setting at 68°F, bumping it down to 58°F at night or when you’re going to be out of the house. A programmable thermostat is a great investment, because it keeps you from having to remember to turn the setting up and down.
• Check your insulation. In the summer and the winter, one of the best home energy saving tips is to keep your home protected from the outside temperatures. This means making sure there are no gaps around windows and doors, and that there’s plenty of insulation in the attic. It might also mean investing in energy efficient, double-paned windows, and solar film to keep the sun from overheating rooms.
• Be conservative in your habits. Take showers instead of baths to save water. Run appliances at night instead of during the heat of the day. Turn off lights when you leave a room, and unplug appliances that are not in use. All of these little things can add up to big savings on energy costs.
• Maintain your home. Clean or replace air conditioning and furnace filters regularly. Also, keep up with repairs on the roof, as well as appliances. Plan landscaping carefully, to save energy and increase indoor comfort. Consider having a professional energy audit, to learn ways that you can improve and get more energy saving tips for the home.
• Visit www.smartmetertexas.com. The smart meter is a valuable tool, and registering it at smartmetertexas.com allows you to see not only how much energy you’re using, but when it is being used. By monitoring their usage to lower their electric bills, Dallas electric customers not only can help themselves by lowering their electric bills, but also the state, by reducing the likelihood of rolling blackouts. Now, smartmetertexas.com has a contest running at biggestenergysaver.com, to offer further rewards for reduced energy consumption. With a prizes that include a new set of energy-efficient kitchen appliances, a $5,000 gift check toward a new wind turbine, a new washer and dryer, $1,500 toward replacing your windows, and a $500 home improvement gift card, the Biggest Energy Saver Contest makes saving money even more appealing.
Dallas electric customers have a distinct advantage over most of the country, because residents of Texas get to choose their electric provider! One of the smartest choices you can make in a Dallas electric company is selecting Cirro Energy, a Texas company based in Plano, just north of Dallas, with an additional office in Houston. The choice of over 100,000 people across the state, Cirro offers money-saving plans, online and mobile account management, convenient payment options, local customer service, and low fixed rates.
Visit the website to learn how Cirro can help you, find more energy saving tips for your home, or connect with the community of happy customers on Facebook and Twitter.
What is a Rolling Blackout
What is a rolling blackout? It sounds like something intimidating, perhaps a scene from a scary movie, in which something bad might happen. But what is a rolling blackout, really? Consumers in Texas need to know, because it is possible that Texas may experience rolling blackouts this summer.
A simple answer to the question “what is a rolling blackout” is that it’s a deliberate power outage. Sometimes demand for electricity is higher than the available supply, and it is necessary to reduce the load on the system that generates electricity. You may hear about developing nations often struggling with rolling blackouts, but even nations with reliable power supplies are not immune to the problem; peak demand sometimes forces power operators to cut power.
What Is A Rolling Blackout
But what is a rolling blackout’s purpose? By deliberately engineering a power cut, operators can lessen the likelihood of damage to the power grid, and to your home or business. An unexpected power outage can have dire consequences for electronics and appliances, and it is sometimes difficult to restore power after a blackout. Rolling blackouts cut the power in an organized manner, as a last resort, to as few customers as possible. Different blocks of the power grid may be scheduled for blackout at different times, so if you know which grid supplies your power, you can find out when you will lose power. You then can prepare by unplugging or turning off electrical devices in advance and perhaps planning to go to the home of a friend or relative in another area. While developing nations sometimes experience rolling blackouts that last for several hours, nations with reliable power supplies try to limit these scheduled power outages to ninety minutes or less. Certain businesses (including medical facilities) can contact their Transmission Distribution Utility (Oncor in DFW area, CenterPoint in Houston area) to request to be added to the exempt list. Also individuals with vital medical equipment can contact their retail electric provider to request consideration for exemption from the Transmission Distribution Utility.
Texans have experienced rolling blackouts before, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, has predicted that there may be more this summer. Because summers in Texas are hot and dry, they are peak times for electricity usage, and because some generators may go offline, there may not be enough power. Consumers are urged to use energy-saving measures whenever possible, especially from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, to cut down on the need for rolling blackouts.
What is a rolling blackout? It is a hassle, but the annoyance can be lessened if you follow information from the ERCOT Energy Mobile App, which is available in the Apple App Store or Android Market. Fortunately for Texans, the deregulation of energy companies has given consumers the freedom to choose, and many of them are choosing Cirro Energy. Cirro Energy’s local customer service staff provides exceptional customer care, and the company offers low rates and convenient payment options. For more information on Cirro Energy , visit the website or connect with the online community on Facebook and Twitter.
Summer Home Cooling – Easy Summer Tips to Save Money at Home
Summer is officially under way in Texas with 100 degree days already adding up, making it extremely important to know the tips and tricks for summer home cooling and saving money. Summer home cooling makes it hard to keep your utility costs under control, especially without proper, efficient solutions. Fortunately however, summer home cooling during the hotter months does not require too much cost or effort if you follow a few easy summer tips.
Summer Tips
- First, prevent cool air from escaping, and heat from coming in. Seal cracks around doors and window frames and make sure the attic has sufficient insulation. Because solar energy is heavily transmitted through the roof and ceilings, an attic should have six to ten inches of insulation, and any air leaks should be sealed. Shading windows helps too, so consider awnings and solar screens as well as indoor window treatments.
- Use every part of your system, to help the air conditioning unit work more efficiently. An attic fan can help prevent hot air from building up and ceiling fans can circulate the air and keep you cool and relieve stress on your air conditioner unit. If you have a window AC unit, consider placing a fan in such a way that it helps to move cooler air throughout the house and you will be able to run your air conditioner on a lower setting. Running the bathroom fan when you shower will reduce heat and humidity, helping to keep the house cool.
- Make sure your equipment is working optimally. Replace air filters regularly, and clean ductwork at the beginning of each season. Clean outside too by clearing debris from the AC condenser and rinsing off any dirt. Make sure your dryer vent is clean because a blocked vent can force hot air back into the house and possibly cause a fire.
- Use landscaping to your advantage. Summer home cooling may involve long-range planning. Consider planting shade trees strategically at windows where the direct sunlight streams in, and over your air conditioning condenser to keep it cool so that it can work more efficiently.
- Consider an upgrade. Energy Star®-rated appliances can help you save a great deal of money, but so can something as simple as a programmable thermostat. Set it to run at a higher temperature when you are not home, and your costs will drop dramatically.
- It’s not the heat; it’s the humidity. Dampness around your house can increase your air-conditioning costs. When attempting to save money at home this summer, check out your basement or crawl space. Put down plastic sheeting as a ground-moisture barrier, and consider installing a sump pump if conditions are particularly wet.
- Plan activities wisely.Bake, do laundry, and run the dishwasher during the cooler hours of the day. This will save your air conditioning unit some work, because those large appliances can really heat up a house.
Summer Home Cooling
Summer home cooling does not have to be difficult. Saving money on your energy bills shouldn’t be hard either. Cirro Energy offers a wide variety of plans to help consumers across Texas save money. For more information, visit the Cirro website, or plug into the online community on Facebook and Twitter.
Top 10 Energy-Saving Tips in Texas
If you are looking for energy-saving tips in Texas, advice will typically be focused on the summer season. Summer in Texas is long and hot, and this season is promising to be even longer since summer seems to have started early. Energy saving is a year-round endeavor, so any list of energy-saving tips, in Texas or otherwise, would be remiss without some winter tips as well. Here, Cirro Energy offers some advice to help you save energy:
- One of the top energy-saving tips in Texas is to raise your thermostat. Keeping it at seventy-eight degrees in the summer is the best way to conserve energy, and can reduce your electric bill significantly. When you are away from home for more than eight hours, raise it a little higher and you will see about one percent of savings for each degree you push it up. During the winter months, keep it set at sixty-eight degrees during the day, and fifty-eight at night
Energy Saving Tips In Texas
to see similar savings.
- Use the sun to your advantage. In the summer, this means shutting the shades when the air conditioner runs; while in the winter, it means letting the light stream in by keeping them open during daylight hours.
- Keep it clean. Clean and replace your air conditioning and furnace filters monthly – this will cut your costs dramatically and help your system run more efficiently.
- Use ceiling fans. This is one of the best energy-saving tips in Texas and other hot climates in particular. Ceiling fans can cool your body and will make the room seem ten degrees cooler. The savings on your bill can be up to about twenty-five percent! Most fans have a switch to change direction, so make sure it is blowing downward in a counter-clockwise direction during the summer. In the winter, switch it clockwise to circulate warm air.
- Run your appliances at night. Washing machines and dishwashers can heat up the house, so running them at night, when it is cooler, can help your air conditioner work more efficiently. Similarly, you might plan your baking for cold days in the winter to help heat your house.
- Use cold water to wash clothing and dishes. This will save electricity by giving your water heater a break.
- Seal it up! Cracks around windows and doorframes can be huge energy wasters. Put weather strips around doors and window, and seal fireplaces and duct work to keep from wasting energy.
- Insulate! Insulate your attic, add an insulation blanket to the water heater, and insulate your pipes. This prevents loss of energy and saves you money.
- Not using it? Shut down the power! This goes for lights, televisions, and appliances. Unplug whatever you are not using and you will make a dent in your electric bill.
- Switch to CFLs. Compact fluorescent lights use less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs, and last longer.
If you are looking for energy-saving tips in Texas, here is one to emphasize: choose an energy company that has a variety of plans to meet your needs with reasonable rates. Cirro Energy is a Texas company that offers exceptional customer service and low fixed rates to over one hundred thousand Texans, all across the state. To learn more about Cirro Energy, visit our website. Also, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter for more energy-saving tips and information.
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