Spring Savings with saveONenergy

Spring is here, which means most people are currently (or will be very soon) doing their spring cleaning. This is a good time to start a new home project. Have you ever thought about how much energy you are using in your home and how much you could be saving?

March 27 to April 26,saveONenergy spring couponsoffer discounts on LEDs and a wide range of energy-efficient products at participating retailers across Ontario.

DID YOU KNOW: Since 2006, through thesaveONenergycoupon program, Ontarians have reduced their energyuse enough to power a city the size of North Bay for a whole year.

Doing something as simple as changing out old bulbs to new LEDs will save you money in the long run.

Wehave been using our dining room lights a lot lately, so much that the chandelier is on almost all day. We have been using incandescent 40 watt chandelier light bulbs in the chandelier since we moved in. Thats 6 x 40 watts = 240 watts! It was definitely time to do the switch and save money!

LEDs are very popular right now because they use up to 90% less power and last 25 times as long as incandescent bulbs. So, we decided LEDs would be the best fit for this project. We purchased 6x 3.5W LED chandelier bulbs using the coupons found on saveONenergy. With a little money invested into LEDs, the savings will pay off eventually.

We are now only using 21 watts in total for the chandelier! Can you believe that? Only 21 watts in total for 6 LED bulbs!! Thats less wattage than 1 of the previous incandescent bulbs we were using! The new lights are just as bright as the others and we are saving money by reducing our energy usage. We plan on switching all lights in our house to LEDs in the coming months.

No more outdated, energy guzzling incandescent bulbs!!

Energy SavingTips:

• Use a ceiling fan –In the summer months, using a ceiling fan when using anair conditioner will move the air down to help circulate the cool air.
• Replace old bulbs with LEDs or CFLs –Replacing old incandescent bulbs to CFLs or LEDs will greatly reduce your energy use. LEDs use up to 90% less power and lasts up to 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs. They are reliable, high quality and long lasting.
• Add motion Sensors –Motion sensors are not just for outdoors. Use motion sensors in every room in your house. Motion sensors shuts the lights off automatically when people leave the room and forget to do so. – How many times have you told your kids to shut off the lights when leaving a room?
• Power bars with timer-Plug your electronics into a power bar with timer. -If you know you only watch TV from 5-8pm, set your timer to go off at that specific time.
• Dry your clothes outside – Use a clothesline or an outdoor umbrella stand to dry your clothes instead of using the dryer. This will also prolong the life of your clothes AND save you money! Also, if you do really want to save your money you might want to consider using someone like Simply Switch who can help find you the cheapest energy provider, so that you save money on your energy bills.

Other energy saving tips

• Unplug items that are not in use – Unplug items that you don’t constantly use such as; your coffee maker, toaster, cellphone charger, computer, printer and other electronics.
• Run your washer and dishwasher when they are full. Wait till you have enough items for a full load.
• Consider switching from a desktop computer to a laptop. Most laptops today use less power than a desktop computer.
• Home automation devices – View your energyusage, turn on/off electronics from anywhere and setschedulesfor when your devices turn on oroff. These home automation deviceshelp people keep track of energy consumption and saving energy.
  We were lucky enough to be eligible for a Biomass RHI’s as we own a holiday cottage, it’s worth checking out if you are too!

You can find the saveONenergy spring coupons at participating retailers across Ontario or you can print them online on the saveONenergy website.

What are your energy saving tips?