April 3, 2018
This Earth Day, take the Energy Star Pledge to make your home and work more energy-efficient and help protect the planet. Simply print out the following list of energy efficiency improvements and check them off as you go.
Don’t worry if you can’t pledge to make all of the energy-efficient improvements below. Once you accomplish a few of your energy efficiency goals, you can come back and pledge to take on some more.
For customized energy efficiency tips, don’t hesitate to ask one of our Champions.
Home & Work Energy Efficiency Pledge
Don’t wait another day to begin making small changes to save significant money and energy. Start right now!
At Home
- Change your incandescent lights to energy-saving LEDs or fluorescents.
- Choose energy-efficient appliances and products.
- Turn off electronic devices when not in use.
- Set your programmable thermostat to turn up or down when asleep or away from home. Learn more about smart and programmable thermostats.
- Have your heating system tuned up every fall by a qualified HVAC technician.
- Have your air-conditioning system tuned up every spring by a qualified HVAC technician.
- Sign up for an HVAC Maintenance Plan.
- Check air leaks around doors and windows and replace weatherstripping or recaulk where necessary.
- Seal all obvious leaks around the home, including around where utilities enter the building.
- Consider calling a qualified HVAC technician to conduct an energy audit and pinpoint the sources of your energy leaks.
- Inspect and seal air duct leaks.
- Improve insulation in your basement, walls, ceiling, and attic. Either hire a professional or improve insulation levels yourself with caulk, weatherstripping, spray foam, and fiberglass batts.
- Switch to eco-friendly cleaning and hygiene products.
At Work
- Use a power strip for your electronics and turn off the power strip when you leave work. Even when devices are turned off, they are still drawing energy. The only way to stop this from happening is by unplugging the devices completely or by flipping the on/off switch on your power strip.
- Unplug phones and computers once they are fully charged.
- Make sure your air vents are open and unblocked. If you have anything blocking the vents, such as curtains, boxes, papers, or anything else, move them away from the vent and double check that the vent is fully open. Learn more about why it’s a bad idea to close or block vents and registers.
- Form a schedule with your coworkers to turn off lights and set energy-efficient thermostat settings. Discuss other ways to improve your building’s energy efficiency.
- Talk to your boss about energy leaks or inefficiencies that you notice and introduce ways to fix or improve them.
Earth Day is April 22nd. Try to accomplish as many of your energy efficiency goals as you can by this date. Then, we encourage you to use Earth Day to plant a tree or two around your home. Learn some tree-planting strategies to provide shade in the summer and wind blockage in the winter.
Service Champions is known for friendly, on-time heating and cooling service throughout the East Bay, South Bay, and Sacramento areas.
If you have any questions about improving the energy efficiency of your home or work, don’t hesitate to Ask a Champion:
