Ohio Residents! Are you getting the best price on your Home Energy?

Ohio Residents!

Are you getting the best price on your Home Energy?

Thanks to a change in regulation, Ohio Residences are now able to shop around for their Electric and Natural Gas Provider.  This means you could be saving money on your monthly energy bill.  The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has created the “Apples to Apples” website to provide residential consumers with a snapshot comparison of current natural gas and electric supplier price options and contract terms. The PUCO updates the Apples to Apples charts on a regular basis and verifies each supplier offer to ensure accuracy. The charts list only the certified Natural Gas and Electric suppliers and aggregators that are actively enrolling new residential customers.

How to take advantage of this opportunity:

1.      Go to PUCO’s Apple to Apples website, http://www.puco.ohio.gov/puco/index.cfm/apples-to-apples/

2.      Select the Apples to Apples chart for your local electric distribution company from the list below.

·     AEP

·     DP&L

·     Duke

·     First Energy

3.      Compare the supplier offers contained in the chart with the “Price to Compare” shown on your electric bill.  Note the "Tariff" code referenced in some of the Offer Details can be found on your monthly electric bill, under the charges from the utility. 

4.      Choose the current offer and contract terms that work best for your personal situation.

5.      Then Enroll.  It is that easy

Watch outs:

·        As with all contracts, consumers should carefully read and understand all terms and conditions before signing any forms or agreeing to enroll with a supplier for natural gas or electric service.

·        The Energy Market is ever changing and the best rate today may not be the best rate tomorrow. However, locking in a rate will reduce the fluctuation of energy cost for the contract term.

·        Some Ohio communities have negotiated prices and terms with energy providers for their residents and allowed residence to ‘opt-in’ to the aggregation.   

·        Please be advised that if you are currently enrolled in the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP PLUS), you are not eligible to enroll with or switch to an alternate supplier.

·        If you are currently enrolled with an alternate supplier, and want to enroll with a different supplier prior to the expiration of your current contract, you may be subject to an Early Termination Fee.

Save Money by Using the Right Light Bulb

Save Money by using the Right Light Bulb Compare the Features of Incandescent, CFL and LED bulbs
	LED	CFL	Incandescent
Light bulb projected lifespan	50,000 hours	10,000 hours	1,200 hours
Watts per bulb (equiv. 60 watts)	10	14	60
Cost per bulb	$35.95	$3.95	$1.25
KWh of electricity used over 50,000 hours	300 500	700	3000
Cost of electricity (@ 0.10per KWh)	$50	$70	$300
Turns on instantly	yes	slight delay	yes
Durability	durable	fragile	fragile
Hazardous Materials	none	5 mg mercury/bulb	none

Resource

http://eartheasy.com/live_led_bulbs_comparison.html

25 Ways to Save Energy, Money, Reduce Emissions and be more Sustainable!

1.     Unplug your Energy Vampires:  Vampires are anything that drains energy when not in use.	Energy Vampires include DVR, VCR, DVD; computers power cords; MP3 players; Video game consoles; Standby coffee makers; Devices that turn on instantly via remote control; Devices with standby light or clock; unused lamps, TVs, printers, clocks, toys, washers and dryers. Combined, these account for an estimated 10% or more of your energy bill.
2.     Turn off the lights	Unless you will be back in the room in less than 1 second for all bulbs other than florescent (which is 23 seconds ) you are saving money by turning off the lights, an estimated $37-45 a year
3.     Use Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulbs	They use 75% less energy than standard light bulbs and you can cut your electric by $60 if you change just the 5 most frequently used bulbs.  *note these bulbs should be properly disposed of with household hazardous waste.
4.     Power strip it	Are there several things you use often together but not all the time.  Use a power strip to turn them all off and on when needed instead of unplugging them all.
5.     Recycle Aluminum Cans	Recycling 1 can saves enough energy to watch TV for 3 hours vs. producing a new can.
6.     Rechargeable batteries	They can save up to $70.00 a year
7.     Turn off computer monitors when away	Monitors use about 2 watts of energy when turn ‘off’ vs. 25-60 watts when ‘on’.  so turn them off when you leave a huddle room, conference room or for the night
8.     Cool it down	Lowering your thermostat setting in the winter by 2° can save an estimated $150/year.
9.     Warm it up	Increasing your thermostat setting in the summer by 2° can save an estimated $55/year.
10.  Programmable thermostat.	A programmable thermostat can save an average $290/year when adjusted to your lifestyle.
11.  Water heating can account for 14% to 25% of the energy consumed in your home.	Turn down the temp of your water heater to the warm setting (120°F). Invest in a water heater blanket (R-8 or better) and insulating pipes.  A blanket can save 4%–9% and pipe insulation can save you up to $25 annually in water heating costs.
12.  Wash clothes in cold water	Approximately 80% of the energy consumption associated with the use of laundry detergents is from heating the wash water.
13.  Upgrade your showerhead.	Low flow showerheads save a family of four 15,000 gallons per year, reducing water heating costs by $60-$150 annually.
14.  Use just one refrigerator or freezer.	A second one can cost up to $120 in electricity per year. If you need a second one for a special occasion plug it 1-2 days before it is needed.
15.  Don’t set the fridge/freezer temperature colder than you need.	Set the refrigerator temperature between 36° F and 42° F and the freezer between -5° F and +6° F. Also a full freezer will perform better than a nearly empty freezer.
16.  Set your ceiling fans rotation	Set your ceiling fans to spin counter-clockwise in the summer. This will pull hot air up and push cool air down into the lower levels of the room and allow you to reduce your thermostat by 4%
17.  Keep it clean	Dust absorbs light and increases heat.  Keep light bulbs, fridge/freezer coils and intake valves dusted; vacuum out your dryer lint trap, clean AC and replace filters to allow air to flow and reduce the strain motors.
18.  Let the sun be your friend	Open the curtains in the winter and keep them closed in the summer to keep the house warm or cool.
19.  Appliances	Always consider Energy Star rated appliances that are manufactured to uses less energy.
20.  Cook it up	Use the right size burner with the right size pot
21.  Put a lid on it.	Cook food and boil water in a covered container whenever possible. This traps the heat inside and requires less energy.
22.  Insulate your Attic	Attic floor insulation should be at least R-38 or about 12 inches thick. Do not compress insulation on the attic floor by adding a layer of wood, storing boxes on it or walking across it
23.  Bring in light	Consider installing solar tubes.  They act as a skylight but much smaller and much easier to install.  Igot mine for $150.00 at Home Depo and was able to write them off on my taxes. * you also have light on full moon!
24.  Mow the Lawn	Consider an electric mower. They are much cheaper to run (estimated 3-10 cents), about ¼ noise pollution and significantly reduce emissions (don’t need to worry about smog alerts).
25.  Consider Renewable Energy	Today there are a few different forms of renewable energy you can add to your home including: Solar Energy, Solar Hot Water Heater, Tankless Water Heaters, Geo-Thermal, and small Wind Turbines.  Check with state, federal and even your utility for savings and incentives.  If you produce more than you use you may be able to sell the energy back to the utility. http://www.dsireusa.org/

 


Kitchen Solar Tube





Bathroom and Kitchen Solar Tubes

Composting: It is easy and has benefits

            I bought a house a few years ago and my roommate and I really wanted to start composting.  Why you ask?  Because we thought it was cool.  I know silly reason but when the county we lived in offered their residents some pretty cheap compost bins, we took advantage of it.  I have been composting for about 4 years now and learned a few things.

1.      Your dirt output is totally dependent on your input and how often you mix it up.  I am personally very bad at the mixing and mix more in the summer than winter.

2.      You can compost virtually everything that isn’t meat and dairy but if you plan to use it in the food garden then you may want to stick with organic material.

3.      My husband and I really only need to take the trash to the curb every 2 weeks.

4.      It doesn’t smell as bad as I thought it would.  When I take out the compost every few days and mix it more there is little smell and no pesky critters.  When I am a bit lazy it shows.

5.      It is great for the soil.  Composting adds nutrients, aerates the soil and can allow the soil to hold water or plants better.

6.      The more people compost the less waste in landfills and maybe, hopefully, less of a need for more or larger landfills.

What can you compost and what cant you compost?  Well pretty much everything that comes in your home can be composted but metal, plastic, styrofoam, meat and dairy.  I added a list of a few other no nos below.  I could compost paper and fabric.  However, since I don’t know if there are toxins in the dies or inks, I choose not to compost them.   I compost veggie and fruit scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds, egg shells, yard waste, house plant waste and even dryer lint.  Here is a picture of my compost container

     Today you can find compost bins for sale pretty easily, online or in the home and garden stores.  If you want to do this casually then any bin that catches your eye will work.  If you want to produce soil then consider a rotating bin.  They are much easier to churn and increase the decay process.

 Happy Composting!

NEVER COMPOST:

Bread products: normally contain animal products, eggs, milk, or butter

Cooking oil:

Diseased plants: You don’t want to spread the disease

Rice: It breeds bacteria

Sawdust: Unless you know it is untreated

Weeds: you will just start breading the weeds

Walnuts: They contain juglone, which is a natural aromatic compound toxic to some plants.

Freshly turned compost.

This is the compost bin I use.

Here are a few helpful resources

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/composting/basic.htm

http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html