Residential Services
ENERGY CONSERVATION
A number of factors—especially your family’s size and lifestyle—determine your home’s total electricity use. The following factors tend to influence electricity use most:
Family Size -
The number of people living in a home, their ages and the time they spend at home relates directly to the amount of energy that is used. Taking showers, washing and drying clothes, cooking meals, even how many times a day the refrigerator door is opened will add to the number of kilowatts used daily. When guests visit, you can expect your electric use to increase.
Seasonal fluctuations -
Heating and cooling your home accounts for a major portion of your total home energy use. Any month with extremely hot or cold temperatures will cause an increase in your electric use.
Water heating -
Water heating is often the second largest energy expense in a Minnesota home and may account for up to 20 percent of the household’s annual energy costs. You can reduce hot water expenses by joining the Cooperative’s energy-wise water heating program, which includes installation of the efficient Marathon® water heater. Also, you will use less hot water by taking showers rather than baths and by using a low-flow showerhead.
Appliances & Lighting -
Appliances and lighting account for about one-fifth of the total home energy use. Home appliances are huge labor savers, yet they may be significant energy users. When purchasing new appliances, look for the Energy Star label, which designates efficiency. You can also conserve energy by turning off appliances and lights that are not in use. Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) can save more than $60 in energy and bulb replacement costs over the life of each CFL bulb. Call the cooperative office for a free copy of Energy Savers, a guide for saving energy and money at home.
Fluorescent Bulb Recycling -
Todd-Wadena offers its residential members 50-cents-off coupons toward the cost to recycle used fluorescent light bulbs. The coupons are honored at several sites, which are listed on the coupon page.