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As Freezing Winter
Wind Chills Blast 17 States, Alliance to Save Energy, 30 + Campaign
Partners Urge Consumers to Take ‘6° of Energy Efficiency Challenge’
To Cut Energy Bills, Pollution, Greenhouse Gas Emissions
www.sixdegreechallenge.org
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
February 6, 2007 /Alliance to Save Energy/ -- As freezing winter
wind chills blast 17 states today, the Alliance to Save Energy,
American Gas Association, The Dow Chemical Company, and 29 other
Power Is in Your Hands campaign partners urge consumers to use
energy more efficiently to cut energy bills, energy use, pollution,
and greenhouse gas emissions as well as to improve our economic and
energy security.
The campaign partners this winter launched a unique 6° of Energy
Efficiency Challenge
social website --
www.sixdegreechallenge.org -- to challenge consumers to take at
least one energy efficiency action and encourage others to do the
same to create a multiplier effect. They offer these winter tips:
• Test your "Energy IQ," and take the 6° of Energy Efficiency
Challenge. Commit to do at least one thing to lower your energy use,
and challenge six friends, family, or colleagues to do the same at
www.sixdegreechallenge.org. See how our energy waste, affects
six key aspects of our lives – the energy prices we pay, our home
comfort, the air we breathe, our energy security, our economic
well-being, and the world we leave behind. Share your energy stories
on the site.
• Plug energy leaks. Spend just a few dollars on sealant and weather
stripping and plug leaks around doors and windows to make your home
more comfortable and energy-efficient – and save on those heating
and cooling bills year after year.
• Properly maintain your heating system. Clean or replace furnace
filters regularly.
• Let Uncle Sam help pay for your energy-efficiency home
improvements. Certain energy-saving products are eligible for
federal income tax credits totaling $500 through 2007. They include
insulation, sealants, weather stripping; new ENERGY STAR windows,
including storm windows; and highly efficient furnaces, boilers,
heat pumps, and central air conditioners. (Details in English and
Spanish at
www.ase.org/taxcredits.)
• A programmable thermostat “remembers for you” to adjust the indoor
temperature according to your daily and weekend routines to avoid
wasting energy and money while the house is empty and reduce heating
costs up to 10 percent. This money- and energy-saving device is
celebrating its 100th anniversary.
• Insulate heating ducts, and keep them in good repair to prevent
heat loss. Your system can lose up to 60 percent of its warmed air
before it reaches the register, if ducts are not properly insulated
in unheated areas such as attics and crawlspaces. Also insulate your
hot water heater and hot water pipes.
• Look for the ENERGY STAR label, the government’s symbol of energy
efficiency, on 40 different types of products – including
appliances, electronics, lighting, home office equipment, windows,
and more – to save up to 30 percent on related home energy bills.
TVs, VCRs, DVD and CD players, and cordless phones with built-in
display clocks, memory chips, and remote controls continue to use
energy in the “off” mode and account for 5 percent of total U.S.
electricity use. Those with ENERGY STAR labels use less energy in
the “off” mode.
• Open curtains and other window treatments on your west- and
south-facing windows during the day to allow sunlight to naturally
heat your home, and close them at night.
• Enjoy your fireplace, but don’t send precious, costly warmed air
up the chimney! Reduce heat loss by opening dampers in the bottom of
the firebox (if provided) or opening the nearest window about an
inch, closing off the room, and turning down the thermostat to 50 to
55 degrees. And don’t forget to close the flue when you’re done
enjoying the fire.
• Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, which use about
one-third the energy of incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times
longer. Replace four 75-watt incandescent bulbs in your home that
burn four or more hours a day with comparable 23-watt compact
fluorescent bulbs to save around $200 over the life of the bulbs.
About the Alliance to Save Energy
The Alliance to Save
Energy is a coalition of prominent business, government,
environmental, and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and
clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment,
economy, and national security.
Source: Alliance to
Save Energy
CONTACT: Ronnie
Kweller: T: 202-530-2203; C: 202-276-9327
Website:
www.ase.org
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