Resolve To Save
Energy in 2022
THE START of the new year always seems to bring about the inevitable lists of resolutions to improve one’s life: Lose weight, stop smoking, exercise more ... conserve electricity.
Well, that last one maybe isn’t actually on your resolutions list, but it can be just as important as any personal health goals—both to your financial bottom line and the overall health of our cooperative and the state’s electricity system.
As one saying goes, it takes 21 days to create a new habit. During that time, it may take a conscious effort to change your behavior—for instance, remembering to switch off lights as you leave a room. But, you may find, after a few repetitions of a new behavior, you won’t even have to think about it. You’ll turn off the lights automatically.
Here are some other energy-saving resolutions that you might consider for 2022:
- Unplug computers, TVs and phone chargers, plus the coffeemaker and other kitchen countertop appliances, when you’re through using them. These items draw electricity as long as they are plugged in, even when they’re turned off.
- If any of the overhead fixtures, table lamps or outdoor lights around your home or business still have those old, inefficient incandescent lightbulbs or CFLs, change them to LEDs, which use less electricity and can reduce your power bill.
- Install a programmable thermostat. Use it to lower the heat by a few degrees when the family leaves the house every day and to raise it back up just before everybody gets home. You won’t feel any less comfortable at home, but you’ll notice a dip in your energy bill.
If everyone in Hamilton County Electric Cooperative’s membership embraced just one or two of these ideas, or took other energy efficiency measures, the effect would be greatly magnified. And if everyone in Texas embraced even the simplest of these ideas, like turning off unused lights, it could add up to significant savings and perhaps help keep the lights on for all of us.