Get tips on saving money and energy

Following are no-cost, low-cost and investment ideas to increase the energy efficiency of your home, any time of the year.

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Use these no-cost, energy-saving ideas in your home:

• Learn personalized ways to save, based on how you use energy. Just answer a few simple questions about your home and energy use to get recommendations. Get a customized list of changes you can make to boost home energy efficiency today. Visit Take the FREE Home Energy Checkup.
• Visit pge.com/myrateanalysis today to see all of your rate options and learn more about the rate plan that’s recommended for you based on your energy use in the last 12 months.
• Sign up for Bill Forecast Alerts to help you stay on top of energy bills. The alerts allow you to set a monthly bill alert amount of your choice. You’ll be notified if your bill is projected to exceed the amount you’ve set.
• Take shorter showers to reduce water-heating costs. Turn on a 5-minute playlist each time you shower, and then challenge yourself to finish before the music does. Encourage others in your home to take this approach.
• Don't waste money on electronics or appliances that aren’t in use. Turn off and unplug unused televisions and DVD players, computers, phone chargers, coffee makers and other devices.
• Give your refrigerator “breathing room.” Clean the coils and don’t set the temperature too low. Keep the refrigerator between 38 F and 42 F and the freezer between zero and five degrees F.
• Defrost a manual-defrost refrigerator or freezer when ice builds up to more than one-quarter of an inch. Built-up ice decreases the energy efficiency of the unit.
• Wash full loads of laundry using cold water. Modern detergents work great in cold water, and about 90 percent of the energy used by clothes washers goes to water heating.
• Use your clothes dryer for consecutive loads. The built-up heat means less energy spent.
• Make sure the lint trap in the clothes dryer is clean before you press start. Add a tennis ball or a clean, dry towel to improve air circulation and reduce drying time.
• Run cold water when using your garbage disposal. Hot water requires energy to warm. Cold water solidifies grease, moving it more easily through the disposal and pipes.
• Turn off hot water when not needed while brushing teeth, shaving or doing dishes.
• Use the self-cleaning oven feature only when necessary. Start the self-cleaning cycle immediately after you use the oven in order to take advantage of pre-existing heat.
• Use glass baking dishes in the oven when possible. Glass retains heat better than other materials, so it helps food cook faster. With glass baking dishes, you usually can reduce your oven temperature by about 25 F.
• Operate your dishwasher with full loads, and air-dry dishes on the energy saver setting. If the manufacturer's instructions permit, open the dishwasher door at the end of the last rinse cycle, rather than using the drying cycle.
• Challenge everyone in the household to gather around one television a few days each week, and turn off the others.

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Use these cost-efficient tips to help lower your energy use:

• Install energy-saving showerheads, faucets or flow restrictors.
• Use dimmer switches or timers on your lights.
• Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps that give the same amount and quality of light as incandescent bulbs, yet use one-quarter the amount of energy and last 10 times longer.
• Wrap your water heater with an insulating jacket or blanket to prevent loss of heat. Ensure that the air intake vent remains uncovered.

Get investment ideas

Save even more energy and money with these longer-term investments:

• Select an energy-efficient model ENERGY STAR®-labeled refrigerator, washer, air conditioner or other appliance.
• When shopping for a printer, scanner or other computer peripherals, spend a few extra dollars to buy one that automatically goes into sleep mode or turns off when not in use.
• Finance up to $50,000 for 15 years at competitive rates through the State of California-administered Residential Energy Efficiency Loan program available in all counties. Learn more at the GoGreen Financing website.

Following are no-cost, low-cost and investment ideas for increasing the energy efficiency of your home during cold weather.

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When the weather is cold, use these energy-saving ideas in your home:

• When using your fireplace, turn down your heater. When you're not using it, close the damper to block incoming cold air.
• Close curtains, shades and blinds at night and during unoccupied periods of the day to help prevent warm air from escaping.
• Set your furnace thermostat to 68 degrees Fahrenheit (68 F) or lower, health permitting. Three to five percent more energy is used for each degree you set your furnace above 68 F.
• When you leave the house, set your thermostat to 56 F. By turning your thermostat back 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours, you can save five to 15 percent a year on your heating bill.

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Take advantage of these cost-efficient tips:

• Caulk gaps and cracks around drafty doorframes and windows to prevent cold air from entering your home. Caulk is inexpensive and can be purchased at most hardware stores, where you can also learn how to apply it.
• Wrap older water heaters with an insulating jacket or blanket to minimize excess heat loss. Remember to leave the air intake vent uncovered.
• Air seal and properly insulate attics, walls, floors over crawl spaces and accessible basement rim joists. Doing so may result in a savings of up to 10 percent of your total energy costs.

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These longer-term investments can help you save even more energy and money:

• Have a contractor check your central heating and cooling duct system for leaks. Sealing and insulating air ducts can improve the efficiency of your system substantially.
• Install a door sweep on your garage door to seal the gap between the bottom of the door and the threshold. The door sweep prevents cold air from coming in and warm air from escaping your home.
• Insulate the spaces between your walls with foam. Homes often leak warm air in the winter because of spaces between walls. Fill these gaps by spraying foam insulation into holes drilled in the wall.

Before the Flex Alert, Californians should:

• Pre-cool your home or workspace. Lower your thermostat in the morning. As the temperature rises outside, raise your thermostat and circulate the pre-cooled air with a fan.
• Use major appliances, including:
  • Washer and dryer
  • Dishwasher
  • Oven and stove for pre-cooking and preparing meals
• Close your shades. Sunlight passing through windows heats your home and makes your air conditioner work harder. Block this heat by keeping blinds or drapes closed on the sunny side of your home.

During the Flex Alert, Californians should:

• Set your thermostat at 78 degrees or higher, health permitting. Every degree you lower the thermostat means your air conditioner must work even harder to keep your home cool.
• When it's cooler outside, bring the cool air in. If the outside air is cool in the night or early morning, open windows and doors and use fans to cool your home.
• Avoid using major appliances.
• Turn off all unnecessary lights.