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How can I reduce my impact?
Reducing the environmental impacts of your energy use is easy and can be done by making good energy decisions.
How You Can Make a Difference
- Use the Power Profiler to determine the air emissions impacts associated with your home or business's electricity use.
- Small businesses can find tools and resources on this Web site to help make smart energy choices.
- Buy green power in your state. Visit Green Power Locator.
- Find out if your facility is a good candidate for combined heat and power.
- ENERGY STAR provides homeowners and businesses with energy efficiency tools and guidance.
Energy efficiency and clean energy supply choices work together
Energy efficiency means delivering the same (or more) services for less energy. Using less energy means power plants generate less, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and improves air quality. Energy efficiency is practiced during the use of the energy in your home or office.
Clean energy supply includes renewable energy and clean distributed generation, such as combined heat and power. Many businesses are installing renewable energy and combined heat and power at their buildings to save them money, reduce their environmental impact, and provide greater control of their energy use.
So how can you make a difference through energy efficiency? Just follow these quick steps to reduce energy use in your home and at the office.
- Buy ENERGY STAR products, when needed and be sure the “stand-by mode” function is activated.
- If every American home replaced their 5 most frequently used light fixtures or the bulbs in them with ENERGY STAR qualified lighting, we would save close to $8 billion each year in energy costs, and together we’d prevent the greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from nearly 10 million cars.
- Use an ENERGY STAR qualified programmable thermostat that can automatically adjust the temperature of your home or office when you are away.
- Check with your local utility or use our Special Offers search to see what incentives or rebates are available for the purchase of ENERGY STAR qualified appliances, lighting, or HVAC systems.
- Seal and insulate your home and office to improve comfort and reduce heating and cooling costs. EPA recommends Home Sealing to improve your home’s “envelope” or the outer walls, ceiling, windows, and floors. To improve the envelope of your home: Add insulation, seal air-leaks, and choose an ENERGY STAR labeled window if you are in the market for new windows.
How can you help make a difference by using clean energy supply?
- The Power Profiler is a tool developed by EPA to help users determine the specific air emissions impacts associated with their home or business's electricity use.
- Visit the Green Power Locator to find out how you can purchase green power for your home and business.
- Use the “Is My Facility a Good Candidate for CHP?” tool to find out if your business may be a good candidate for combined heat and power.