For some helpful tips on how to cut down on your electricity bill, I sought the advice from an expert.  Jason Shadowen, who is the general manager of Electrical Detectives in nearby Herrin, IL, offers 10 Tips To Go and Save Green.

Conserving energy doesn’t have to be a difficult process. You can begin living a “greener” lifestyle by making a few minor changes to your home.  Every bit of energy you save helps the environment and saves you money!

Tip: Turn off your lights when you’re not using them!

Electric lighting adds heat to a space that must be removed in the summer by air conditioning. Turn your lights off when not in use.

Tip: Keep your fireplace sealed in the warmer months!

Close your fireplace damper and flue tightly when the heating season is over.

Tip: Wash your clothes efficiently!

When using your washing machine and clothes dryer, make sure you always clean a full load of clothes.

Tip: Don’t use the “heated dry” setting on your dishwasher!

Use the economizer cycle on the dishwasher and let the dishes drip dry instead of using electric heat to dry them.

Tip: Keep your vents uncovered!

Don’t block the supply air or return air ducts to your air conditioning system with furniture or curtains.

Tip: When the air conditioning is on, keep your interior doors open!

Keep doors open in all of your rooms that are cooled by a central air conditioning system so that the air can return easily to the unit.

Tip: Install ceiling fans!

Ceiling fans can make a room feel much cooler without using nearly as much electricity. This allows you to keep your thermostat a little higher in the summer.   During the winter, you can reverse your ceiling fan, which will push the warm air back down.

Tip: Use window fans in the summer!

They can be a great compliment to ceiling fans. Window fans are best used when facing away from the wind and exhausting hot air from your home.

Tip: Keep your refrigerator door closed!

Standing with the refrigerator door open lets humid air in. This makes it harder to cool and it will condense in the freezer into ice.

Tip: Shop around for energy efficient computers, monitors and accessories!

“Green Computers” are easy to find nowadays, and they’ll help save you money on your electric bill. Also, computers, monitors and accessories use power even when they’re off, so put them on a surge protector, and turn off the power when not in use.

About Electrical Detectives

Electrical Detectives specializes in electrical service and repair work, anything from changing light bulbs to rewiring homes and offices. We have been family owned and operated since 1968. All of our team members are drug free, background checked, and professionally trained. We offer an unmatched 100% customer satisfaction money back guarantee. We have upfront, Straight Forward Pricing so you know the price before any work begins. We have 1000’s of parts on our service vehicles for on the spot repairs in your home or business. We like to call them our warehouse on wheels. Whether you call us at 2 am or 2 pm you’ll talk to a real live person, never an answering machine. You can find us in your local yellow pages or call us toll free at 1-877-4-WIRE-PI or click www.SolvedToday.com today.

Is it time to go green in your office? On average Americans produce 4.5 pounds of waste per-person per-day in the year 2000, for an annual total of 232 million tons of municipal solid waste according to a report done by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2000. Since then that number has greatly increased. Are you contributing to this? If so, what are some things that you can do to give back to Mother Earth? Businesses are just as guilty as homeowners at contributing to this tonnage of waste. Here are 10 things that your office can do to go green and help give back:

1. Use compact florescent light bulbs.

Fluorescent bulbs can increase your lighting efficiency & is one way to decrease your energy bills. Despite an initial higher cost, florescent light bulbs use less electricity and last longer.

2. Recycle all of your paper.

You don’t recycling paper makes a difference? Back in the late 90′s when recycling became popular, there have been 64 million tons of waste that has been deposited into our landfills. How much paper does your office go through a day?  You can make a difference.

3. Print and copy on both sides of paper.

How easy is this?  How many times do we print report, directions, to do list, etc. on just one side of paper?  Think how many trees we would save by utilizing the back side of the paper.

4. Use 100% recycled paper.

Recycled paper typically may cost a bit more than regular paper, but not always.  If you’re using more mass print jobs and not much concerned about presentation, consider recycled paper.  Besides by paying a few pennies more to ease the global waste problem is a good investment into mother earth.

5. Use recycled printer cartridges.

Print cartridges require many resources for their production.  By dumping them in the in our landfills is a double negative.  Print cartridges nowadays can be refilled for a 20%-30% savings from repurchasing.  Not to mention how much your saving by not adding to the landfills.  If you still can’t bring yourself to have them refilled, at least consider recycling your old cartridges.

6. Use office cleaners that use non-toxic products.

By using non-toxic cleaners, you are using a product that is biodegradable  and is safe indoors.

7. Reuse shipping boxes.

It’s just reusing old gift boxes at Christmas.  Shipping boxes are strong enough to be used several times before they are completely worn out.  Once they are……recycle.

8. Have plenty of indoor green plants in every room.

It’s time to go green, literally. Having real plants inside the work place also helps companies that are going green at the work place. Live plants indoors may seem harder to care for, but they will provide the work place with fresh air for employees. This will make them healthier and happier and greener themselves.

9. Encourage co-commuting one day a week.

Can’t see yourself driving a Prius or Aveo?  Well, you dont’ have to.  Just offer to hitch a ride with a co-worker and you’ll greatly reduce the carbon dioxide fumes for the year.

10. Consider purchasing an organic fair trade coffee.

This was a new one to me.  What is Fair trade? Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods including coffee.

Greener does not always mean more expensive.  Many of the tips above actually will help reduce expenses in the office.  If you’re the manager, it’s time to get your employees on board.  If you’re an employee and you have a passion for going green, show your superiors that going green actually puts more money in their pockets.  Nothing like saving some green by going green.