Teaching Keiki to Save Energy
Saving Energy is Easy, Inexpensive and Educational (For the Entire Family)
We’ve all reminded our kids to “turn it off if you’re not using it!” And for good reason, right? Nearly everything in our home requires electricity from lights, appliances, electronics to hot water and air conditioning. 
Hawaii Energy, the energy efficiency and conservation program serving the islands of Maui, Hawaii, Lanai, Molokai and Oahu, offers some easy (and free) tips to follow.
- Lights Out – As we touched upon earlier… if they’re the last one to leave the room, make sure they turn the lights off either at home or school.
- Turn Off & Unplug – Turn off and unplug stereos, TVs, DVD players, clocks and battery chargers. Any device with a light continuously draws power, called a “phantom load”, even when turned off. Connect these devices to an advanced power strip to make turning it off all at once easier. You can save about $10 per year.
- Shut It – Refrigerators are the second largest consumers of energy (after water heating) accounting for about 15 percent of your electricity usage. Keeping the door open too long can cost between $17 to $23 a year.
- Game Over – Always have them check to see if their video game consoles and computers are off and not on sleep-mode. They are very easy to overlook and draw a lot of power.
- Shorten That Shower – Shortening your shower by just two minutes every day could save about $56 per year. Not to mention you’ll also save on your water bill!
- Hang It Up – Let your children burn off extra calories and save electricity by hand-drying dishes rather than relying on the dishwasher’s heated dryer. It can save about $23 per year.
- Fan Favorite – Have them cool off with fans instead of running the air conditioner. If they do use the air conditioner, use fans to circulate the cold air.
The sooner children learn the importance of saving energy the better. Better for your pocketbook too.
Want to learn more? Hawaii Energy offers cash rebates and other incentives to residents and businesses to help offset the cost of installing energy-efficient equipment. Visit www.HawaiiEnergy.com or call toll-free at (877) 231-8222.
