Gas News Release

November 14, 2000

Easy-To-Do Tips Help Save Energy, Money

CLEVELAND, Oh. -- Looking to save money on your gas bill? Start by saving energy around your house. Consider these low-cost, no-cost conservation tips from Dominion East Ohio:

Heating

• Protect your thermostat from drafts so your furnace turns on only when additional warmth is needed.
• Change furnace filters according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Caulk and weather strip your windows and add door sweeps beneath doors for added insulation. (If a playing card fits the crevice of an outside door or window, you need more weather stripping.) 
• Limit entries to one or two outside doors. Try to use doors furthest away from your thermostat. 
• Block off drafts at the bottom of doors with a rolled-up throw rug or bath towel.
• Open draperies or blinds during the day to let the sun help heat your home.
• Remove tops from radiator covers. 
• Position furniture next to inside walls, instead of outside walls, and away from windows. 
• Avoid blocking radiators, heat registers and cold-air returns. 
• Close off unused rooms. There’s no sense spending energy dollars to heat these areas. 
• Keep an attached garage door closed. Weatherstrip door along the bottom, sides and top. 
• Install storm windows and doors; they can reduce heat loss in these areas by 50 percent.

Water Heating 

• Turn down the thermostat to medium, which is high enough to tackle normal household needs. 
• Keep a kitchen timer in the bathroom, and cut shower times to three minutes.
• Always run cold water through your garbage disposal. 
• Switch to lower water temperatures for clothes washing and rinse in cold water. 
• When washing your dishes, fill a basin with rinse water, instead of letting the water run.
• Check for faucet leaks. A leaking hot water faucet wastes hot water.

Cooking 

• Reduce cooking time and energy by covering pots, pans and casserole dishes. 
• Don’t peek. Every time you open the oven door, you pay a penalty of 25 degrees. 
• Cutting a roast or ham in half can cut cooking time in half.
• If the gas flame on your cook top is visible on the sides of the pan, lower the setting to conserve fuel. 
• Broil with the door closed to keep in high temperatures. 
• Preheat the oven only when necessary. 
• Keep oven doors closed during cooking. 

Clothes Drying 

• Always dry full loads to make the best use of your appliances and energy dollars. 
• Clear the lint screen after each load for the quickest drying. 
• For fewer wrinkles and shorter drying time, never overload your dryer. 
• You can help reduce overall drying time with residual heat when you dry loads back to back. 
• Consolidate dryer loads by fabric weight. Over-drying wastes energy.

Fireplace and Hearth Equipment 

• Install gas logs with glass doors to help keep warm air in the home.
• Installing gas hearth appliances in more open areas encourages heat distribution into other rooms.

To keep your furnace in tiptop condition, Dominion East Ohio recommends an annual furnace check. An annual inspection can ensure that your natural gas furnace will provide comfortable, reliable natural gas heat and prevent any potential carbon monoxide problems.

Cleveland-based Dominion East Ohio, the largest natural gas distribution company in the Dominion system, serves more than 1.2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in eastern and western Ohio. Dominion, headquartered in Richmond, Va., is the nation’s largest fully integrated electric and natural gas company, serving a combined 4 million customers.