The Columbian | Serving Clark County, Washington

I want to learn more about my home’s energy use, but don’t know where to start. Would you give me some ideas?

There are many ways to learn about home energy use, but perhaps the best place for you to start is with a visit to our website, http://clarkpublicutilities.com.

You’ll find a number of free tools designed to help Clark County families save energy. These tools can help you determine where you’re using energy and how much various appliances are using. Then, find tips on how to reduce their use.

Energy calculator

Before you know where to save, find out where your home is using — and wasting — energy. Our home energy calculator will walk you through an online energy audit of your home, whether you live in a single-family house or an apartment.

From the drop-down menus, simply enter your type of home, the year it was built, how large it is, how it is heated and the number of people living there. You’ll also enter information on your home’s lighting and appliances.

“For example you can see what impact adding a new TV would have on your energy use,” said Duane Lorentz, energy counselor. “Or see how much your energy you could save if you upgraded to a more efficient refrigerator.”

See appliances’ cost

The appliance calculator allows you to see the approximate annual number of kilowatt-hours appliances use and what they cost to operate at our electric rates.

The handy calculator includes items commonly found throughout a home, including TVs, washers and dryers, kitchen appliances and computers. Once you estimate the number of hours a day appliances run, you can estimate their monthly and annual operating costs.

“When customers learn how much various appliances cost to operate, they are more in control of their energy use and can take steps to reduce their energy bills,” Lorentz said.

Heating and cooling

Your home’s largest energy user is its heating and cooling systems. Our website’s heating calculator allows you to estimate a system’s annual operating costs based on the size and style of your home, how airtight it is and how warm or cool you keep it.

You also can graphically see how annual heating costs vary between a heat pump, natural gas furnace, electric furnace or propane heater at various efficiency ratings. Another page allows you to see the energy savings of a programmable thermostat.

Visit Kids Corner

Not only can you learn how to save energy, so can your children. On the Kids Corner page they can explore sections on various types of energy generation, electrical safety, energy efficiency and fun facts on energy. Kids can even use their own appliance calculator to see how much their game console costs to operate.

The Energy Adviser is written by members of the energy counselor team of Clark Public Utilities, who provide conservation and energy use information to utility customers. Send questions to energyadviser@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA. 98668. A panel of local energy efficiency and energy product specialists will review your questions. Previous topics are available at http://www.clarkpublicutilities.com.

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