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Community Corner

College Is In Session: National Grid Offers Lessons In Saving Energy and Money As Classes Resume

August 21, 2013 – If your class schedule has replaced summer novels and you are packing the family car, it can mean only one thing, it’s “Back to School.”  National Grid urges students and their families to consider energy efficiency and safety as a way to better improve one’s living space.  Whether living in a dormitory or apartment, applying energy conservation and safety measures can be both simple and cost effective.

 

If you are shopping for a new computer, make sure to select one with an ENERGY STAR® rating to save both energy and money in the long term. ENERGY STAR® computers are up to 70 percent more efficient than their un-rated counterparts. A list of participating manufacturers and models can be found at www.energystar.gov. Additionally, choosing a laptop rather than desktop model can save you as much as $40 per year, and can increase efficiency by up to 85 percent. 

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Below are additional energy efficient tips to help customers select the best back to school products and reduce energy consumption throughout the year:

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• Consider investing in a ‘Smart Strip’ that allows you to leave power flowing through selected items such as computers or DVRs, but powers down everything else while not in use, preventing energy loss.  

 

• Switch to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs and light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. For each standard incandescent bulb you replace with a CFL or LED, you can save as much as $10 or more on your electric costs over the life of the bulb. You get more hours of illumination and three to four times more lighting efficiency. CFLs have a life expectancy of eight years, and LEDs have a life expectancy of 21 years, compared to one year for standard incandescent bulbs. 

 

• Many consumer electronics continue to use power, even after turned off. Unplug cell phone chargers, laptops, video game consoles or anything with “instant on” features, and you can save up to 29 kWh and as much as $4 a month. 

 

• Turn off lights, appliances, TVs, stereos and computers when not in use or while you are away from home to save up to 58 kWh and as much as $9. 

 

• Cook with lids on your pans. For example, cooking spaghetti without a lid on the pot can use three times more energy than if the lid were left on. 

 

• If you will be coming home after dark or in bad weather, consider buying timers to attach to your light fixtures. This way, you can turn your lights off when you leave, and have them already on when you come home. 

 

Electric safety tips for students:

 

• Avoid the danger of overloading electrical outlets with too many appliances such as computers, TVs, DVD players and video game consoles on the same circuit in homework or entertainment areas. 

 

• Invest in LED or solar powered desk lamps. They provide softer task lighting and use far less energy. 

 

• Use surge protectors to safeguard against voltage changes during a storm.

 

• Use a power strip to safely organize and connect appliances to wall sockets and circuits with the appropriate voltage to accommodate the electric load.

 

National Grid has a 20-year track record of partnering with its customers to provide successful, award-winning efficiency programs in its U.S. service territory. Click here to learn more about the company’s energy efficiency programs. 

 

NATIONAL GRID

National Grid (LSE: NG; NYSE:NGG) is an electricity and gas company that connects consumers to energy sources through its networks. The company is at the heart of one of the greatest challenges facing our society - to create new, sustainable energy solutions for the future and developing an energy system that underpins economic prosperity in the 21st century. National Grid holds a vital position at the center of the energy system and it ‘joins everything up’. 

 

In the northeast US, we connect more than seven million gas and electric customers to vital energy sources, essential for our modern lifestyles. In Great Britain, we run the gas and electricity systems that our society is built on, delivering gas and electricity across the country.  

 

National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. It manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), and owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation, providing power to over one million LIPA customers. It is the largest distributor of natural gas in northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. 

 

For more information please visit our website: www.nationalgridus.com.   

 

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