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Energy Resources for Wayzata Residents
Great ideas for saving energy and money
From adjusting your behavior to replacing old equipment, there are endless ways you can decrease both your energy bills and your environmental impact.
Whether you rent or own, there are plenty of ways to shift your actions to save energy and money, all while maintaining your home’s comfort.
- Manage your thermostat: You probably already turn off the lights when you leave home, but do you also adjust your thermostat? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, you can save as much as 10% on your heating and cooling bills each year simply by turning your thermostat back 7°F–10°F from its normal setting for eight hours a day.
- Curtain savings: Whether you’re in the heat of summer or the depths of a polar vortex, you can use your curtains strategically to keep your home comfortable. Look for thermal insulated curtains to prevent air from entering or escaping through your windows.
- In the summer, close curtains during the day to block some of the sun’s heat — especially windows on the south and east sides of your home.
- In the winter, open curtains during the day to usher in warmth. Make sure to close them at night to reduce heat loss.
- Heating tips: Heat a smaller area to stay warmer and save energy! You can close heating vents in unused rooms, or, if you have a zoned home, turn off the heat in some areas.
- Lighting tour: Replace traditional light bulbs with LEDs to save on lighting energy use. Think about which lights you use most often and replace those bulbs first!
- Put a lid on it: Put a lid on pots and pans when cooking to save energy by heating food faster.
- Hang it out to dry: Reduce your machine dryer energy use by hanging laundry out to dry — you can hang laundry outside when the weather is nice or indoors year-round.
- CenterPointEnergy.com/DIYNow Order free and greatly discounted products that can help you save energy, money and improve the comfort of your home from CenterPoint Energy.
Check out these tips from Xcel Energy to learn more ways to save money and energy at home!
Don’t know where to start? Sign up for a Home Energy Squad® visit to jump-start your savings and learn more about how to make your home more efficient. Visit HomeEnergySquad.net to schedule your visit.
Investing in your home will help you save more energy and money in the long term. From an in-home energy audit to equipment rebates and appliance recycling, your utility offers plenty of opportunities to put some cash back in your pocket.
Sign-up for a Home Energy Squad® visit
Does your home have drafty doors, an old thermostat, or inefficient incandescent light bulbs? The Home Energy Squad can fix these things and more, quickly and affordably.
Choose from two great options: a Home Energy Squad visit ($70) or a Home Energy Squad Enhanced ($100) visit. Free visits are available for income-qualified households. See if you qualify.
Apply for home efficiency rebates
There are many rebates available to help with the up-front costs of things like upgrading old equipment and pursuing innovative efficiency technologies.
- Heating rebates: Earn substantial rebates for replacing old, inefficient heating equipment or investing in state-of-the-art air source heat pumps.
- Cooling rebates: In the heat of summer, don’t keep burning through money with inefficient AC — use cooling system rebates to upgrade your old unit instead.
- Insulation rebates: Find a qualified insulation contractor to ensure the job is done right, and earn a rebate. Proper insulation will help your family save all year long!
- Bonus: A Home Energy Squad visit includes an assessment of insulation levels and quotes for insulation from local qualified contractors.
- Smart thermostat: Coordinate heating and cooling to your schedule and enjoy instant rebates! You can shop for your new smart thermostat online at XcelEnergyStore.com.
- Bonus: Enroll your qualifying smart thermostat in AC Rewards and you can take advantage of a bill credit every year for voluntarily cutting back on AC use during periods of peak demand.
- Refrigerator and freezer recycling: Have an old fridge in your basement or garage? Sign up for refrigerator recycling and a qualified contractor will take it away for free — and give you a $35 rebate.
- Water heating rebates: Did you know that water heaters can account for up to half of a home’s energy consumption? When you replace your old water heater with a high-efficiency model, you can earn a great rebate and save money on hot water every day.
CenterPointEnergy.com/SaveEnergy Save energy and money with CenterPoint Energy’s energy efficiency resources and home appliance rebates.
Whether you’re a renter supporting green energy or a homeowner making a long-term investment in solar, there are renewable options available in Wayzata to fit your needs.
Renewable energy subscription programs
Even if you aren’t making major installations on your property like solar panels or a wind turbine, there are great options to support renewable energy. Check out these subscription programs to power your home with renewable sources.
- Windsource®: Choose to source up to 100% of your home’s monthly electricity use from locally produced wind energy with Xcel Energy’s Windsource® program. The cost ranges from $1 to $10 per month, depending on subscription amount and your home’s electricity use. Windsource is also great way for renters to support renewable electricity.
- Community solar garden subscriptions: A community solar garden is a solar power plant that provides electricity to more than one household. Members of the community can have the benefits of solar power without installing solar panels on their property.
On-site solar installations (e.g., rooftop solar): With your own solar installation, you can generate some or all of the electricity your home uses. You may even be able to sell what your home doesn’t need to your electric utility!
Not sure which program is a good fit? Visit this link and click on “Which program is right for me?” to answer a few anonymous questions and learn more.
Renters can save on energy bills too! As a renter, not only can you encourage your landlord to sign up for an energy audit or assessment, but you can also shift your behavior to reduce bills.
Encourage your landlord to get an energy audit
An energy audit is a great way for your landlord to identify energy saving opportunities for their rental property, which will help you save money on energy bills.
- If you live in a building with between one and four units: Ask your landlord to sign up for a Home Energy Squad® visit.* At the visit, energy experts will install energy- and cost-saving measures, including LED bulbs, door and attic hatch weather stripping, and water heater insulation. With permission from the landlord, tenants can also sign up individually. To learn more, visit HomeEnergySquad.net.
*Free visits available for income-qualified households and tenants. Ask Home Energy Squad about free visits when scheduling.
- If you live in an apartment building with more than five units that has a common entrance: Encourage your property manager to sign up for a free whole-building audit through the Multi-Family Building Efficiency program. In addition to a free audit, participants receive free installations, including screw-in LED lights in common areas and residential units, high-efficiency showerheads, and faucet aerators.
Encourage your landlord to visit MultiFamilyEnergySolutions.com
Save by shifting your behavior
There are plenty of opportunities to save with small changes in your behavior — and you don’t have to spend a penny. Get started with the ideas in our guide above, Easy DIY Savings.