Kim Hornung-Marcy

June 06, 2022

This month, on behalf of our Conference Board of Church and Society, and the extended Cabinet and to help you, I have developed a resource that lists state level energy efficiency resources for all our New England states. These resources will guide you to: lower energy uses, rebates for weatherization, energy audits and Electric Vehicles and many other programs for state residents.

It is great to see the many tips, free services for low-income residents, and rebates for all on the state level websites. These resources and more can be found on this website at www.neumc.org/creationcare 

When you lower energy use, you save money, lower emissions and help all of creation. For example, below is information I adapted from one of the New Hampshire websites on how to use regular appliances in our homes more efficiently. This information and much more at NHSaves.com 

Dishwashers: Let your dishes air dry. This saves energy over using the machine’s heat dry cycle.

Refrigerator/Freezer:  

• Cover liquids and wrap foods as uncovered foods release moisture which makes your compressor work harder.  
• Keep your freezer full. Frozen foods keep the temperature low and save energy.

Stove: Cover pots when heating foods or boiling water, this warms them faster and uses less energy.

Oven: Only open when you need to. You reduce the heat by 25% when you open the door.

Microwave: When possible use your microwave to cook foods. Micro-waves use 30-80% less energy than a regular oven.

Washer/Dryer:

• Use cold water as 90% of a washer’s energy goes to heating the water.
• Hang clothes outside to dry if you can during nice weather.
• If your dryer has a cool down cycle use that, as it uses the heat left in the machine to dry clothes at the end of the cycle.