Spring Clean Your Way to a Safer and More Energy-Efficient Home

March 20, 2015 - 1:30 PM EDT

Spring Clean Your Way to a Safer and More Energy-Efficient Home

With spring upon us and warmer months just around the corner, households throughout Northern and Central California will soon be tackling the annual chore of spring cleaning. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) would like to remind customers that spring is also the perfect time to improve the safety and energy efficiency of your home.

“By adding a few easy tasks to their annual spring cleaning list, customers can make significant improvements to the overall energy efficiency of their homes and appliances. PG&E has a number of programs that can help our customers identify ways to be more efficient and we encourage customers to retire aging appliances and take a home energy check-up which is free and easy to do,” said PG&E’s Chief Customer Officer, Laurie Giammona.

PG&E encourages customers to take a moment and consider taking on the important, but often over looked, chores that can add up to real energy savings and will help keep their household safe.

Kitchen
- Vacuum refrigerator coils – Dust that builds up on refrigerator coils can cause the motor to work harder, using more energy.
- Clean oven and range – A range or oven darkened from heavy use absorbs more heat, reducing its efficiency.
Hallways
- Clean or replace HVAC filters – A dirty filter will slow air flow and cause your system to use more energy.
- Replace smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries – Replace batteries in all detectors at least once a year.
Garage
- Move flammables - Clear away flammable materials and liquids from gas furnaces and other heat sources.
- Clean out dryer ducts – Blocked dryer ducts make your machine work harder than necessary.

Outdoor
- Call 811 – Locate underground utility lines before digging any holes in the yard.
- Have solar panels cleaned – Having panels cleaned once a year can help maintain their output potential.

Retire Aging Appliances

PG&E can help customers retire their aging appliances by providing cash incentives when a more energy efficient model is purchased. Customers can also take advantage of PG&E’s refrigerator recycling program that offers rebates to haul away their old model. An efficient, new refrigerator can lower electric bills by as much as $200 a year. For more information about PG&E’s recycling program visit www.pge.com/recycle.

Take a Home Energy Checkup

For customers looking to take their energy savings even farther this spring, PG&E offers a Home Energy Checkup. By answering a few simple questions online, customers can find out what areas in their home use the most energy and learn ways to conserve. Small changes, for example washing clothes in cold water, turning off your computer at night and setting your refrigerator temperature to 38 degrees, among others, can save up to $100 a year or more. To learn more about the Home Energy Checkup, visit www.pge.com/homeenergycheckup.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.

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