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The best way to save energy is to understand how it's used and wasted. The Electricity Use Table included in this guide is a valuable tool that can be used to help assess energy consumption around your home. Saving energy begins with behavior and is supplemented by high efficiency equipment. ENERGY SAVING BEHAVIORS MAKE A DIFFERENCE The most efficient refrigerator, LED light, or programmable thermostat will not save you as much money and energy as they could if you don't keep energy conservation in mind when you use them. In some cases customers buy the most high tech programmable thermostat and never program it, or they constantly hit the bypass button to manually control the air conditioning or heat. The energy savings result from installing the equipment correctly and using it as designed. LED lights can save a huge amount of energy, but leaving them on when they're not needed still costs you. HIGH EFFICIENCY APPLIANCES Most of us have no idea which appliances use the most energy in our homes; the electricity use table in this guide will help you identify them. Based on your findings you can determine how to best use those appliances and/or replace them. A great example is the refrigerator in the garage that is used for cooling foods for the holidays and keeping beverages cold in the summer. Refrigerators that are used infrequently use electricity every day whether or not there is anything in them. These refrigerators can cost you well over $100 per year to have plugged in. PLUGGED IN= ENERGY USE Another thing to keep in mind as you are completing the energy assessment is that anything plugged into the wall outlet is using energy and costing you money. While these electric loads can be big or small, they all add up. Think of all of the electronics included in your entertainment center: television, cable or satellite set-top box, DVD, gaming systems and sound systems; if you can turn it on using a remote control, all of those appliances are using energy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Just one cable set-top box can cost you $1.75 per month, and with the average home having three televisions that equates to $5.20 per month. 186 4