RADIO PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Heating
• Lighting
• Energy Assessments
• Computers
• Vampire (Phantom) Electronics
• Air Conditioning

30 Second Public Service Announcements with related websites

1. Heating

This is County Executive, Andy Spano.

Want to save money, help our environment and make our country stronger all at the same time? It’s easy!

You can help by using less energy to heat your home. Here are some simple things you can do.

When it’s cold out, make sure hot air isn’t leaking out of your house. Just seal your windows, doors and plumbing pipes by caulking, weatherstripping or adding foam gaskets. If you have heat carrying ducts, check them; many ducts leak 25% or more. Also, check the insulation in your attic and crawl space – if it’s less than 7 inches think, you could benefit from adding more. And don’t forget to turn down your thermostat when you go out for the day and at night when you go to sleep. These low cost fixes can save you 10-30% on your heating bill.

For more energy saving tips, log onto www.Westchestergov.com

Additional links on heating:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/saveenergy/save_insulation.html
and to
http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/homeandwork/homes/inside/heatandcool/index.html

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2. Lighting

This is County Executive, Andy Spano.

Want to save money, help our environment and make our country stronger all at the same time? It’s easy!
You can make a huge difference with a simple change—switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. You’ll have just as much light, but you’ll spend a lot less money. I’m not talking about long, flickering unpleasant white lights. New compact fluorescent bulbs work just as well as incandescents.

Compact fluorescents do cost more to buy, but they easily pay for themselves because they last 6 to 10 times longer than incandescents and use only 25% as much electricity.

If everyone in America changed one light bulb in his or her home to a fluorescent bulb, it would eliminate the need for one power plant. And why stop at one bulb? Just think how many fewer power plants we would need.

For more tips on how to save energy log onto www.Westchestergov.com

Additional links on lighting:

http://www.getenergysmart.org/

http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/homeandwork/homes/inside/lighting/index.html

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3. Energy Assessments

This is County Executive, Andy Spano.

Want to save money, help our environment and make our country stronger all at the same time? It’s easy!
The first step is to have a home energy assessment. An expert will check your home out and tell you about the cost effective changes you can make to save energy.

For example, replacing an inefficient heating system with a new EnergyStar rated heating system could save you 50% of your natural gas bill and pay for itself in just a few years. Insulating your home properly can cut your energy load and reduce your heating and cooling bills by as much as 30%. To find out about these and the other cost-effective energy improvements, sign up for a home energy assessment from a certified Home Performance Contractor.

Log onto www.westchestergov.com to learn how to find a contractor and how to take advantage of the available monetary incentives.

Additional links on energy assessments:

http://www.getenergysmart.org/

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/refbriefs/ea2.html

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4. Computers

This is County Executive, Andy Spano.

Want to save money, help our environment and make our country stronger all at the same time? It’s easy!

If you have a computer, you can help. Computers use about 300-500 watts every hour. If you think about all of the computers around, that adds up to a lot of wattage.

Screen savers generally DO NOT reduce power consumption. Instead, make sure your computer’s power management features have been enabled and set the wait time before the sleep mode to the shortest time comfortable for you, generally not more than 15 minutes. If you have an older computer without a sleep mode, buy an external control device to shut the monitor and printer off after a set period of time.

And, if you’re buying new computer equipment it pays to look for the EnergyStar label.

To learn more about EnergyStar and other ways to save energy log onto http://www.westchestergov.com

Additional links on computers:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/femp/procurement/monitor.html

and

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=computers.pr_computers

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5. Vampire electronics

This is County Executive, Andy Spano.

Want to save money, help our environment and make our country stronger all at the same time? It’s easy!

You can help by shutting off vampire electronics in your home. Catchy name, right? These electrical gadgets that don’t really turn off but stay in standby mode. That light on your VCR, stereo or TV means you’re still using electricity.

The average household has about 20 vampire electronic appliances. Nationwide these vampire electronics use up the output of 12 electrical power plants and cost about a billion dollars. Talk about taking a bite out of your wallet.

What can you do? If you can, unplug appliances when not in use or plug them into power strips and turn the strip off. When buying new appliances, make sure they’re certified as EnergyStar—electricity usage when in standby mode is part of the certification process.

For more tips on how to save energy visit www.westchestergov.com

Additional Links on vampire electronics:
http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/homeandwork/homes/inside/appliances/small.html
and to: http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/refbriefs/ec7.html

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This is County Executive, Andy Spano.

Want to save money, help our environment and make our country stronger all at the same time? It’s easy!

Keep yourself cool in the summer, but don’t use more energy and spend more money than you have to.

Buy the right sized unit for your space and don’t blast it at the highest setting. Instead use a programmable thermostat so that you can set it an hour or so before you come home. Con Edison is now offering them free to its customers.

Of course, you never want to pay to keep your home too cool. Did you know
you can save 5% on your cooling costs for every degree you raise the thermostat?

Inadequate maintenance makes for system inefficiency and wasted money. Remember to change the filter and clean the coils on your air conditioner.
For more energy saving tips, log onto www.westchestergov.com

Additional links on Air Conditioning:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/factsheets/aircond.html

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