Deputy Secretary of Energy Demonstrates "Easy Ways to Save Energy" This Winter

October 12, 2005

WILMINGTON, DE – Today, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Clay Sell was joined by Rep. Mike Castle today to highlight easy and inexpensive ways consumers can reduce their energy bills this winter.

With higher home heating costs expected over the next several months, all citizens and businesses are encouraged to take simple steps to reduce their energy consumption. This visit to Wilmington is Deputy Secretary Sell’s first stop on the national “Easy Ways to Save Energy” campaign.


“Every single one of us is a consumer in the energy market and are affected by any price increase, but we can all be part of the solution by increasing energy efficiency,” DOE Deputy Secretary Clay Sell said. “The greatest source of energy at our disposal is the energy that we currently waste; so we want to empower all Americans with helpful and easy money-saving tips that will allow them to stretch their dollar as far as possible while keeping their homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

I encourage everyone to visit the www.energysavers.gov website for tips on how to save money and prepare for the cold winter months.”


On Monday, October 3, 2005, Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman launched the Department of Energy’s national “Easy Ways to Save Energy” campaign, a comprehensive approach to improving energy efficiency for consumers, businesses and the government.

The campaign features:

For Consumers:

An informative “Energy $avers” guide outlining easy ways to improve home energy efficiency available through the Department of Energy or online at www.energysavers.gov; An aggressive public education effort including online, print, radio and television ads featuring the “Energy Hog” - a character similar to McGruff the Crime Dog and Smokey the Bear; An “Energy Hog” curriculum to be used by teachers in grades 3-8 featuring web-based games and take-home activities; A series of radio public service announcements in English and Spanish featuring energy saving tips that have been distributed to 4,500 stations across the United States;


For Businesses:

Industrial Energy Saving Teams that will be dispatched to help improve the efficiency of 200 of America’s most energy-intensive factories; Department of Energy is making the Energy $avers guide available to be reprinted and distributed by manufacturers, retailers and local utilities;

For the Federal Government:

Secretary Bodman has directed teams of qualified energy experts to deploy to federal facilities to identify quick and easy ways to save energy this winter. The federal government is the largest consumer of energy in the United States.

Easy tips for consumers include:

Making sure your home is properly insulated. Proper insulation in attics, ceilings, floors, crawlspaces and exterior and basement walls can save 30 percent on home heating bills; Installing a programmable thermostat. Turning down a thermostat from 72 to 65 degrees for eight ours a day will save up to 10 percent on your heating bill; Replacing existing light bulbs with Energy Star qualified fluorescent lights in the lamps and fixtures in your home; this can save up to 50 percent on lighting costs.


For more on the Department of Energy’s “Easy Ways to Save Energy” campaign, visit www.energysavers.gov or call DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy toll-free hotline at 1-877-EERE-INF (1-877-337-3463).

Media contact:Mike Waldron, 202/586-4940