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energy efficiency

Keeping your home comfortable without breaking the bank

Follow these winter tips to save energy and money. Don’t jack up your thermostat. The Department of Energy recommends keeping the thermostat at 68 degrees while you’re awake and at home. But when you’re asleep or away, you can turn it lower. Our friends at the Citizens Utility Board in Minnesota,…...

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A CUB Buyer’s Guide to LED Bulbs

Lighting accounts for approximately 20 percent of a typical electric bill, so using energy efficient bulbs can result in big savings. If enough people switch to LEDs (light-emitting diodes), by 2027 the U.S. could save about $265 billion, according to a Department of Energy estimate. But how do you choose…...

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New EDF/CUB study shows potential of real-time pricing to cut power bills

Ninety-seven percent of a sample of Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) customers would have saved money in 2016—without changing their electricity use—had they participated in a “real-time pricing” program in which power prices change hourly, according to new research released today. In a broad, first-of-its-kind study, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Citizens…...

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Yes, it’s time to start thinking about winter

It may not seem like it, but winter is approaching and it’s time to make your monthly to-do list for getting your home ready for the cold season. A suggested schedule: September: -Have your furnace inspected by a certified HVAC professional before the winter. If you have a heating system…...

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Why we care about energy efficiency

Our recently-finished quarterly newsletter, The CUB Voice, is our “green” issue, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Some of our leaders in Washington want to defund Energy Star, an efficiency program that has cut business and residential utility bills by $430 billion since its inception in 1992.…...

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Central, Southern IL customers to ICC: Don’t let Ameren cut back on efficiency goals

People from Central and Southern Illinois today urged the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to deny Ameren’s attempt to dodge efficiency goals required in the Future Energy Jobs Act, historic legislation that passed the General Assembly last year. “We need the local jobs, local savings on energy bills and health benefits…...

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Don’t fall for these energy efficiency myths

There’s a lot of information out there about what you should do to keep your home more efficient. Unfortunately, a lot of it is untrue or misleading. Here are some of the most common or misleading energy efficiency myths CUB found, so you can avoid the mistakes and still save…...

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Speak up: Fight Ameren’s attack on energy efficiency

This week, CUB sent out a special e-newsletter to alert you to a new threat to energy efficiency that has the potential to raise Illinois power bills. What happened? Just months ago Illinois passed the Future Energy Jobs Act that requires the state’s biggest utilities to reduce electricity waste more…...

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State Capitol Update: LIHEAP and solar funds saved!

  CUB wants to thank those of you who took action to protect two excellent state programs: Illinois Solar for All and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). A few weeks ago, funding for those programs was in danger of being “swept”—or used for different purposes in the…...

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New milestone: $2.5 billion in consumer savings

CUB joined ComEd and Elevate Energy at the Shedd Aquarium today to celebrate an important milestone: $2.5 billion in consumer savings because of energy efficiency. But this milestone is just one step on the path to even bigger savings to come for Illinois customers. The Future Energy Jobs Act—historic energy…...

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