October is Energy Awareness Month. The Energy Education Council encourages you to turn awareness into action and to take steps to become more energy efficient this October.

"Energy is a vital part of our modern lives. We use energy in our homes, businesses, and transportation," explains Molly Hall, executive director of the Energy Education Council. "We hope that people will make changes during Energy Awareness Month that become year-round efficiency habits."

There are many ways to be more efficient. The Energy Education Council has the following tips to help increase your energy efficiency:

• Timing is everything when it comes to energy. Electricity demand is at its highest in the afternoon and early evening. You can save money and ease stress on the electric grid by doing activities that require lots of energy in late evening or at night.
• Turn off or unplug electronics you are not using. Use power strips so that you can turn multiple electronics on and off at once.
• When you leave a room, turn off lights, fans, and electronics that are not in use.
• Use efficiency settings on monitors, computers, and other electronics.
• Consider plugging your computer and television into smart power strips. Smart strips sense when a computer is in sleep mode and when a TV is turned off. The smart strip will turn off all related electronic (like printers, electric staplers, coffee machines, etc).

 For more information on energy efficiency, visit EnergyEdCouncil.org. 

Is your company doing anything to be more energy efficient? What changes have you made recently. Do you have any photos to send? Contact Heather Klotz-Young @ klotz-youngh@bnpmedia.com.