Earth Ministry Energy Conservation Tips

Have questions or interested in joining us?


Please contact Kate Burke at 612-518-5955 or burkekly@gmail.com


Heating & Cooling
  • Increase furnace efficiency up to 40% by checking the filter monthly and changing it when it’s dirty (at least every 3 months).
  • When it’s time to replace the furnace & A/C, buy energy efficient models.
  • Weatherstripping a drafty house can save 20% on heating.
  • Avoid wasted energy by sealing the openings made in the attic for plumbing, wiring, and chimneys. Make sure the insulation is thick enough to cover the joists and if not, consider adding more.
  • Lower your thermostat 5-8 degrees at night and when the house is unoccupied for several hours.


Cooking and Cleaning
  • Recycle your old, inefficient, rarely used, extra fridge or freezer and save $100 or more each year in energy costs.
  • Insulate your water heater, and set the temperature no higher than 120 deg
  • Washing clothes in cold water saves up to 1600 lbs of CO2 per year
  • A dryer operating an extra 15 minutes per load can cost up to $34 every year. Remember to clean the lint trap before every load to save another $34 annually.
  • Using the right sized pot on stove burners saves energy - $36 annually (electric) $18 for (gas). Save even more by using lids, boiling less water, and coordinating baking to reduce oven preheats.


Driving and Transportation
  • Stop warming up your car engine before driving it. For modern cars this wastes fuel and actually decreases the life of your engine.
  • Stop aggressive driving. Speeding, rapid acceleration, and hard braking wastes gas - 33% (Hwy) and 5% (city). Using cruise control helps even more.
  • Act intentionally, combining errands. Several short trips can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance.
  • Increase gas mileage: keep the car tires properly inflated, change the oil and oil filter regularly, and unload any heavy items not needed.
  • Stop car idling! Save $1/hr and turn off the car instead. Did you know 10 seconds of idling creates more pollution and uses more fuel than restarting the engine? Think how much you could save at railroad crossings, drive throughs, and car-lines!


Join St. Anthony on the Lake (changes we’ve made)
  • St. Anthony on the Lake has lights that automatically turn off.
  • St. Anthony’s uses LED in place of incandescent bulbs and is converting the parking lot lights and fluorescent fixtures to LEDs too.
  • St. Anthony’s re-caulked the entire church, sealing up gaps as large as ¾”.
  • St. Anthony’s installed a control system to setback the heat in unoccupied zones resulting in huge energy savings.
  • St. Anthony’s replaced 2 of its 4 boilers with 95% energy efficient variable fuel models which use much less energy than the inefficient fixed fuel units they replaced.
  • St. Anthony on the Lake insulated the hot water and A/C pipes.
  • St. Anthony on the Lake installed 2 Reverse osmosis filters and now uses tap water instead of disposable water bottles.


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