Saving energy used to be a necessity. Now it's a habit.
Wes Furman, a post-graduate student, grew up in a house in the forest where power outages were common. Getting electricity was always difficult, he said.
Now that he has moved out of the forest and into the city, he said cutting back on energy use comes naturally, because his parents used to do it.
"I keep my house fairly cold," Furman said. "I tend to walk around with sweaters all the time."
Keeping the thermostat low leaves his gas bill at about $20 a month.
In the United States, 44 percent of a resident's utility bill is heating and cooling, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
And the lights in Furman's house? Entirely fluorescent.
Compact fluorescent light bulbs cost about $7 each but last 10,000 hours and use eight watts of energy. Conventional bulbs cost $1 for a package and last 1,000 hours. Depending on the watts purchased, the amount of energy used can be a lot higher, said Paul Kriescher, president of Lightly Treading Inc., an energy and design company.
Changing bulbs could save up to $100 per year, he said.
But Kathy Ellis, UNM alumna, said she tries to use fluorescent bulbs whenever she can, but it hasn't saved her enough money in the past.
If students rent a home, they should consider talking with their landlord to get the home weatherized, Kriescher said.
Things such as fluorescent light bulbs, a water-heater blanket, window coverings and caulking could save on PNM bills.
Ellis said she sets her thermostat at 65 Fahrenheit at night and at 68 Fahrenheit during the day.
It can save residents up to 15 percent to 20 percent on their heating costs if the thermostat is set at 70 degrees when they are at home and at 64 degrees when they're away, according to Lightly Treading Inc.
"This is really in the interest of all New Mexicans to save energy," said Chris Wentz, director of the Energy Conservation and Management Division for New Mexico.
Low-income residents or those with disabilities can qualify for Liheap, a housing energy-assistance program that weatherizes homes at no cost to the homeowner. The program serves about 1,200 houses per year statewide.
Wentz said if more residents focused on saving energy, less energy would be lost from power plants.
According to the DOE, decreases in energy use would eliminate the need for 600 new power plants.
New Mexico might begin to offer residents incentives for lowering energy costs similar to those given to residents who use low-flow toilets.
Wentz said there are not many incentives now for residents or businesses, but he'd like to see what the state can do to influence residents to cut down on energy.
It interests people to know they can save money for life's other needs, he said.
