Energy Saving Tips

In 2001, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory published the results of the National Human Activity Pattern Survey. It revealed that, on average, Americans spend 87% of their time indoors and an additional 6% in enclosed vehicles. In 1800, 90% of...

As cold weather begins to set in, many people retreat to their garage to escape the chill. As do vehicles, so drivers hope to avoid scraping off ice and snow in the morning. If there’s any space remaining, ongoing projects are moved in with hopes of ...

Have you ever reminisced about how hot a summer or how cold a particular winter was? It seems to be human nature to compare current outdoor temperatures to weather we experienced in the past. One of the late Johnny Carson’s favorite ways to set up a ...

Any long-time grain producer in Nebraska will tell you the key to a successful season depends on their crops getting the correct amount of moisture, in the correct manner and at the correct time without any other major devastations. During some wet y...

These days, instead of hearing a local dairy farmer hollering “Bessie,” you’re more likely to hear one of Nebraska’s public power utilities refer to “BESS” when discussing reliability. Rather than a seasoned Holstein cow, however, they are talking ab...

As summer heats up, it’s great to know your home’s air conditioning system can provide relief. It’s also good to know you can find a cold beverage in your refrigerator to cool down with. That wouldn’t be possible without the refrigeration process pio...

Have you stopped at or driven by a convenience store in the middle of the day and noticed the canopy lights over the gas pumps are on? Or have you noticed a streetlight in your area that never shuts off? What about a glaring yard light that irradiate...

You know it’s springtime when you hear certain sounds in the fresh morning air: the gentle rumble of an approaching thunderstorm, the soft buzzing of bees pollinating flowers, the singing of songbirds announcing their return . . . and that overzealou...

Could your home have an Intelligence Quotient (IQ)? While IQ tests are designed to assess human intelligence and not inanimate objects, people are seeking ways for their home to make autonomous, logical decisions and take independent actions to impro...

If you are a Nebraska field crop producer who irrigates, you probably have a preferred method of determining when to turn the pumps on. For most with an occupation not related to farming, their guess as to when to water a crop would be pure speculati...

As a Cornhusker, we love being top-ranked in the nation. However, there’s top ranking we need to be very concerned about: As per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2023 report, Nebraska ranks third in the country for radon prevalence,...

If you’ve ever lived through a few Nebraska winters in an old house with single-pane windows, you’ve likely observed the exquisite and ornate artwork by “Jack Frost”. Painted overnight, this left-behind artistry of frosty, fern-like patterns seemed t...

For something as ubiquitous as electric lighting, it may be hard to imagine a time when our homes were without it. However, using electricity for residential illumination only became common in the U.S. during the 1940s. Since then, we’ve been extendi...

While demand for tankless water heaters continues to increase, more than 95% of homes have conventional storage tank heaters installed. About half use electric resistance or heat pump technology to produce hot water, while the other half uses natural...

During this time of the year, many are switching their thermostats from “cooling” to “heating” mode.  This is also a good time to check and change filters in heating and cooling (HVAC) systems. Some may have not been replaced since the start of the c...

Air compressors have been a versatile tool over the years and compressed air has been one of the driving forces of modern-day life. From simply airing up a tire to a plethora of applications in heavy industrial processes, compressed air has a wide ra...

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey indicates that homes in our part of the Midwest consume nearly 9% of their electricity completing laundry. In addition to providing energy savings, all-in-one was...

As the heat of summer cranks up, so do the central air conditioners and heat pumps across Nebraska. In fact, approximately 90% of homes in our state have one of these central cooling systems. The vast majority have a compressor unit that buzzes outsi...

Of the more than one million food service businesses in the United States, the National Restaurant Association estimates more than 260,000 are full-service restaurants. Considering the average restaurant serves about 100 customers per day, that means...

In June of 1752, Benjamin Franklin and his son, William, conducted the famous kite-in-a-thunderstorm experiment to demonstrate the relationship between lightning and electricity. By attaching the kite to a Leyden jar, which was an early type of batte...

First introduced in the 1950s, recessed lighting or “can lighting” is still a popular choice for residential and commercial lighting. Traditionally, these fixtures consist of a cylindrical or square-shaped metal housing that extends above the ceiling...

Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) is committed to working in partnership with local utility customers to maximize the value of their energy purchases in a cost-effective manner. To understand its importance in our future, we need to examine where...

Can you think back to your childhood and remember the “magic” of icicles? While growing up in a century-old farm house, I remember wintry “No School” days when my mom would bundle me up in so many layers of sweatshirts, coats and overalls that I coul...

Many Nebraska homes use an air-source heat pump (ASHP) to provide indoor comfort during the winter season. Considering 40% of average annual residential energy is used to keep homes warm, ASHPs provide higher energy efficiency than any furnace. As a ...

If you’re one of the more than 4,600 Nebraskans with an electric vehicle (EV) registered in Nebraska this year, congratulations! According to www.fueleconomy.gov, your vehicle converts more than 77% of the electrical energy from the grid to power at ...

From October through March, the average Nebraska home consumes more than one-third of its annual energy requirements to keep warm and cozy. It is no wonder heating is the largest energy expenditure most people have. Here are a few ways to keep a few ...