Energy Efficiency Expo shows Columbia residents how to cut down on utility bills

Boone Electric Cooperative, Ameren Missouri and the City of Columbia sponsored the 2013 Energy Efficiency Expo in Columbia Saturday afternoon.

“The main concern is my bill seems to be getting higher… what can I do to make my house more energy efficient?” said Chris Rohlfing, manager at Boone Electric Cooperative.

Connie Kacprowicz, with Columbia Water and Light told ABC 17 News about several ways to save energy and money, starting with the bathroom.

“If you have an older faucet, it’s using 6 gallons per minute, where some of these newer ones you can see the stream is the same but its only using 2.5 gallons per minute,” said Kacprowicz. “Toilets can loose a huge amount of water, too.”

Keeping a house warm in the winter is often costly. But experts suggest one way to save money is to clean furnace filters every 3-5 months.

“People leave their filters in for way too long, and all that dust and dirt from your home collects in the filter and then its obviously blocking the air that comes out,” said Kacprowicz.

Blocking air coming in is what good insulation will do.

Energy efficient light bulbs for your house can be more expensive upfront but Kacprowicz told ABC 17 that it is worth it.

“Some of the new LED technologies are expensive, but they will use less energy and last longer,” said Kacprowicz.