Dominion Virginia Power Offers Home Energy Programs And Tips To Help Customers Save Energy, Money

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- With the official winter season only a short time away, now is the time to consider how much energy and money you could save by getting your home or business ready for the cold blasts of December, January and February.

With proper winterization techniques and new energy efficiency programs from Dominion Virginia Power, you could also add to your comfort while lowering your monthly bill and reducing your carbon footprint. Energy efficiency experts report that a typical home uses up to 45 percent of its energy for heating and cooling, so conservation measures in this category are especially helpful.

While there are many energy saving tips you can employ with little effort or cost, it is always good to first consider a professional, systematic approach – and Dominion offers incentives to its residential customers through its Home Energy Check-Up program.

Qualifying customers receive an on-site visit by an energy specialist and a personalized report showing projected savings from implementing specific recommendations. Rebates under the program average $230, based on energy saving measures implemented. For more information, visit www.dom.com/homeenergycheckup or call 1-866-DOM-HELP.

Information on other new energy conservation programs from Dominion can be found at www.dom.com/energyconservation.

With the home energy calculator on Dominion's website at www.dom.com/about/conservation/energy-calculators-help-find-energy-savings.jsp, you can quickly estimate the potential energy, dollar and even carbon dioxide savings from making significant home energy efficiency improvements.

In addition to the energy calculators, the Dominion Virginia Power website has extensive information about saving energy.

• For 10 important conservation measures, including short instructional videos, to help you save energy this winter, visit: http://www.dom.com/about/conservation/winter-tips.jsp
• Simple, easy energy-saving ideas are available at: http://www.dom.com/tips.  
• Join an ongoing conversation about saving energy and helping the environment on the Dominion Energy Conservation blog at: http://e-conserve.blogspot.com/

If you are the do-it-your-self type and just want to get started right away, here are some basic but important steps:

• Regularly clean or replace the air filters on your forced-air heating system.  This reduces the energy needed to move air through the system and helps your blower last longer.
• Check your duct system and seal any leaks where hot air is escaping.
• Seal windows and doors with calk or weather stripping.
• To make sure your heating system is operating safely and at maximum efficiency, have a professional perform a maintenance check-up at least once a year.

Information on energy conservation programs available from Dominion, including programs for duct testing and sealing and heat pump testing, is available at www.dom.com/savenowVA.

Helpful energy saving information also can be found at ENERGY STAR^® sites run by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Here are several:

• EPA Guide to Sealing and Insulating
• Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency
• Heating and Cooling Efficiently

With winter coming, Dominion also asks everyone to consider making a contribution to EnergyShare, a program that helps those in need keep their homes warm during the winter and cool in the summer after all other forms of assistance have been exhausted.

Customers can contribute to EnergyShare by adding an extra $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $25 or $35 monthly to their Dominion Virginia Power bills or by including a separate check for any amount with their payments. All contributions are tax deductible in accordance with Internal Revenue Service regulations and can be mailed to EnergyShare, P.O. Box 11186, Richmond, VA 23230-1186.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy. Dominion operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage system and serves retail energy customers in 15 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.

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SOURCE Dominion Virginia Power