Featured Story

Meet the Almonte Family

Javier Quintero, Milagros Almonte, and their two children, 17-year-old Alexis and 13-year-old Miyalez, live in a single family home in Miami, Florida.

Why They Decided to Make Changes

The primary motivation for the changes was to reduce their monthly energy bill. The Almonte family also has a genuine concern about global warming and energy consumption, and wanted to minimize their impact on the environment.

Brief Overview of Home Improvements

The Almonte family renovated their entire kitchen, updating the outdated kitchen appliances to ENERGY STAR qualified models and adding ENERGY STAR qualified lighting.

What the Almonte Family Did to Save Energy

Javier replaced the outdated water heater to save energy. He also installed weather-stripping around leaky windows and door frames and sealed holes around electrical outlets. Javier then installed a new refrigerator because the old one’s motor was always running. The family bought an ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator, which runs smoothly and has an ice/water machine that keeps the kids from unnecessarily opening the refrigerator door. The new gas stove has an electronic ignition, which uses 40 percent less gas than a pilot light. The Almontes keep the gas burners clean to maximize efficiency.

Since both kids use the computer to do homework, Javier bought an ENERGY STAR qualified computer. Javier has programmed the computer to shut down when not in use for 30 minutes. Finally, they installed new ENERGY STAR compact fluorescent light bulbs all around the house.

Results of the Improvements

The Almonte family is quite satisfied with all their ENERGY STAR qualified kitchen appliances and new washer. They wash laundry with cold water whenever possible and reduce drying time for partial loads. Now that the Almonte family has all new ENERGY STAR appliances, they are saving $63 a month in utility costs.

Additional Plans for Home Improvements

Javier is looking to install a central heating/air conditioning system to replace the wall units in each room. He plans to install a programmable thermostat to control the temperature in the house.

Advice from the Family

• Educate your kids on how to be energy efficient so they can help in saving money on utility bills.
• It is important to be conscious of how much electricity is in use and take small actions to cut back, such as always turning off lights if they’re not being used.