Electricity

Most electricity today is produced by burning fossil fuels, which releases greenhouse gases into the air. Although it seems as if we can't live without it, there are certainly a lot of things we can do to cut down on the amount of electricity we use every day.

Careless Currents

Sometimes, it's very obvious when we're wasting electricity. From leaving the light on when we're not home, to forgetting to shut the window when we turn up the A.C, we're all guilty. Once we become more aware of the problem, it's a lot easier to pay attention to these seemingly little mistakes.

Vampire Voltage

It might come as a surprise, but when that cell phone charger is plugged into the wall with your cell phone nowhere near, it's still charging! Anything that's plugged in is using "vampire" electricity even if it's not powered on. Vampire energy can add as much as 10% to your electricity bill, so unplug those chargers and anything else you aren't using constantly.

Antique Appliances

We don't tend to replace large appliances in the home very often, since the upfront cost is quite high, but using newer energy efficient appliances can actually save us about 40% on our bills every month, and that savings adds up! A more affordable but important update we can make is trading traditional incandescent light bulbs for CFL bulbs which use 70% less energy.

Temperature Temptation

It might be tempting to blast our AC or heat when it's uncomfortable outside, but sometimes we get carried away and forget how easy it is to simply put on (or take off) a big sweater. Another offense is leaving the heat or A.C. on when we're not home because we want it to be working when we get in. The truth is, it only takes about 15 minutes for these units to hit desired temperature, so we may have left it running for 8 hours to avoid a 15 minute wait.

Philly Zoo to the Rescue

Electricity is a major component of our Sustainability Plan. We plan to reduce usage 35% by 2018, and in 2017 we've already reached 26%. All new construction is built with energy efficient lighting such as CFL bulbs and motion sensor lights, and older facilities are being updated gradually. The Philadelphia Zoo is also one of the few zoos that participates in a city demand response program, which means that when energy usage is high throughout the city (such as during a heat wave or cold snap) the zoo will limit its usage and turn off all nonessential electricity. Last but not least, some of the buildings on our campus even use geothermal energy, which creates electricity using heat from the earth rather than burning fossil fuels.