This the second article of a two part series looking at the relationship between energy and pets.  Read part 1 about heating and cooling your pet here.

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Nearly seventy percent of American households are home to a pet, resulting in a collective count of over 400 million fish, dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, and more. However, as much as we may cherish our pets, these creatures may be unnecessarily inflating your electricity and natural gas bill. While pets tend to be relatively low-tech creatures, there are a variety of electronic devices we use with our pets and habits induced by pets that could be contributing to your home’s idle load.

Here are some tips on how you can reduce your home’s energy bills as it relates to the ownership of pets.

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Air Filtration/Purification

For those who use a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter, or similar air filtration device, consider how often you run your filter and whether you keep it plugged in at all times. Perhaps your HEPA filter doesn’t need to run 24/7 to achieve the desired air quality.

A timer may be the perfect solution to reducing your filter’s energy use. For example, you could set a timer to run the filter for two or three hours before you return from work so you can come home to dander-free air. Alternatively, you can use a timer to run the filter intermittently. Having your filter run for 15 minutes every hour may be enough to reset the air quality without wasting energy. Experiment with different times and durations to see what works best for you. You can also control your device through your smartphone or by voice command.

Remember to clean/change the filter when needed. A clogged filter reduces the volume of air that passes through the filter.  You’ll be using the same amount of energy but getting less air cleaning action.

Some air purification devices use high heat to sterilize the air, then cools it down a bit before returning it to the room. However, it’s still warmer than typical indoor temperatures, so during summer time the air conditioner may be working harder to maintain a comfortable environment.

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Drinking Water Filtration

Often times, as long as your city’s water quality report states that municipal water is satisfactory for humans to consume, it is perfectly fine for your pet to consume it as well. However, if you feel that your pet requires filtered drinking water, then there are ways you can provide such water without raising your energy bill.

Consider using a non-electrical method to filter water. While there are plenty of systems that run water through filters using gravity or normal water pressure in the delivery line, more often than not these filters are disposable and have a limited lifespan. Therefore, they still possess a high embodied energy and each time a filter is sent to the landfill, all of the resources used to manufacture the filter have gone to waste as well. When purchasing a filtration system, keep in mind how often the filter needs to be changed.

If non-electrical filtration is not to your taste, use a timer to have your water filter run for limited periods of time. Just as with most devices plugged in 24/7, timers or smart sockets allow you to get the benefit you want when you need it while reducing wasted energy.

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Other Water Filtration

For pets that reside in aquariums, an electrical pump may be involved in the water filtration and aeration process. The primary concern with tank water filtration and energy usage is to balance the minimum filtration time while keeping the water quality up to the standard required for the optimal health of your pet. Experiment with different timer settings to see what works best for your aquarium.

If you have an outdoor fish pond and use a UV clarifier for algae control, you may want to consider non-electric and natural methods for pond maintenance. There are several websites that give tips on achieving a sustainable and balanced ecosystem. Here’s one that talks about using barley straw.

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Self-Cleaning Litter Boxes & Automatic Pet Feeders

These devices can be useful when caring for your pets, but they all consume energy. Here’s how to find out how much.

There are electricity usage monitors you can get, such as this Kill A Watt meter which lets you directly measure the electricity that a device is drawing.  If you’re lucky, your local public library may have a stock of these meters or a similar model that you can borrow for a couple of weeks.

Plug the meter in between the device and the wall outlet,  Then, take a reading (in Watts) when the device is turned on. You can calculate the energy cost of a continually running device by inserting your electricity rate (in dollars per kilowatt-hour) below:

Yearly Cost  =  [# Watts]  x  [24 hours/day x 365 days/year]   x  [0.001 kW/Watt]  x  [$elec. rate/kW-hr]

While you’re at it, turn the device off and check to see if it’s still consuming any electricity. If the meter reading doesn’t drop to 0 Watts; you’ve got a phantom or vampire load (using electricity and not providing any benefit to you).

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