Home Energy Saving Tips
Everyone wants to save money when they can. Here are some energy saving tips that will help you save energy and help the planet at the same time! Let’s review some ways that you can save money on your energy bill. Some of these energy saving tips may seem small, but the small things add up.
Technology is nice. Real nice. And sometimes we wonder how we lived without it. But all of the high tech devices in our homes run the power bill up. Make sure that you turn them off when they are not in use. As a matter of fact, many still use energy when turned off. The best method is to unplug them. Or you can plug them into a power strip and turn the strip off. Actually that power strip may save your high tech equipment from power surges!
Heating and cooling is a big part of your energy bill. Let’s make sure that we don’t make those systems work any harder than they have to. Let’s make sure that our home is sealed from the outside elements. Check for air leaks around windows, doors and any other joints. The best way to check is to move a feather or candle around the area and see if there is any air moving. If there is, use some sealant to seal the cracks and recheck. This is one of the energy saving tips that could really pay you back in savings!
Also make sure that you have serviceable weather stripping around doors and anything else that moves. Don’t forget about that attic or basement door.
Make sure that you keep your vents clear. Insure that they are not being blocked by drapes, carpets, furniture, or anything else. Make sure that they are clean.
Drapes are great to help with windows that aren’t as energy efficient as they could be. Or to help with your use of the sun. If you are looking for some heat from the sun open those drapes. If you are trying to cool your home close the drapes to keep the sun out. This is a very small task, but get everyone involved to insure that it happens.
This is one of those energy saving tips that might not apply to you. But look for leaks from exhaust systems such as stove vents or dryer vents.
Have your heating or air run less while you are away or are asleep. The easiest way to do this is with a programmable thermostat. They are very inexpensive and easy to install. But you can still just adjust the temperature manually if you prefer.
And one of my favorite energy saving tips! Hot water is a very large expense. When doing laundry, make sure that you use cold water when possible. Also make sure that you have a full load before you start the wash. Reduce he number of loads by making sure that they are full.
Dishwashers also use a lot of hot water. Make sure that they are full as well before you turn them on. They use the same amount of hot water no matter what size the load is.
So there you have it. A few energy saving tips that are inexpensive, and easy to implement that could save you a lot of money on your energy bill. These energy saving tips will save the planet and save your some money!
Bonus Energy Saving Tips!
If you have to replace any worn out systems or appliances, do some research to insure that you get the most energy efficient replacements.
Check your vents in your crawl space. They should be closed.
How good this tip is ??
Thank you for your sharing, energy is the most important in our world….
johns last blog post..Breathing Air Compressor
How To Stop Drafts and Save On Energy Bills
Imagine leaving a window open all winter long — the heat loss, cold drafts and wasted energy! If your home has a folding pull-down attic stair, a whole house fan, a fireplace or clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring in your home every day.
Drafts from these often overlooked holes waste energy and cost you big in the form of higher energy bills. Drafts are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home.
Drafts occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, etc. Most homeowners are well aware of the benefits that caulk and weatherstripping provide to minimize energy loss and drafts.
But what can you do about drafts from the four largest “holes” in your home — the folding attic stair, the whole house fan, the fireplace and the clothes dryer? Here are some tips and techniques that can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes.
Attic Stairs
When attic stairs are installed, a large hole (approximately 10 square feet) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be
removed, leaving only a thin, unsealed, sheet of plywood.
Your attic space is ventilated directly to the outdoors. In the winter, the attic space can be very cold, and in the summer it can be very hot. And what is separating your conditioned house from your unconditioned attic? That thin sheet of plywood.
Often a gap can be observed around the perimeter of the attic door. Try this yourself: at night, turn on the attic light and shut the attic stairway door — do you see any light coming through?
If you do, heated and air-conditioned air is leaking out of these large gaps in your home 24-hours a day. This is like leaving a window or skylight open all year ‘round.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add an insulated attic stair cover. An attic stair cover seals the stairs, stopping drafts and energy loss. Add the desired amount of insulation over the cover to restore the insulation removed from the ceiling.
Whole House Fans and Air Conditioning Vents
Much like attic stairs above, when whole house fans are installed, a large hole (up to 16 square feet or larger) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed, leaving only the drafty ceiling shutter between you and the outdoors.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a whole house fan shutter seal. Made from white textured flexible insulation, the shutter seal is installed over the ceiling shutter, secured with Velcro, and trimmed to fit. The shutter seal can also be used to seal and insulate air conditioning vents, and is easily removed when desired.
Fireplaces
Over 100 million homes, in North America are constructed with wood or gas burning fireplaces. Unfortunately there are negative side effects that the fireplace brings to a home, especially during the winter heating season. Fireplaces are energy losers.
Researchers have studied this to determine the amount of heat loss through a fireplace, and the results are amazing. One research study showed that an open damper on an unused fireplace in a well-insulated house can raise overall heating-energy consumption by 30 percent.
A recent study showed that for many consumers, their heating bills may be more than $500 higher per winter due to the drafts and wasted energy caused by fireplaces.
Why does a home with a fireplace have higher energy bills? Your chimney is an opening that leads directly outdoors — just like an open window. Even if the damper is shut, it is not airtight.
Glass doors don’t stop the drafts either. The fireplace is like a giant straw sucking your expensive heated or air-conditioned air right out of your house!
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a Fireplace Plug to your fireplace. Available from Battic Door, a company known for their energy conservation products, the Fireplace Plug is an inflatable pillow that seals the fireplace damper, eliminating drafts, odors, and noise. The pillow is removed whenever the fireplace is used, then reinserted after.
Clothes Dryer Exhaust Ducts
In many homes, the room with the clothes dryer is the coldest room in the house. Your clothes dryer is connected to an exhaust duct that is open to the outdoors. In the winter, cold drafts in through the duct, through your dryer and into your house.
Dryer vents use a sheet-metal flapper to try to reduce these drafts. This is very primitive technology that does not provide a positive seal to stop the drafts. Compounding the problem is that over time, lint clogs the flapper valve causing it to stay open.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a dryer vent seal. This will reduce unwanted drafts, and also keeps out pests, bees and rodents. The vent will remain closed unless the dryer is in use. When the dryer is in use, a floating shuttle rises to allow warm air, lint and moisture to escape.
For more information on Battic Door’s energy conservation solutions and products for your home, visit http://www.batticdoor.com or, to request a free catalog, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to P.O. Box 15, Mansfield, MA 02048.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark D. Tyrol is a Professional Engineer specializing in cause and origin of construction defects. He developed several residential energy conservation products including an attic stair cover and an attic access door. Battic Door is the US distributor of the fireplace plug. To learn more visit http://www.batticdoor.com
Thanks, if everyone just… took these steps, already a big difference. I just wanted to point out that low costs investments such as digital programmable thermostats is a great way to conserve energy.
Digital Programmable Thermostatss last blog post..Smart Power Strip – An ideal way of Conserving Electricity In The House
Hehe, I always forget about the hot water when doing laundry and I really could use the extra money! My family wastes so much all the time and it is extremely rare that anyone of the notices it, I mean my son goes to the bathroom and flushes it for anything and everything, I believe that you should only flush it if someone has used it #2 (if you catch my drift). I am suprised and extremely happy about the amazing number of people, small businesses, and large companies that have stepped up to the plate when it comes to green living and stepping things up a notch. Even the government has been doing an extrodinary job the past few months and are constantely planning new techniques to save our plant. Great post, I believe that people like you are the reason why anyone cares about going green and saving resources at all, so commend yourself! Your doing a great job here, so keep it up!! I am looking forward to reading your ebook, I am checking out all of the details now, but I think I am going to buy it for sure. Anyways, have a good day.
In addition to this great article, I recommend triple pane R-5 windows. They are more expensive than your average window, but they save up to 40% of heat loss through the window.
I believe that eventually this will be the norm of all mid-level to high-end home and office construction. Although the cost is much higher per unit, but over time the energy savings will more than pay for the windows themselves. I assist my customers day in and day out with all their specialty wood needs as well as other types and I can tell you that all of them want to save money in their future energy costs. You have to figure that a house is an investment and you need to prepare for the future by choosing these windows as the price of everything is rising, so will the cost of electricity. Think of this as buying a hybrid vehicle versus a gas guzzling SUV with a V-8, you will expect to pay more up front but it will pay off over time in fuel savings.
Thanks,
David Williams