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Energy-efficient improvements to your home will not only make you more comfortable, they can yield long-term financial rewards. Reduced operating costs more than make up for the higher price of energy-efficient appliances and improvements over their lifetimes. Improvements may also qualify you for an energy efficiency mortgage, which allows lenders to use a higher than normal debt to income ratio to calculate loan potential. In addition, your home will likely have a higher resale value.
Whole-House Energy Saving Tips
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Always look for the most energy efficient appliances on the market. Visit Energy Star for a listing and for other energy tips.
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Check the level of insulation in your exterior and basement walls, ceilings, attic, floors and crawl spaces. Know the required insulation levels
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Check for holes or cracks around your walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light and plumbing fixtures, switches and electric outlets that can leak air into or out of your home.Check for open fireplace dampers
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Make sure your appliances and heating and cooling systems are properly maintained.
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Study your family’s lighting needs and use patterns. Look for ways to use daylighting, reduce the time lights are on and replace incandescent bulbs and fixtures with compact or standard fluorescent lamps.
Insulation and Weatherization TipsConsider factors such as your climate, building design and budget when selecting insulation R-value for your home.
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Use higher density insulation, such as rigid foam boards, in cathedral ceilings and on exterior walls.
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Ventilation plays a large role in providing moisture control and reducing summer cooling bills. Attic vents can be installed along the entire ceiling cavity to help ensure proper airflow from the soffit to the attic.
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Measure the thickness of your attic insulation. If there is less than R-22 (7 inches of fiber glass or rock wool or 6 inches of cellulose) you could benefit by adding more
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Recessed light fixtures can be a major source of heat loss, but you need to be careful how close you place insulation next to a fixture unless it is marked “I.C.”—designed for direct insulation contact.
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Caulk, seal and weatherstrip all doors, windows, seams, cracks and openings to the outside. Reducing air leaks can save 10% or more on your energy bill. Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ducting or wiring penetrates through exterior walls, floors or ceilings.
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Install rubber gaskets behind outlet and switch plates on exterior walls.
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Install storm windows over single-pane windows to reduce drafts and double the R-value.
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Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer.
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Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed.
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Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters and radiators as needed; be sure they are not blocked by furniture or drapes.
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Use kitchen, bath and other ventilating fans wisely; in just one hour thsee fans can pull out a houseful of warmed or cooled air.
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Keep drapes and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day hours of the heating season to allow sunlight to help warm the home. During the cooling season, keep window coverings closed to prevent solar gain.
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Whole-house fans help cool your home by pulling cool air through the house and exhausting warm air through the attic. They are most effective when operated at night and when the outside air is cooler than the inside.
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Don’t place lamps or TV sets near your air-conditioning thermostat. The thermostat may sense heat from these appliances and cause the air conditioner to run longer than necessary.
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Save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling bills by simply turning your thermostat back 10% to 15% for 8 hours through the use of a programmable thermostat.
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Repair leaky faucets promptly, a leaky faucet wastes gallons of water in a short period.
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Insulate your gas or electric hot-water storage tank and pipes; do not cover the thermostat or burner compartment.
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Install nonaerating, low-flow faucets and showerheads.
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Most water heaters last 10-15 years. Start shopping before your heater fails to find the most energy-efficient heater on the market. The initial higher cost will produce energy savings that will last the lifetime of the heater.
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Lower the thermostat on your water heater; a setting of 115ºF is comfortable for most uses.
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Take more showers than baths. Bathing uses the most hot water in the average household. You use 15-25 gallons of hot water for a bath, but less than 10 gallons during a 5-minute shower.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 18 January 2011 09:24 |
Energy Efficiency
