Making your home more energy efficient

Making your home more energy efficient

Taking steps toward making your home more energy-efficient can save money on your monthly energy bill. Here are some ways to help save money:

Lighting Fixtures, Appliances, and Electronics
Look for the ENERGY STAR® on all types of light fixtures, including table and floor lamps, ceiling fixtures, pendant fixtures, recessed cans, appliances, electronics, and more.

Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs)
Between five percent and 10 percent of your home’s monthly energy bill goes toward lighting. You can reduce that spending by switching from incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.

Air filters – Change air filters every month. Dirty filters can increase operating costs by making your air conditioning system work harder to pull air through a dirty filter.

Insulate against heat and cooling loss.

  • Weather-strip around doors and windows.
  • Seal cracks or crevices where two different building materials meet.
  • It’s also a good idea to weather-strip between heated and unheated areas such as garages, basements and attic openings.
  • Caulking and weather-stripping windows and doors is a relatively easy and low-cost step to previnting heating and A/C loss.
  • Check all locations where plumbing and electrical come into your home and seal any gaps you find.

 Save energy by setting your thermostat at 68 degrees – set it even lower at night or when you’re not at home. You will save up to 22% on your heating costs compared to a setting of 72 degrees.

Blanket your water heater.
Put an insulation blanket around your water heater if it is located outside in a garage or on a porch. It will help prevent heat loss and make it easier to maintain water temperature without excess energy use. To determine if it needs a blanket, simply put your hand on the side of the tank. If you can feel the hot water inside, your heater needs a blanket.

Consider new windows. Replace single pane windows with double paned insulated windows. The air space between the panes creates insulation against outside temperatures and prevents heating and A/C loss.

Add attic insulation if necessary. Older homes may not have sufficient insulation in the attic to prevent heating and cooling loss. Attic insulation acts as a blanket against heat and cooling loss through the attic. We can add blow- in insulation in the attic to achieve the proper R-Value.

Inspect air conditioning ductwork in the attic to make sure you are not losing heating and cooling from duct leaks.

Comments

  • Phoebe Clarke | May 11,2010

    Incandescent light bulbs will soon be phased out because they waste a lot of energy.“.

  • Electric Griddle · | Nov 14,2010

    LED floor lamps are the newest design when it comes to lighting the floor area. they do not run as hot as traditional floor lamps :’;

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