Now that the summer heat—and summertime utility bills—are making you sweat, you might want to consider making a few changes to cut your energy consumption. You can shave dollars off your monthly bills without sacrificing comfort, as long as you plan ahead and get creative. Here’s US News and World Report’s room-by-room guide to saving money this summer and benefiting the Earth at the same time!
Most people don’t know how easy it is to make their homes run on less energy, and here at InterNACHI, we want to change that.
Drastic reductions in heating, cooling and electricity costs can be accomplished through very simple changes, most of which homeowners can do themselves. Of course, for homeowners who want to take advantage of the most up-to-date knowledge and systems in home energy efficiency, InterNACHI energy auditors can perform in-depth testing to find the best energy solutions for your particular home.
Why make your home more energy efficient? Here are a few good reasons:
As much as half of the energy used in homes goes toward heating and cooling. The following are a few ways that energy bills can be reduced through adjustments to the heating and cooling systems:
Demand-type water heaters (tankless or instantaneous) provide hot water only as it is needed. They don’t produce the standby energy losses associated with traditional storage water heaters, which will save on energy costs. Tankless water heaters heat water directly without the use of a storage tank. When a hot water tap is turned on, cold water travels through a pipe into the unit. A gas burner or an electric element heats the water. As a result, demand water heaters deliver a constant supply of hot water. You don’t need to wait for a storage tank to fill up with enough hot water.
The average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Traditional incandescent lights convert approximately only 10% of the energy they consume into light, while the rest becomes heat. The use of new lighting technologies, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), can reduce the energy use required by lighting by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time that lights are on but not being used. Here are some facts about CFLs and LEDs:
Sealing and insulating your home is one of the most cost-effective ways to make a home more comfortable and energy-efficient, and you can do it yourself. A tightly sealed home can improve comfort and indoor air quality while reducing utility bills. An InterNACHI energy auditor can assess leakage in the building envelope and recommend fixes that will dramatically increase comfort and energy savings.
The following are some common places where leakage may occur:
Because hot air rises, air leaks are most likely to occur in the attic. Homeowners can perform a variety of repairs and maintenance to their attics that save them money on cooling and heating, such as:
The following systems can be installed to conserve water usage in homes:
Appliances and electronics account for about 20% of household energy bills in a typical U.S. home. The following are tips that will reduce the required energy of electronics and appliances:
Daylighting is the practice of using natural light to illuminate the home’s interior. It can be achieved using the following approaches:
About one-third of the home’s total heat loss usually occurs through windows and doors. The following are ways to reduce energy lost through windows and doors:
An enormous amount of energy is wasted while cooking. The following recommendations and statistics illustrate less wasteful ways of cooking:
by Nick Gromicko, Ben Gromicko, and Kenton Shepard • InterNACHI
According to Energy Star, a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL), which costs only a few dollars, will save about $30 over its lifespan and will pay for itself in just six months. In addition, CFLs actually reduce mercury emissions around the world, because they lessen the need for electricity from power plants that emit mercury. Coal-fired power generation accounts for 51 percent of the mercury emissions in the U.S. But CFL bulbs contain mercury, so some people prefer not to use them due to safety concerns if a bulb brakes. LED light bulbs (light-emitting diodes) cost more upfront but last even longer than CFLs, consume less energy and they contain no mercury.
What are some other easy ways to save energy and money? How about getting rid of the phantom of the office? Desktop computers and laptops continue to use power in sleep mode if they are plugged in. There are similar phantoms-phantom electrical loads-that can be found throughout the home. In fact, the Department of Energy estimates that 75 percent of electricity used to power home electronics is actually consumed while the products are turned off. Some people feel it is not convenient to turn multiple appliances and electronics on and off, but a power strip allows multiple devices to be turned off with one switch. Conserving water is becoming a fact of life. Using less water will lower the overall water bill, and using less hot water will save on the electric or gas bill. Lowering the hot water temperature to 120° saves energy and is hot enough for showers and use in clothes washers and dishwashers. Water-efficient fixtures, including showerheads, faucets and toilets are available, and appliances should be upgraded to those labeled with the Energy Star designation as they are replaced. Demand-type water heaters (tankless) provide hot water only where it is needed and do not produce the standby energy losses associated with traditional storage water heaters. Creating a drought-resistant landscaping can also cut down on water usage outdoors.
When the air-conditioner is on, another way to reduce energy consumption is by raising the temperature. For every degree higher it is set, cooling costs are reduced between seven and ten percent. Periodically replace air filters when running the heating or cooling system and it will operate more efficiently. Ceiling and whole-house fans can also play a large role in keeping inside temperatures manageable while reducing cooling and heating costs.
With more than fifty percent of a home’s energy use going towards heating and cooling, slowing the flow of air between inside and out can make it easier to control temperature. Adding insulation in the ceiling is one way to reduce that air flow. Measuring the current level of insulation is easy and can be done using a yardstick to measure the thickness of the insulation, and then multiplying the thickness by the R-value (resistance to heat flow) of the insulation material. The R-value ratings of a variety of attic insulations can be found on the Department of Energy website. The site also lists the appropriate R-value ratings for various parts of the country. Adding insulation to an attic is often one of the most cost-effective methods of improving a home’s energy performance.
Sealing areas where air leaks may occur will save energy and lower energy costs. Some common areas to check include weather-stripping around doors, caulk around window frames and any unsealed spaces around pipes; check for air leaks in the attic hatch, around fireplace dampers, mail slots, and wall- or window-mounted air conditioners.
Readers Digest says in an article that Appliances eventually wear out. Certain parts simply fail with time. It’s inevitable. But abuse and neglect can speed up the breakdown rate of stoves, dishwashers, fridges, clothes dryers and washing machines, helping to keep repairmen busy.” Here are some of the most common ways that homeowners contribute to the demise of their appliances, along with advice for avoiding these errors that damage dishwashers washing machines, clothes dryers, lass and ceramic stove tops and fridges and freezers.
The polar vortex has descended with a vengeance on much of the U.S. this year, setting records for low temperatures and threatening to send utility bills skyrocketing. While you can’t do anything about the chilly weather, you can take steps to make your home more energy efficient and pay less for heating. To start, the U.S. Department of Energy has a do-it-yourself energy audit on its website, or you can call a contractor for a professional audit. Homeowners should start with smaller tweaks to their home before making big-ticket purchases. “There are a lot of changes you can do before you get a new furnace,” says Todd Recknagel, CEO of AM Conservation Group in Charleston, South Carolina. What matters most is keeping the warm air in and the cold air out. There are a number of measures you can take to accomplish those goals, from inexpensive, do-it-yourself repairs to more pricey renovations that require hiring a contractor. The areas where you can get the most energy savings for the money are insulation, windows and closing up cracks in walls, around windows and doors and any other spot where air might slip through. See the complete U.S. News and World Reports article.