Most everything comes down to money. Everything we do in our house either saves or costs us money. Change a few home habits now, and have enough money to send your children to college, or take that trip to Cancun, or invest in whatever…
Here are some simple ways to cut your energy costs at home:
1. Change or clean your furnace, A/C filer once a month. This cuts down on contaminating the inner workings of the furnace and A/C, which allows the unit to operate more efficiently. Servicing your furnace and A/C once per year will also keep it working efficiently. To many people, servicing means ” come out and fix my broken A/C “! Not so. A yearly cleaning, checking the refrigerant pressures, making sure the furnace is safe and effective, etc. It may seem easier to pay the $150. electric bill month after month, than to pay $75. up front to service your A/C and then pay $100. a month because the unit is now more efficient. Makes sense, but we need a kick in the pants sometimes to get us started.
As a Home Inspector, I see more heating and cooling problems from deferred maintenance than any other major system in the house, and at a costly price.
Insulation: If you have an older house with a pitched roof, adding more insulation such as blown in or batt insulation, or even spray in foam insulation, you can drastically cut down your energy costs. Again, you spend money up front, however it pays for itself soon enough. I considered several types of insulation when preparing to build my house, but my wife and I planned on staying in the house for more than 4 years, so we went with the better, (but more expensive ) spray in poly-uria foam insulation. it seals all the air gaps and gives about an R-50 rating for the roof insulation. As a testimonial, we did not use the furnace except once ( a relative was staying over and wanted the house hot!) The temperature stayed about 68 degrees to 72 degrees in the daytime, without the furnace on. Now, if you are planning to move in two years, it may not pay for itself, however it is a great selling point for potential buyers!
According to the U.S. Department of energy, 34% of your home’s energy use is through appliances and lighting. One consideration is the addition of Solar tubes, (energy efficient skylights). As I built my house, I added them to bathrooms, the pantry, and to the master closet. Where ever I go in my house now, I have no need for turning on lights during the day. They are also tax deductible!
If you have the bad habit of leaving lights on, try installing motion sensor switches. They turn the light on when you walk into the room, and if they don’t detect any motion for a minute or two, turn the lights off again. These are great in closets, and bathrooms.
I don’t want to get too much into solar ideas, lets just say that here in Tucson, solar can be a HUGE benefit in reducing the cost of energy, and cutting green house emissions. However for most persons, the up front cost is prohibitive, and truly is a deterrent.
Another expensive but big energy saver is upgrading older single pane windows. So much energy in the way of heat and cooling is lost through the windows. I attended a Home Show here in town, and saw the difference in single versus double, versus triple pane windows, and I was truly impressed. The triple pane did an outstanding job of keeping out radiant heat, and if you plan to replace your windows anyway, seriously consider the triple pane.
Keep your eyes peeled for for more tips later, but in the meantime, keep an open mind and try being more aware of how you spend your energy dollar!
There are many more tips in a .pdf format from the U.S. Department of Energy @ www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/
