Energy Saving Tips - Fall Edition
When the season changes to cool autumns and chilly winters, homeowners can start to see increased energy bills. Find tips that help keep you warm and lower those costs below.
Energy Saving Tips
Catch Those Drafts Now
Drafts can cause you to lose heat in your home through leaky windows, doors, electrical outlets, light switches and other openings like your fireplace damper. Reducing air leaks could cut 10% from an average home energy bill! Another tip is to open curtains on your south-facing windows during the day to allow sunlight to naturally heat your home, and close them at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.
Did you know?
You can use a dollar bill to test for leakage - if the dollar can pass through the crack in your door just replace the weather-stripping to instantly eliminate the cold draft. Spiders like to make their webs where there is air flow, healthy for them, but a signal to us that air is flowing in and out, meaning you are losing your conditioned air! Use weather stripping or silicone caulk to fill those gaps
Programmable Thermostat - Are You Using It?
Many homes have programmable thermostats but people don't take the time to actually program them. Today's thermostats offer many pre-programmed settings to regulate your home's temperature year 'round. So find that user's manual and take an easy step to lower your energy costs! Learn more.
Did you know?
When you are asleep or out of the house, turn your thermostat back 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours and save (around 10% a year) on your energy bills. Setting the thermostat back will actually save you more energy than turning your heating or cooling system off temporarily, so set it back, don't turn it off!
Water Heater Savings
Hot water is essential to our daily lives - from washing hands to cleaning dishes to bathing - and quickly adds up to higher bills. It comes as no surprise that water heaters account for nearly 17% of a home's energy use. Small actions can really help you save! Try turning down the hot water heater setting to 120 degrees, or simple behavioral changes like washing clothes in cold water, turning off the water while scrubbing dishes or brushing your teeth. You can also make small upgrades like insulating your hot water pipe, wrapping your water heater with an insulation blanket, and installing low-flow aerators and showerheads in your sinks and showers. While they say low flow, the pressure of the new fixtures are just as great as your old ones!
What Else?
Lastly, the more costly upgrade is to replace an old inefficient water heater with a new high-efficiency option. If your unit breaks down and cannot be repaired, remember that rebates are available for from your utility company for water heaters.
Spare Refrigerators Can Use Up To 3X More Energy
Do you have a second refrigerator or freezer in the garage or basement? Or are you buying a new one and need to get rid of the old one? Consider this: your utility company will pick up the unit, recycle it in an environmentally friendly manner, AND you get a check for $50. If you are keeping an extra refrigerator, a full one is much more efficient than an empty one, so keep it full, water jugs are a great way to fill space!
Beware of Energy Vampires
Remember three important words - turn it off. Don't leave the video game on pause, the computer in sleep mode or the cell phone charger plugged in when you are done with it. Those electronics are still using energy, even when you are not using them.
Did you know?
You can make it easy to turn off all those home electronics like TVs, DVD players, game consoles, computers and more. Simply plug them into power strips, and then turn the power strip off when not in use.
Use Your Ceiling Fan Clockwise
Clockwise or counter-clockwise? In the heating season, ceiling fans should rotate clockwise at a lower speed to pull cool air up. The gentle updraft then pushes warm air, which naturally rises to the ceiling, down along the walls and back to the floor. This makes a room feel warmer, which allows you to lower the thermostat temperature and decrease the use of heating devices. Homeowners who use ceiling fans during the winter save as much as 15% on heating bills.
Did you know?
Even at high speed, a ceiling fan typically uses less energy than a 100 watt light bulb - and less than a 25 watt bulb at low speed. And, some are able to use LED bulbs for even greater savings.
Heating and Cooling Costs
Heating and cooling costs the average homeowner nearly half of the home's total energy bill. If you need to replace your equipment, consider ENERGY STAR - though these models can be a bit more expensive to purchase up front, the cost difference will be paid back over time through lower energy bills. Replacing your filters monthly, or quarterly and sealing leaks in duct work will help your system run more efficiently.
Rebates Available
Contact your utility company for rebates on energy efficient furnaces, boilers, and water heaters as well as central air conditioners and heat pumps.
Furnace Tips
Every year, you should schedule an appointment with an HVAC technician to clean and inspect your furnace. The technician will make sure that there are no gas leaks, and show you how to replace the filters regularly (monthly is ideal).
Did you know?
Replacing an old furnace with an energy efficient one (rated 90% or higher) can result in up to a 30% savings. Rebates are available from your utility for the highest efficiency models.
Install LEDs in Frequently Used Fixtures
LEDs are a great example of how innovation and technology can make your life easier. They last at least 25 times longer, and consume 90%less electricity than incandescent bulbs. By switching five of your home's most frequently used bulbs with ENERGY STAR certified LEDs, it's possible to save $75 on energy costs annually.
Fun Fact
LEDs have a long lifespan of 50,000 hours or more, which surpasses both the incandescent bulb and the CFL by thousands of hours.
Benefits of ENERGY STAR Homes
ENERGY STAR certified homes are designed and built better from the ground up. They deliver better durability, better comfort, and reduced utility and maintenance costs. With the ENERGY STAR label on your new home or apartment, you can be confident that it will deliver and has been built better from the ground up. Some benefits include:
- Meets strict requirements set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Tried-and-true best building practices
- More inspections and testing by certified professionals
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