Home Energy Efficiency Tips

There are many things that you can do to positively impact the environment and save money on your monthly utility bills. Here is a short list of some of the most impactful:

*Replace regular light bulbs with CFLs. Compact Fluorescent light bulbs use up to 75% less energy than regular light bulbs, plus they last for five years or more!

*Unplug electrical devices when not in use. Many electrical devices draw electricity 24/7, whether you are using them or not. By plugging these devices into a power strip and turning that strip off, you’ll stop the electricity leech.

*Turn off the lights when not in a room. This is such a simple change in habit, but it can make a significant difference in your energy consumption.

*Caulk – A simple $4 tube of caulk will make your house more weather-tight and longer lasting. Caulk is good for sealing holes ¼ inch or less. When the caulk around windows, doors, and siding that has become brittle or has separated, it’s time to scrape out the old and squeeze in the new.

*Weatherstrip – For weatherstripping to do its job, it has to compress to fill the gap between two surfaces. Eventually, even the best material – whether it’s foam, rubber, or metal – will lose its resiliency, allowing air to escape your home. Before you go shopping for new weatherstripping, make note of the existing product and try to match it as closely as possible.

*Seal Air Leaks – If you added up all the gaps around the pipes, light fixtures, chimneys, and other penetrations in the ceiling of the average home, you’d have the equivalent of a 2 square-foot hole – the size of a small window. Since heat rises, you’ll find that sealing up these attic bypasses is often the very best way to save on your energy bills. It usually takes a combination of caulk, expanding foam, insulation and flashing to do the job right, but this investment of time and money can save $100s on your energy bill. And since your house will feel less drafty, you’ll feel more comfortable, too.

*Insulate – The attic is usually the easiest place to install insulation in an existing home. Fortunately, it’s also the place where it does the most good. Select the best material for your budget and application. Remember, the higher the listed R-value, the more effective the material is at resisting heat loss. For the best savings, insulate after sealing air leaks. Depending on your location, age of house, utility costs, and amount of existing insulation, sealing and adding insulation to the attic yourself has a shorter payback period. R-48 is recommended for our region.

*Dripping faucets can waste as much as 150 gallons of water per month! Repair or replace dripping faucets! Lowe’s has a video on how to replace faucets at:

http://www.lowes.com/KitchenFaucet

*A new Energy Star qualified dishwasher saves nearly 5,000 gallons of water per year, compared to washing dishes by hand. If you do hand-wash dishes, keep the water off unless you’re rinsing. Also operate your dishwasher only with a full load. Energy Start dishwashers use approximately half the amount of water as a 10-year-old unit. Also, the increased amount of insulation (which helps the water stay hotter longer) also makes them quieter.

*Simply installing a low-flow aerator on your existing kitchen faucet will substantially reduce water consumption (faucets manufactured after 1994 already have aerators.)

*It’s estimated that 1 out of every 5 toilets leaks, wasting up to 500 gallons of water per day. Often, a simple adjustment is all that’s needed. Replacement fill valves cost as little as $7 a piece and can be installed with a few simple tools, often in less than an hour. Installing a new low-flow toilet can cut water consumption in half, saving up to 20,000 gallons of water per toilet per year. Lowe’s has a “Making Simple Toilet Repairs” section on their website under the Energy Savings section:

http://www.lowes.com/howto

*Don’t let water run while shaving, washing your face or brushing your teeth. A five-minute shower uses less water than the average bath. Replacing your existing showerhead with a low-flow version can save more than 2 gallons per minute.

*Ceiling fans can cut your home's energy use up to 40% in the summer, and 10% in the winter; just flip the switch at the base of most models so that the blades rotate clockwise, and help circulate the warm air that has risen up toward the ceiling.

*Adjust your water heater to between 110 or 140 degrees for dishwashers. Every 10 degrees higher may cost as much as $300 extra per year on natural gas costs.

*Replace furnace filters monthly. This will reduce the amount of energy needed for the machine to draw in fresh air and will increase furnace efficiency.