If you want to improve your home's energy efficiency and likely lower utility bills, go on a scavenger hunt looking for wasted energy. It's easy to sense cool air entering from the outside. You know when you should put on a sweater or sweatshirt and turn the thermostat down. You know when you could live with less electrical lighting. You also know how many years you have been putting off adding weather-stripping and insulation.
1. Gaps, cracks and openings, where cool air enters or warm air escapes, must be sealed. Run your hand along door and window frames; over switch and receptacle plates; along baseboards; access doors to a basement, crawl space or attic; around ceiling and wall-mounted light fixtures; and particularly around anything penetrating through the wall (air conditioner, fireplace, exhaust vent, mail slot, etc.). There's an old rule of thumb, that often proves to be correct: Where you find spider webs, you are likely to find a draft nearby. Weather-stripping, caulk, and insulating foam are the solutions to most of these energy wasters.
2. When nighttime falls, do you illuminate your house like an airstrip? Turn on only the lights you need; that goes for fluorescent fixtures as well. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. You'll spend more initially, but save money in the long run, because in relation to illumination (lumens), fluorescent lamps consume less energy than incandescent bulbs. They also last considerably longer. If you still have incandescent bulbs, dust them regularly. People have been known to replace light bulbs with a higher wattage, simply because the bulb was coated with dust.
If you have outdoor lighting that isn't solar, even if it's low-voltage and not necessary for safety, consider turning it off. When guests are coming and you want the landscaping to give your home that estate look, turn the lights on for the evening or install sensors to automatically turn the lights on, when someone approaches.
3. Clean and/or replace furnace filters regularly. The owner's manual, which came with your furnace, will give you instructions.
4. Many wood and gas burning fireplaces are not only inefficient at heating, but can actually draw heat out of a room. Install glass doors over fireplace openings. Once logs, ash and embers are cool, close the damper. If you don't use your fireplace, put insulation into the opening just below the damper (Warning! Make certain you have something dangling from the insulation, such as a piece of ribbon, to alert someone to NOT light a fire with the insulation in place.)
5. Unless there are health reasons, set your thermostat at 68-degrees in the daytime and 55-degrees or off at night. Installing a set-back or clock thermostat is not only a wise investment, but it remembers when you forget. C'mon. How many times have you left the heat on all day, when nobody's at home?
6. Just as my mom had us do, open all drapes and window coverings facing south during the day, to achieve some passive solar heating. However, glass that isn't illuminated by sunlight should be kept covered. If you have single-glazed glass in doors and windows, consider adding stretch-seal plastic over the existing windows. The next time you purchase window coverings choose ones that offer insulating qualities.
7. Heating ducts can leak warm air into an attic or crawl space beneath the floor, where it does absolutely no good. Check all duct joints and tape them using a heat-resistant tape (common duct tape won't work) or apply duct mastic. Once joints are sealed, wrap insulation around the pipes. Anything you do to keep expensive heat directed where you want instead of "floating" away saves energy and money.
8. Which reminds me. Insulate. Insulate. Insulate. There are many sources for home insulation information. The utility providing your gas and/or electricity is a good place to start. R-19 is considered the minimum for attics, but additional insulation will be needed in some areas. In some climates it may only be attic insulation, in others its attic, walls and beneath the floors.
9. Set your water heater to 120-degrees or 140-degrees F, if you have a dishwasher which doesn't heat its own water. (However, be aware that potentially bacteria can grow below 130-degrees F). Use a candy thermometer to measure water temperature closest to the water heater. Instructions for changing the temperature are on the walls of most water heaters or in the instruction or owner's manual, which came with the appliance.
If a water heater is located in an unheated space, such as a garage, place your hand on the outside (the jacket) of the water heater about midway between the top of the tank and the bottom. If it feels warm, a water heater insulation blanket should be added. Be certain to follow the installation instructions, because they differ for electric and gas water heaters. Insulating hot water lines throughout a house will also save energy.
10. If you don't have low-flow shower heads, you should install them. They conserve the amount of hot water you use and yes, you can become accustomed to not being blasted by water.
11. My mom always line dried her clothes either outdoors or in our basement near the furnace. It was out of necessity, because we didn't have a clothes dryer. However, hanging clothing to dry will save energy. When you do operate your clothes dryer, fill it to it's maximum capacity. Also, as a fire prevention tip: Keep the dryer and exhaust duct clean and free of lint.
12. Have an extra refrigerator in the garage or basement? Living without it, even if it means a crowded refrigerator in the kitchen, can produce around $15 a month in savings. Also, check the gasket around a refrigerator door. It should be airtight. A simple test is to place a sheet of writing paper between the gasket and the door frame. If you can pull the paper out, the gasket is likely leaking air. To improve refrigerator efficiency, keep the cooling coils clean and free of lint. This also extends the life of the compressor. If you live in a area where higher-than-normal humidity isn’t a problem, be certain your refrigerator is set on an energy saving setting or the heater switch to control sweating is turned off. The owner's manual, which came with the refrigerator, will give you details.
13. When buying new appliances, remember that you not only buy the appliance, but you continue to pay for its operation. Choose appliances with the highest energy rating you can afford. It will save you money in the long run.
There are a multitude of ways you can save energy. The utility providing gas or electricity to your house is a good source for additional information. You can do a search for information on the Internet and also find books on energy conservation in any public library. While there, do a periodical search to find the latest magazine articles on the subject.
Once you have attained energy savings, both in energy consumed and dollars saved, use one of my economics theories. Determine the exact savings and then spend that amount on something new for the workshop. Unfortunately I've never been able to convince my wife this is a sound financial practice.
