Conserving Energy in Your Home
Today’s homeowner can make create huge savings in heating, cooling and electricity costs through a few simple changes, most of which the homeowner can do themselves.
Heating and cooling your home accounts for 50% of your homes energy costs. Set thermostats to an appropriate temperature. Specifically, they should be turned down at night and when no one is home. In most homes, about 2% of the heating bill will be saved for each degree that the thermostat is lowered for at least eight hours each day. Turning down the thermostat from 75 F to 70 F, for example, saves about 10% on heating costs.
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. Ensure you have a good filtration system installed when using a tankless water system, calcium can cause expensive problems if you have hard water.
Changing the type of lighting in your home can reduce energy consumption. It is estimated that 11% of your energy costs are from lighting your home. CFL type lights use 75% less energy than regular incandescent lights and last up to 10 times longer. LED type lights last longer than CFL’s and consume even less energy.
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. Caulking around windows and doors and checking for leaks around fireplaces etc are simple energy saving jobs any homeowner can perform.
Check your attic for leaks and visible holes. Because hot air rises, air leaks are most likely to occur in the attic. Plug the large holes. Locations in the attic where leakage is most likely to be the greatest are where walls meet the attic floor, behind and under attic knee walls, and in dropped-ceiling areas. In warmer weather, you’ll find water staining in the openings around any attic penetrations. Use expanding foam or caulk to seal the openings around plumbing vent pipes and electrical wires. Cover the areas with insulation after the caulk is dry. Seal up the attic access panel with weatherstripping. You can cut a piece of fiberglass or rigid foamboard insulation in the same size as the attic hatch and glue it to the back of the attic access panel.
Low flow toilets and dual flush toilets are becoming the norm in most areas of North America. A little known type of toilet is the vacuum assist. This type of toilet has a vacuum chamber that uses a siphon action to suck air from the trap beneath the bowl, allowing it to quickly fill with water to clear waste. Vacuum-assist toilets are relatively quiet. Changing your shower head is also a good way to conserve water without giving up any loss of comfort.
Refrigerators and freezers should not be located near the stove, dishwasher or heat vents, or exposed to direct sunlight. Exposure to warm areas will force them to use more energy to remain cool. Chargers, such as those used for laptops and cell phones, consume energy when they are plugged in. When they are not connected to electronics, chargers should be unplugged. Laptop computers consume considerably less electricity than desktop computers.
Having your home inspected by The Barrie Home inspector will allow you to have a Free Thermal Scan of your home. To learn more about Thermal Imaging visit www.infared-detection.com/. Thermal imaging can detect low or missing areas of insulation which is invisible to the human eye. Find small air leaks or even any moisture problems that have not yet made their presence known.
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