Pandolfi, Keith. “10 Ways to Shrink Your Energy Bills” in This Old House Magazine Online. http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20169070,00.html?xid=CNN-060909-shrink-bills&cnn=yes last access 8/22/08.
“1. CHOKE YOUR CHIMNEY”
If you have a chimney, it is a good idea to keep a working damper installed. This will prevent air conditioning cooled air (or furnace warmed air) from escaping out the chimney. Why run your air conditioner if you’re going to cool the outside? Make sure the damper is closed when you’re not using your chimney. Savings felt = immediately.
“2. SEAL AIR LEAKS”
This means that cracks around the windows, doors, piping and wiring need to be closed up. Caulking or installing weather-stripping around windows can save you “more than 10% on your heating bills.” Hardware stores even sell kits that can help you seal up your home. While this one takes a little longer to pay back, it is definitely worth a tiny bit of extra effort. Savings felt = 6mos to a year.
3. TUNE UP TUNE UP GIDDE-YUP
If your heating and air conditioning system is a well-oiled machine, it can serve your cooling/heating needs for LESS! Call your Air systems’ contractor to sign your unit up for a service. Off peak services are also beneficial, to avoid longer wait times. Savings felt = one heating or cooling season.
“4. GIVE IN TO ENERGY STAR”
If you partner with energy star and buy their appliances you will save on your energy bills. Sometimes, the local agencies (electric/gas/water…depending) will even offer rebates for replacing your old appliances. According to the “This Old House Magazine” you can save “$110 annually for replacing your clothes washer.” Savings felt = depending on the appliance. 5 years for a fridge, 7-8 years for a clothes/dishwasher.
“5. MAKE YOUR ATTIC MORE CUSH”
Especially if you have an older house, insulating the attic can be a very cost effective way of saving on your energy bills. Often times, before the building codes were as complex as they are today, the amount of insulation was left up to the individual contractor. They also have a link on their page teaching how a homeowner can beef up their insulation themselves. Savings felt = 3-5 years.
“6. EMBRACE THE PELLET STOVE”
This has got to be for people living in the boonies, but I guess it’s a pretty good idea. They have stoves that run off of sawdust pellets…I wonder what that does to the environment. But, one of the benefits is saving up to 50% on your heating bill – that’s pretty significant.
“7. TAKE CHEAPER SHOWERS”
A little redundant here – they suggest upgrading to an energy star approved water heater. Check with your local gas company or energystar.gov to see if they are currently running any tax brakes or incentives to switching over. Your local city hall is also a good place to look for homeowner’s benefits.
“8. FIND SOME PERFECT STORMS”
TOH (this old house) suggests putting in storm windows (that are triple paned), to prevent energy from leaking out of traditional glass panes. Especially if you have windows with large surface areas, this might be a good option. Upgrading to double-paned windows is another option if you don’t want to do the whole storm lockdown thing. Savings felt = 2-5 years.
“9. ADDRESS THE BEAST IN THE BASEMENT”
TOH recommends replacing your furnace. I couldn’t agree more. Technology has come so far in a short span of time. Heating is measured in BTUs and instead of having an efficiency ratio like air conditioners; heaters are measured by the ratio of waste to actual heating. The southern California gas company (for example) is offering rebates for 92% AFUE (Air Fuel Utilization Efficiency) which means at 92% that 92% of the energy is being used to heat the home, while only 8% is escaping as exhaust. When compared even to an 80 AFUE model that’s 20% exhaust! Savings felt = 2-5 years.
“10. SELL YOUR HOUSE”
WHOA! That seems a bit extreme to me…like by a lot. But for some of those older homes, I guess it could be beneficial. Savings felt = immediately. Check out the full article for information on this one…
1 comment:
sell your house?? still can't believe that.
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