Winter Energy Saving Tips

Energy prices are on the rise across the nation. As a result, heating
costs will consume an increasingly larger portion of a household’s
energy budget. That’s why it’s important to check your home to insure
that your heating dollars aren’t being wasted.

When cold weather approaches, use this checklist of simple ways to
make your home more comfortable and keep those escalating energy bills
at bay.

Check for Leaks

Weatherstripping and caulking is probably the least expensive,
simplest, most effective way to cut down on energy waste in the
winter. Improperly sealed homes can waste 10 to 15 percent of the
homeowner’s heating dollars. Take these steps:

1. Check around doors and windows for leaks and drafts. Add
weather-stripping and caulk any holes you see that allow heat to
escape. Make sure doors seal properly.

2. If your windows leak really badly, consider replacing them with
newer, more efficient ones. Keep in mind, however, that replacing
windows can be expensive - it could take you quite awhile to recover
your costs from the energy savings alone. But new windows also provide
other benefits, such as improved appearance and comfort.

3. Every duct, wire or pipe that penetrates the wall or ceiling or
floor has the potential to waste energy. Plumbing vents can be
especially bad, since they begin below the floor and go all the way
through the roof. Seal them all with caulking or weather-stripping.

4. Electric wall plugs and switches can allow cold air in. Purchase
simple-to-install, pre-cut foam gaskets that fit behind the switch
plate and effectively prevent leaks.

5. Don’t forget to close the damper on your fireplace. Of course
the damper needs to be open if a fire is burning; but if the damper is
open when you’re not using the fireplace, your chimney functions as a
large open window that draws warm air out of the room and creates a
draft. Close that damper - it’s an effective energy-saving tip that
costs you nothing!

6. Examine your house’s heating ducts for leaks. Think of your
ductwork as huge hoses, bringing hot air instead of water into your
house. Mostly out of sight, ducts can leak for years without you
knowing it. They can become torn or crushed and flattened. Old duct
tape - the worse thing to use to seal ductwork, by the way - will dry
up and fall away over time, allowing junctions and splices to open,
spilling heated air into your attic or under the house. It’s wasteful.
According to field research performed by the California Energy
Commission, you can save roughly 10 percent of your heating bill by
preventing leaky ducts.

Check Your Insulation

1. Insulate your attic. In an older home, that can be the most
cost-efficient way to cut home heating costs. Before energy efficiency
standards, homes were often built with little or no insulation. As a
result, large amounts of heat can be lost through walls, floors and -
since heat rises - especially ceilings.

How much insulation should you install? Typical framed homes now
being built in California’s Central Valley must meet insulation
requirements of R-38 insulation in ceilings and R-19 for walls and
floors.
2. Weather-strip and insulate your attic hatch or door to prevent
warm air from escaping out the top of your house.

3. Seal holes in the attic that lead down into the house, such as
open wall tops and duct, plumbing, or electrical runs. Any hole that
leads from a basement or crawlspace to an attic is a big energy
waster. Cover and seal them with spray foam and rigid foam board if
necessary.

Check Your Heating System

1. Get a routine maintenance and inspection of your heating system
each autumn to make sure it is in good working order.

2. Replace your heater’s air filter monthly. Your heating system
will work less hard, use less energy and last longer as a result. Most
homeowners can replace filters and do such simple tasks as cleaning
and removing dust from vents or along baseboard heaters.

3. If your heating system is old, you might consider updating it. A
pre-1977 gas furnace is probably 50 percent to 60 percent efficient
today. That means only half of the fuel used by the furnace actually
reaches your home as heat. Modern gas furnaces, on the other hand,
achieve efficiency ratings as high as 97 percent. By replacing an old
heating system with one of the most efficient models, you can cut your
natural gas use nearly in half!

4. Use your set-back thermostat. California houses built today must
have them. If you have an older home, consider installing one. A
set-back thermostat allows you to automatically turn down the heat
when you’re away at work or when you’re sleeping at night, and then
boost the temperature to a comfortable level when you need it.
Remember - it takes less energy to warm a cool home than to maintain a
warm temperature all day long. Properly using your set-back thermostat
could cut your heating costs from 20 to 75 percent.

5. Reverse the switch on your ceiling fans so they blow upward,
toward the ceiling. Ceiling fans are a great idea in the summer, when
air blowing downward can improve circulation and make a room feel four
degrees cooler. A cooling draft is a poor idea when it’s cold,
however. By reversing the fan’s direction, the blades move air upward
in winter. This is especially valuable in high ceiling rooms, where
heat that naturally rises is forced back down into the room.

6. Make sure all hearing vents are opened and unblocked by
furniture or other items. This will ensure that the air is evenly
distributed through the home.

Change a Light Bulb

1. Lighting our homes can represent 20 percent of home electricity
bills and is one of the easiest places to start saving energy. If
every household changed a light to an ENERGY STAR(R) one, together
we’d save enough energy to light 7 million homes and reduce greenhouse
gas emissions equivalent to that of 1 million cars.

article courtesy of:

Kelly Rosato, AHIT(R) Certified Home Inspector
Colorado Home Inspection Professionals
http://www.cohip.com
hi@cohip.com or 303-748-1388