Home Energy Savings Ideas

All,

There's a lot of good energy saving information in this article.  Much of this, you may have read or seen before, but who knows?  Maybe you'll find information in here you didn't know about that can help you or your clients.  If you would like to be included in my monthly informational emailings, drop me an email and I can put you on the list.

Also, Happy Early Mothers Day to all the mothers out there.

Chris

Home Energy Savings Ideas From Inspect-It 1st Property Inspection

Tips For Saving Money On Energy:
Whether you own a three story brick Georgian in Connecticut, a one story ranch house in Arizona or a high-rise condominium in downtown Chicago, your home energy costs are a major portion of your housing budget. In keeping with the upcoming St. Patrick's Day celebration on March 17th, we're turning this month's newsletter green - green with energy savings!

Water
Most homes waste a lot of water. Since water is a limited resource, we need to start viewing it as a precious resource. Homes use water at an estimated rate of about 50-200 gallons per bedroom per day. For a four bedroom house, this means an average month's use could be as low as 6,000 gallons to as high as 24,000 gallons or even more if you have a large lawn, a pool, etc. That's a lot of water use and it isn't something that should just "go down the drain."

Tips for Water Conservation:
Investigate your use of water. Look at how and when you use water. Ask every member of your household to start thinking about water use. Post "Conserve Water" signs throughout your house. This small activity will lower your use significantly.
Then try the following:

• Use your clothes washing machine during evening hours, (typically starting at 9:00 p.m. in most cities - check with yours) when electric rates are lower and ONLY WASH FULL LOADS. This will ensure that you run less loads of laundry during the week and you'll save on electricity at the same time.

• Do the same with your dishwasher; use it during the evening hours and run only full loads.

• Tell everyone to take shorter showers. Place a timer near the shower in the morning and try to complete your shower in less than 10 minutes. Ask occupants to stop taking baths. Baths can use anywhere from 30-70 gallons of water per bath, versus about 16 gallons for a ten minute shower.

• Install low water use toilets and showerheads in your home.

• Turn OFF the faucet when brushing your teeth. You don't need to watch water running down the drain to be successful with your toothbrush!

• Conserve rainwater in downspout barrels. Place a 32 gallon plastic garbage container under a major downspout that you have altered to fit.You'll catch a lot of water during a downpour and you can use it on your plants instead of a hose.

• Perform less watering of seasonal varieties of plants. Try to use less fertilizer, especially on indigenous species. Fertilizers stimulate plant growth and growth requires more water.

• Don't use your garden hose to wash down your driveway. Use a broom and a dustpan and some elbow grease. You'll get a clean driveway and some cardiovascular benefits that your hose just can't provide.

Electricity
Electricity rates continue to increase everywhere. No matter how the electricity is generated, no doubt you've noticed a large increase in your bill over the past few years.

A few ideas:

• Start using major appliances as much as possible when rates are lowest. Check with your local provider. Rates can be as much as 40% lower at night. At the same time, you'll be helping your local electric company to lower its demand during the day.

• If you have an electric water heater, set the temperature to 120 degrees maximum. This is warm enough for a great shower, keeps you from being scalded, and will save you on energy costs. Consider installing a recirculating pump that will produce hot water faster with less waste. You may even be eligible for a local rebate from your power company. And consider installing a water heater blanket around your heater, especially if it is located in a basement or the garage.

• Energy for lighting accounts for about 10% of your total electric bill. Check the wattage size of your light bulbs. You may be using 100 watt bulbs where 60 or 70 watt bulbs would suffice. You should also consider replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFL's). CFL's can replace incandescents that are 3-4 times their wattage, resulting in a 75% energy savings. Although they cost 3-10 times more than comparable incandescent bulbs, they last 6-15 times as long (6,000-15,000 hours). CFL's save the most energy in locations where lights are on for an extended period of time, such as a basement workshop or play area. In addition, CFL's give off less heat and therefore put less of a strain on your home's cooling system.

• Air conditioning is installed in 2/3rds of the homes in the United States. AC uses about 5% of all the electricity produced in the U.S., at a cost of over $11 billion to homeowners. 100 million tons of carbon dioxide are released into the air each year as a result. That's roughly two tons per air conditioning unit. Switching to a high efficiency unit and taking other actions can knock your energy costs down from 20-50%.

Take steps to lower the heat buildup in your home. Use barriers on windows such as shades, window films, drapes and shutters to reduce heat intake. On hot days, avoid using the cooktop of your range as it throws heat directly into the house.

A ceiling fan will allow you to raise the thermostat setting about 4 degrees Fahrenheit with no reduction in comfort. Fans are appropriate only in bedrooms with ceilings at least 8 feet high.