Energy Saving Tips

Having good weather stripping on your doors, will help save you energy but you should also have an insulated door. Many homes have a hollow exterior frame unit that cold air simply goes right through. Solid ones are better but are not as good as a well made insulated door.

All homes built in cooler climates always have 2 outer storm doors that open into a vestibule or mud room, separated by another door to the main home. This common arrangement makes a lot of sense and helps keep the heat in and the cold out.

Warm climates call for windows with solar shading coatings to reflect heat, awnings or louvers to protect against the sun. Selective coatings are designed to reflect certain wavelengths of light, thereby helping to reduce excess heat gain through the windows. You can buy selective coating sheeting that you can apply yourself. Windows that are in good shape and selective coatings can cut cooling costs, reduce indoor sun damage to furniture and floors while still letting light in.

If you need to replace some windows, the type that you should buy will depend on where you live. Cooler climates call for gas filled windows that use low-emissivity glass coatings to reduce heat loss. Double and triple pane windows are available. Installing storm windows can cut heat losses through windows by half To help keep your home cool in summer make sure that your attic is well ventilated. Sun beating down on the roof all day can raise attic temperatures to over 130 degrees F/54 degrees C. As a result, upstairs rooms will be much hotter even if you have adequate ceiling insulation. Air conditioners will have to work harder and your electricity costs will be higher. Consider adding attic fans to help exhaust this unwanted hot air. When connected to a thermostat, it can be set to turn on when the attic temperature reaches around 100 degrees F/40 degrees C. It is important to select the right size fan for your home. It should be sized large enough to properly exhaust the hot air and bring cool air in. Consult your local heating-cooling contractors if you are unsure of the correct size that you need and make sure that it is installed high in the attic.

Did you know that the cost of using an electric razor for a year is much lower that heating water for shaving would cost for the same period of time. You also save by not having to buy blades.

If you heat your water with oil or gas make sure to get an annual check up. The service person should adjust the flame, barometric damper and stack temperature to be sure that you are heating the water efficiently and not the chimney.

Use small efficient appliances. electric fry pans, microwaves, toaster ovens, coffee makers and kettles are much more efficient than stoves for small jobs.

When cooking, you can save energy by making sure that you use the right size pots and pans. It may seem like a small thing but the right size - with a snug fitting lid will save you money and cut cooking time significantly.

Using pans that fit the stove burners properly are more energy efficient.

If you cook with gas, never allow the flames to lick up the outsides of the pan. You may think that your meal will cook faster but you are just wasting energy. The ideal height for maximum heating is to allow the burner flame to just cover the bottom of the pan. You will be surprised at how much less energy you need to cook.

When using the oven, turn it off a half an hour before the finished cooking time. Your food will continue to finish without using more electricity or gas. Use toaster ovens or a microwave to reheat food.

Many homes have a sort of cold room. This little area is usually located under the front steps and next to the basement. It should be insulated and so should the door. This will help prevent cool air from reaching the rest of the basement but will help keep the cold room cold.

Seal air leaks in attics and crawl spaces, ceiling fans, electrical outlets and pull down stairways. Make sure to keep your attic and crawl space vents clear as these are needed for ventilation and to prevent moisture build up.

If you have rooms built over the garage, these ceilings must be insulated as they rob warmth from the heated spaces above. Check the garage door seals along the sides and at the bottom. If they are worn, replace them as you are losing a lot of heat. Make sure that the door leading from the garage to the house fits tightly in its frame and has good weather stripping on the sides and an insulated threshold bar at the bottom.

Evergreen trees can be used for windbreaks if the situation calls for it. - Trees and shrubbery provide a clean fresh oxygen supply for you too.

To help keep your home cool in summer make sure that your attic is well ventilated. Sun beating down on the roof all day can raise attic temperatures to over 130 degrees F/54 degrees C. As a result, upstairs rooms will be much hotter even if you have adequate ceiling insulation. Air conditioners will have to work harder and your electricity costs will be higher. Consider adding attic fans to help exhaust this unwanted hot air. When connected to a thermostat, it can be set to turn on when the attic temperature reaches around 100 degrees F/40 degrees C. It is important to select the right size fan for your home. It should be sized large enough to properly exhaust the hot air and bring cool air in. Consult your local heating-cooling contractors if you are unsure of the correct size that you need and make sure that it is installed high in the attic.

When it is time to repave your driveway, opt for unistone-uniblock instead. These interlocking bricks are a great replacement. They look good, absorb much less heat and last for years. In climates where freezing temperatures occur, they allow for expansions and contractions without breaking up.

A home that is not insulated properly will feel uncomfortable and use much more energy. uninsulated walls can be from 7-16 degrees farenheit-3 to 9 degrees celsius colder than the same wall with proper insulation. Warm air is attracted to the colder wall, you soon start to feel chilly and turn up the heat. Just think about all the money you will save by following these steps and getting your home in shape. If you are planning an alternative energy home or you simply want to save energy, there are a lot of little things that you can do to increase your energy efficiency.

If you are not using something, then turn it off or use automatic controls such as timers, motion sensors and other devices so that you do not have to worry about it.

Change filters and get proper maintenance done on the furnace and chimney if you heat with oil. Burner nozzles for natural gas heaters should be cleaned and checked by a service person for proper operation. In many instances nozzles can be changed to one size smaller with no noticeable difference in performance. You will save fuel and be just as warm. Check with your service provider for installation and never perform this yourself.

Insulate hot water pipes and tanks -replace washers in leaky faucets. for every dripping tap that you fix, you will save enough hot water to do 3 loads of laundry every month

Open curtains and blinds in the winter during the day and take advantage of the heat from the sun. You can increase the temperature in the room even when it is very cold outside, depending on your insulation. closing curtains or blinds in summer will help keep the heat out. Use compact florescent lighting, it is very efficient and the newer types give off light that is similar to old fashioned incandescent light bulbs. White led lighting is the newest emerging technology. While still expensive for general use, they is being used for traffic lights, exit signs and so on. Pricing is coming down as these led's begin to be mass produced. When doing laundry, always do a full load, but don' t overload. Many detergents work well in cold water, especially ones that contain biologics and are formulated to work even better in cool water.

If every household in a country like the U.S. switched to high efficiency florescent lighting, enough energy would be saved each year to not require almost 30 power plants

Hang small items on a line inside, they add needed moisture to the air.. a humidifier will help you feel warmer at a lower temperature setting.

Throw a couple of dry hand towels into the dryer. your laundry will dry much faster and you'll save energy too.

You can feel cooler by removing some humidity from inside air. A dehumidifier can help by taking out some of this excess moisture. Dehumidifiers don't consume much electricity and can shorten the time that air conditioners need to run. Awnings and film treated windows can cut heat gain from outside by 80 percent.

If you just need a few items, try walking to the store instead of taking the car. If you need to go further...try a bike, it doesn't use gas and we can all use the exercise. Install a carry-all bike rack to carry parcels, bags etc. Get out and enjoy the sunshine.

If you have to use the car, combine several trips into one.

If you are using electric heating, install programable thermostats and keep the doors to unused rooms closed. These types of thermostats can be set to cycle on and off several times per day. If everyone is out for the day, set them to low. At night, they can be set to turn off an hour after bedtime and on again before you get up. This will save you energy without letting your living space get too cold.

Try to keep your tires inflated to their rated pressure. You will be safer and get better mileage.

Modern cars don't have to be warmed up for more than a minute or so. Just drive slower for the first 15 minutes or so.

When using the oven, try to cook several items at the same time. You can also turn the heat off about a half hour before the end of the cooking time and the retained heat will finish your meal.

If you have a dishwasher, wait until you have a full load to do. To prevent dried on food, just rinse the dishes off quickly with cold water before.

Keep baseboard heaters, air registers and radiators free of dust. To increase radiator efficiency, place heat resistant reflectors behind them. Never place curtains in front of radiators or heaters. besides being a possible fire hazard, this will direct all of your heat out the windows instead of into the space that they are supposed to heat.

Heating and cooling are the biggest portion of your energy bill. Insulation and high performance windows save energy and money. Air leaks waste energy. Overhangs, vines, trellisses and awnings are effective solar load reducers.

Saving energy is far easier and often cheaper than producing it. Install energy efficient appliances, high performance windows, seal openings and add the proper insulation.

Insulation is one of the best investments a homeowner can make. By installing proper insulation at least R-30 in the ceilings, R-13 in the walls and R-11 in the floor homeowners can reduce the transfer of hot or cool air from inside the home to the outside. In cooler climates, insulation standards up to r-2000 codes will significantly reduce heating and cooling needs.

Insulation is most easily installed when a home is being built. For existing homes, the easiest and most effective place to add extra insulation is in the attic.

If your home has less than 3 inches of insulation in the attic, extra fiberglass batts can be laid on top of the existing insulation or additional material can be blown into the attic.

Insulate around the attic ducts and hot water pipes. This will save heating and cooling energy in the ducts and could help prevent pipes from freezing and bursting in the winter.

Whether the season is winter or summer, air leaks waste energy and can account for nearly half of all heating and cooling costs. Outside air can enter the home wherever different materials meet, such as the junction between the door and the door jamb. Adding up all the areas of air infiltration/heat/cold in many homes Can easily equal having a 3 foot square hole in your wall. Seal those leaks.

Fixing leaks is an easy and inexpensive task that requires little or no special equipment. Caulk is one of the cheapest and most effective materials for saving energy and should be applied around every window and door frame. Seal all electrical and plumbing connections that enter the home and fill any gaps in electrical outlets with foam insulation.

Your duct system is a potential network of leaks. Insulating and sealing ducts can be one of the most cost-effective means to save energy.

Preventing the hot summer sun from entering the home during the summer isn’t easy. But by installing high performance windows, radiant barriers and solar shades, homeowners can reduce the amount of sun generated heat that enters the home.

Approximately 40 percent of the unwanted heat that enters your home comes in through your windows. In recent years, low-E coatings and glazing materials have greatly improved window performance and reduced solar heat gain. Select high performance windows for your home that have been certified by the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) and have an ENERGY STAR label.

Attics need to have effective summer ventilation to reduce heat gains and to avoid moisture build-up. The most effective attic ventilation occurs when air is allowed to enter under the soffits and exit at or near the ridge. Consider continuous ridge and soffit vents large gable vents, or power ventilators for hip roofs.

Be sure to turn off air conditioners when you’re not in the room or away from home.

Install ceiling fans. A ceiling fan makes you feel cooler, and its effect is equivalent to lowering the temperature by about 4 degrees F.

Use programmable thermostat to reduce your heating or cooling loads at night and when you are away.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs, which use a fraction of the electricity required by incandescent bulbs while providing the same amount of light, reduce energy consumption. CFL's have come a long way and no longer produce a harsh white light. WHITE LED lighting is beginning to make inroads as well. While still expensive, there are many situations where LED lighting is suitable and will save you even more energy because they use a fraction of the power that CFL's use.

Refrigerators last 15 to 20 years, air conditioners about 10 to 12 years, so you will pay to operate the appliance every month for the next 10 to 20 years. When you consider that heating and cooling often account for 45 percent of the average homeowner’s annual utility bill, an investment in high efficiency equipment may be the best move a homeowner can take.

Appliances, particularly refrigerators, consume a great deal of energy over their lifetimes. Using efficient air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, lights and other appliances, homeowners can dramatically reduce their energy costs. Higher efficiency appliances are initially more expensive than less efficient models, but they can quickly pay for themselves.

On south-facing walls, properly designed roof overhangs are an effective means to keep out sun in the summer while admitting it in the winter. On east and west walls, solar screens are more effective, blocking up to 70 percent of the sunlight that would otherwise go into a building.";

A radiant barrier is a layer of metallic foil usually applied to the underside of the roof. When installed correctly, a radiant barrier can reduce heat gains through your ceiling up to 25 percent.

If your home has single-pane windows consider replacing them with double pane glass. In climates with both heating and cooling seasons, select windows with both low U-values and low solar heat gain coefficiency (SHGC). The larger your heating bill, the more important is the U-value. In mostly cooling climates, the SHGC becomes more critical as it allows sunlight to enter but reduces heat gain.

If your home has a flat roof, consider a roof garden. The technology is becoming popular and can provide you with fresh vegtables and a cooling oasis in the middle of the city. Light weight planters and soil mixes are available to minimize structural loading even when wet but talk to an expert before considering this type of living roof. There also may be zoning bylaws that you need to conform too. Roof gardens can cut heat from entering and indoor warmth from escaping as well, lowering cooling/heating costs.

Submit An Energy Saving Tip