Cut Energy Costs

With winter just around the corner, homeowners are always thinking about energy costs, how to save and what to do. This article will answer your questions and offer you simple tips and tricks to save money on energy costs this winter.

Warm air leaking out of your home during the winter months can waste a large portion of your energy dollars. But a well insulated and weatherized home can reduce your heating costs by up to 30 per cent. This is especially important given today’s higher utility costs.

Identify the energy wasters

A home energy audit will show you where your home may be wasting energy. You can do a simple audit yourself or many local utility companies will conduct energy audits for free or for a nominal charge.

For a fee, a professional contractor will analyze how your home’s energy systems work together and compare the analysis against your utility bills. Your local utility can provide you with many more ideas to save energy in your home, but identifying the energy wasters is a good place to start. Once you know the places where you’re losing energy, you can assign priorities for improvement.

When formulating your plan, you may want to ask yourself the following:

• How much do you currently spend on energy?
• Where are the greatest energy losses?
• How long will it take for an investment in energy efficiency to pay for itself in energy saving?
• Can the work be done by you or should you hire a contractor?
• What is your budget, and how much time do you have to spend on maintenance and repair?

Check your home's insulation system

First check the insulation in your attic, ceilings, exterior and basement walls, floors, and crawl spaces to see if it meets the levels recommended for your area. Insulation is measured in R-value – the higher the R-values, the better your walls and roof will resist heat loss.

The easiest and most cost-effective way to insulate your home is to add insulation in the attic. To find out if you have enough attic insulation, measure the thickness of insulation. If there is less than R-22 (7 inches of fiberglass or 6 inches of cellulose) you should probably add more. If your attic has enough insulation and you are still feeling a chill, chances are you need to add insulation to the exterior walls as well.

Recommendations for cost-effective energy improvements

Heating

• Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter.
• Clean or replace furnace filters once a month or as needed.
• Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they’re not blocked by furniture.
• Use kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans sparingly; in just one hour these fans can rob a houseful of warm air.
• Keep drapes and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to allow sunlight to enter your home.
• Select energy efficient heating equipment and appliances.
• Install exterior or interior storm windows and caulk, seal and weatherstrip all seams, cracks and openings to the outside.

Water heating

• Repair leaky faucets promptly; a leaky faucet wastes gallons of water in a short period of time.
• Insulate your electric hot-water storage tank and pipes.
• Install low-flow faucets and showerheads
• Lower the thermostat on your water heater.
• Take more showers than baths. Bathing uses 15-25 gallons of hot water while a 5-minute shower uses less than 10 gallons.

Lighting

• Turn off the lights in any room you are not using, or install timers, photo cells, or occupancy sensors to reduce the amount of time your lights are on.
• Use task lighting instead of lighting the entire room.
• Use compact fluorescent bulbs which are four times more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs and provide the same lighting.