Domestic Money Savings Tips Poem
20 Gas & Electric Money Savings Tips
Did you get sticker shock when you opened your last utility bill? If you did, you're not alone. People have reported huge increases in their energy bills. My gas bill went up about 40%, so I decided to make my home more energy efficient. You would be surprised just how much you can lower your utility bills by taking a few of these simple steps. Here are 20 quick and easy tips:
Close the heating vents.
Closing the heating vents or radiators in an unoccupied room can save 5-10% on your heating costs.
Close the fireplace flue.
Don't let heat go up the chimney. Make sure the fireplace flue is closed when not in use.
Turn off the pilot light.
A pilot light typically costs $3-$5 per month to keep lit. If your heating system has a pilot light, turn it off during the summer.
Fix that leaking faucet.
A faucet leaking a single drip per second can waste 400 gallons of water a year. Besides being a tremendous environmental waste, if that water is heated it will cost you about $8 if you heat with electricity, $4 if you heat with natural gas - plus the cost of the water itself.
Replace old shower heads.
According to federal regulations, new shower heads can pass no more than 2.5 gallons per minute. By replacing old shower heads with new ones, a family of four can save around 15,000 gallons of water per year, which amounts to savings of over $150 and $60 for electric and gas heated water respectively.
Keep the refrigerator door closed.
Shut the fridge! Opening the refrigerator door accounts for $10 - $20 of a typical family's electrical bill each year based on 40-60 openings per day.
Provide adequate circulation for the refrigerator.
Allow at least one inch of space on each side of the refrigerator for good circulation. Poor circulation can increase electricity consumption by 10%.
Keep your refrigerator cool.
A 5° F difference in air temperature can impact your refrigerator electricity consumption by 20%. To reduce your refrigerator's work, keep spare refrigerators in the coolest part of the house, like the basement.
Turn your computer off.
You could be spending well over $100 per year on electricity by always leaving your computer on! Turn it off when it's not in use.
Set your thermostat at 78° F.
The breeze from a fan can provide you with the comfort of temperature that is 6° F cooler. Also, during the summer, each degree that you raise the thermostat on your cooling system typically saves 2% on your cooling bill. Energy experts recommend setting your thermostat at 78° F or higher.
Keep your light fixtures clean.
Dirt can absorb as much as half of the light given off by fixtures, tubes and bulbs. Keep your light fixtures clean and use less electricity.
Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Use light bulbs that produce the most light using the least amount of electricity. Energy-efficient bulbs, such as compact fluorescent bulbs, use 75% less energy than typical incandescent bulbs.
Turn the lights off.
Don't just leave the lights on. Lighting controls provide security lighting when you are not home - with clock timers you can turn lights in your home on and off automatically at preset times. Timers, motion sensors and photo sensors are all ways to save electricity use.
Plant some trees.
Deciduous trees, which lose their leaves in the winter, can help you reduce your energy costs during the summer because their foliage provides shade. And in the winter, after their leaves have fallen, the sun's warmth passes unobstructed into your home. Strategically placed shrubs and vines can also reduce the effect of the sun's heat.
Leave the thermostat alone.
If you must use air-conditioning, don't turn the thermostat lower thinking it will cool your home faster. It won't.
Keep your thermostat cool.
Keep appliances that give off heat, like stereos and televisions, away from your thermostat-the hot air will persuade your cooling system to work harder.
Insulate your attic.
Adding fiberglass insulation to your attic is one of the most effective and easy savings measures you can take yourself. Also, insulating air ducts or pipes can conserve up to 10% of their heat.
Keep your kitchen cool.
Use a fan to draw hot air out of your kitchen when cooking. The savings in your cooling costs far outweigh the electricity use of the fan.
Keep your dryer clean.
Don't overload your clothes dryer. And make sure you clean the lint filter after every load. An overloaded dryer and a dirty filter, which reduces airflow, make the dryer work harder. Dry loads consecutively to take advantage of heat build-up. If possible, line dry clothes.
Run a full dishwasher.
Cut out pre-rinsing, load dishes according to the dishwasher manufacturer's instructions, and use only recommended amounts of dish washing detergent. Only run the washer when it's full - your dishwasher uses the same amount of water regardless of how many dishes are in it. Air-dry dishes when possible.
To find out what all those mysterious charges are on your gas bill visit http://www.energy.ca.gov/glossary
Labels: _notyet_cyberarted, Domestic, Home, Homemaking, Money+Saving, Personal+Finance
posted by Hokkuist at 10:59 PM
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How To Reduce Your Heating Bills This Winter
Imagine leaving a window open all winter long -- the heat loss, cold drafts and wasted energy! If your home has a folding attic stair, a whole house fan or AC Return, a fireplace or a clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring in your home every day.
These often overlooked sources of heat loss and air leakage can cause heat to pour out and the cold outside air to rush in -- costing you higher heating bills.
Air leaks are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home. Air leaks occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, etc. Most homeowners are well aware of the benefits caulk and weatherstripping provide to minimize heat loss and cold drafts.
But what can you do about the four largest “holes” in your home -- the folding attic stair, the whole house fan or AC return, the fireplace, and the clothes dryer? Here are some tips and techniques that can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes.
Attic Stairs
When attic stairs are installed, a large hole (approximately 10 square feet) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed, leaving only a thin, unsealed, sheet of plywood.
Your attic space is ventilated directly to the outdoors. In the winter, the attic space can be very cold, and in the summer it can be very hot. And what is separating your conditioned house from your unconditioned attic? That thin sheet of plywood.
Often a gap can be observed around the perimeter of the door. Try this yourself: at night, turn on the attic light and shut the attic stairway door -- do you see any light coming through? These are gaps add up to a large opening where your heated/cooled air leaks out 24 hours a day. This is like leaving a window open all year round.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add an attic stair cover. An attic stair cover provides an air seal, reducing the air leaks. Add the desired amount of insulation over the cover to restore the insulation removed from the ceiling.
Whole House Fans and AC Returns
Much like attic stairs above, when whole house fans are installed, a large hole (up to 16 square feet or larger) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed, leaving only leaky ceiling shutter between the house and the outdoors.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a whole house fan cover. Installed from the attic side, the whole house fan cover is invisible. Cover the fan to reduce heating and air-conditioning loss, remove it when use of the fan is desired.
If attic access is inconvenient, or for AC returns, a ceiling shutter cover is another option for reducing heat loss through the ceiling shutter and AC return. Made from R-8, textured, thin, white flexible insulation, and installed from the house side over the ceiling shutter with Velcro, a whole house fan shutter cover is easily installed and removed.
Fireplaces
Sixty-five percent, or approximately 100 million homes, in North America are constructed with wood or gas burning fireplaces. Unfortunately there are negative side effects that the fireplace brings to a home especially during the winter home-heating season. Fireplaces are energy losers.
Researchers have studied this to determine the amount of heat loss through a fireplace, and the results are amazing. One research study showed that an open damper on an unused fireplace in a well-insulated house can raise overall heating-energy consumption by 30 percent.
A recent study showed that for many consumers, their heating bills may be more than $500 higher per winter due to the air leakage and wasted energy caused by fireplaces.
Why does a home with a fireplace have higher heating bills? Hot air rises. Your heated air leaks out any exit it can find, and when warm heated air is drawn out of your home, cold outside air is drawn in to make up for it. The fireplace is like a giant straw sucking the heated air from your house.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a fireplace draftstopper. Available from Battic Door, a company known for their energy conservation products, a fireplace draftstopper is an inflatable pillow that seals the damper, eliminating any air leaks. The pillow is removed whenever the fireplace is used, then reinserted after.
Clothes Dryer Exhaust Ducts
In many homes, the room with the clothes dryer is the coldest room in the house. Your clothes dryer is connected to an exhaust duct that is open to the outdoors. In the winter, cold air leaks in through the duct, through your dryer and into your house.
Dryer vents use a sheet-metal flapper to try to reduce this air leakage. This is very primitive technology that does not provide a positive seal to stop the air leakage. Compounding the problem is that over time, lint clogs the flapper valve causing it to stay open.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a dryer vent seal. This will reduce unwanted air infiltration, and keep out pests, bees and rodents as well. The vent will remain closed unless the dryer is in use. When the dryer is in use, a floating shuttle rises to allow warm air, lint and moisture to escape.
If your home has a folding attic stair, a whole house fan, an AC return, a fireplace, and/or a clothes dryer, you can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes. At Battic Door Energy Conservation Products, we have developed solutions to these and other energy-conservation related issues.
For more information on Battic Door’s energy conservation solutions and products, visit www.batticdoor.com or send a S.A.S.E. to P.O. Box 15, Mansfield, MA 02048.
Mark D. Tyrol is a Professional Engineer specializing in cause and origin of construction defects. He developed several residential energy conservation products including an attic stair cover and a fireplace draftstopper. To learn more visit www.batticdoor.com
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