Cut Your Energy Bills Now: : 150 Smart Ways to Save Money and Make Your Home More Comfortable and Green by Bruce Harley
Cut Your Energy Bills Now
If you live in a hot climate where you rely on air conditioning to make your home bearable, I would recommend reading the section on big appliances. There is also some great information for those with swimming pools or spas.
You might be surprised by some of the myths that are busted throughout the book as well as at the amount of money that can be saved by having an energy-efficient home. You will likely find that your home becomes more comfortable as you make it more energy efficient.
Here are some interesting tidbits found in the book to get you thinking:
1. Heating an aquarium can cost a lot more than the price of the fish – $100 to $300 per year. Select fish species that don’t require heated water.
2. Ceiling fans actually generate heat so only turn them on when you are in the room.
3. When you buy a new fridge or freezer, don’t keep the old one running in the garage or basement. If you do need the extra capacity, consider buying another energy efficient one instead. You will save tons of energy and money,
4. Screen savers on desktops use a lot of energy and can cost you up to $100 per year. Instead, simply turn off your monitor when you aren’t using the computer.
5. Insulate your water heater with a tank wrap and insulate your water pipes.
6. Refrigerators use the most energy of all household appliances and freezers use just slightly less.
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Back in late 2007, after the energy audit of our home, we began to collect ideas from hundreds of people across North America on ways they use to reduce their consumption of non-renewable energy resources such as home heating oil, natural gas, coal (from coal burning electricity generating stations) as well as clean water.
http://dailyhomerenotips.com/energy-conservation/
The result is the above collection of more than 500 home energy and water conservation ideas, freely available to anyone, which includes:
– 400+ tips which are simple and easy to do
– 275+ tips which cost absolutely nothing to do
– 115+ tips which cost just a little to do
– 120+ suggestions to reduce clean water usage
– 115+ suggestions to reduce electricity usage
– 110+ suggestions to keep a home warmer in the winter
– 80+ suggestions to keep a home cooler in the summer
Yes, when a hosuehold attempts to be more environmentally conscious through the reduction of electricity, home heating, home cooling, water heating and clean water conservation, it immediately and directly reduces its utility bills month after month after month.
Being green in the home = more green for the home
How To Reduce Your Energy Bills / Energy Conservation Begins at Home
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.
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?
Attic Stairs
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
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.
Fireplaces
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.
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. Visit http://www.batticdoor.com for more info.
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, an attic access door, and is the U.S. distributor of the fireplace draftstopper. To learn more visit http://www.batticdoor.com