Whether to keep you warm in the winter, cool in the summer, provide you with light or heat your water, your home is using energy every day, all day long. At the same time, energy prices are on the rise. Here are eight simple steps you can take to do your part to conserve energy and lower your monthly energy costs!
 1. Install Low-Flow Fixtures
Federal regulations mandate that new showerhead flow rates can't exceed more than 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm) at a water pressure of 80 pounds per square inch (psi). You can purchase quality, low-flow fixtures for around $10 to $20 each and achieve water savings of 25-60 percent.
For maximum water efficiency, select a shower head with a flow rate of less than 2.5 gpm. There are two basic types of low-flow shower heads: aerating and laminar flow. Aerating showerheads mix air with water, forming a misty spray. Laminar flow showerheads form individual streams of water. If you live in a humid climate, you might want to use a laminar flow shower head because it won't create as much steam and moisture as an aerating one.
Before 1992, some showerheads had flow rates of 5.5 gpm. Therefore, if you have fixtures that pre-date 1992, you might want to replace them if you're not sure of their flow rates. If it takes less than 20 seconds for your shower flow to fill a one gallon pail, you could benefit from a low-flow shower head.
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 2. Insulate Hot Water Pipes
Insulating your hot water pipes reduces heat loss and can raise water temperature 2-4ºF warmer than pipes that are not insulated, allowing for a lower water temperature setting. You also won't have to wait as long for hot water when you turn on a faucet or showerhead, which helps conserve water.
Insulate all accessible hot water pipes, especially within 3 feet of the water heater. It's also a good idea to insulate the cold water inlet pipes for the first three feet. Use quality pipe insulation wrap, or neatly tape strips of fiberglass insulation around the pipes. Pipe sleeves made with polyethylene or neoprene foam are the most commonly used insulation. Match the pipe’s sleeve inside diameter to the pipe's outside diameter for a snug fit. Place the pipe sleeve so the seam will be face down on the pipe. Tape, wire, or clamp the sleeve every foot or two to secure it to the pipe. If you use tape, some recommend using acrylic tape instead of duct tape.
For gas water heaters, keep insulation at least 6 inches from the flue. If pipes are within 8 inches of the flue, your safest choice is to use fiberglass pipe wrap (at least 1 inch thick) without a facing. You can use either wire or aluminum foil tape to secure it to the pipe.
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 3. Apply Permanent Weather Stripping
View a demonstration on Applying Permanent Weather Stripping.
You may not think that those small cracks and crevices around your doors and windows are a very big deal. But, did you know that a 1/8" space between a standard exterior door and its threshold is equivalent to a two square inch hole in the wall? Closing those gaps can save you up to 15 percent in heating and cooling costs and also can reduce the demand on your heating and cooling system. Best of all, you can probably weather strip your entire home in a single day.
To determine how much weather stripping you will need, add the perimeter of all windows and doors to be weather stripped, then add 5-10 percent to accommodate any waste. Also consider that weather stripping comes in varying widths and depths.
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 4. Install a Programmable Thermostat
You can save as much as 10 percent a year on your heating and cooling bills by simply turning your thermostat back 10-15 percent for 8 hours. You can do this automatically, without sacrificing comfort, by installing an automatic setback or programmable thermostat.
Using a programmable thermostat, you can adjust the times you turn on the heating or air-conditioning according to a pre-set schedule. As a result, the equipment doesn't operate as much when you are asleep or when the house or part of the house is not occupied. Programmable thermostats can store and repeat multiple daily settings that you can manually override without affecting the rest of the daily or weekly program.
Finally, when shopping for a programmable thermostat, be sure to look for the Energy Star label.
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 5. Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
Making improvements to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. An average household dedicates 5-10 percent of its energy budget to lighting. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50-75 percent!
Using tube fluorescent and energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in fixtures throughout your home provides high quality and high efficiency lighting. Fluorescent lamps are much more efficient than incandescent (standard) bulbs and last about 4-10 times longer.
Today's CFLs offer brightness and color rendition that is comparable to incandescent lights. Although fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps cost a bit more than incandescent bulbs, they pay for themselves by saving energy over their lifetime. CFL fixtures are now available that feature dimmers and operate much like incandescent fixtures.
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 6. Use Motion Sensor Lights
Many homeowners use outdoor lighting for decoration and security. When shopping for outdoor lights, you will find a variety of products, from low voltage pathway lighting to motion detector floodlights.
Use outdoor lights with a photocell unit or a motion sensor so they will turn on only at night or when someone is present. A combined photocell and motion sensor will increase your energy savings even more. Also consider high-intensity discharge (also called HID) or low-pressure sodium lights. Turn off decorative outdoor natural gas lamps; just eight such lamps burning year-round use as much natural gas as it takes to heat an average size home during an entire winter. Exterior lighting is one of the best places to use CFLs because of their long life. If you live in a cold climate, be sure to buy a lamp with a cold weather ballast since standard CFLs may not work well below 40°F.
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 7. Install Dimmer Switches
Want to affect the mood and save energy? An effective way to quickly change the mood of a room is by dimming or brightening the lights. A softer light results in a more comforting, relaxing atmosphere. Brighter lighting is more suitable for normal room use and reading. An easy way to control your lighting is to install a dimmer switch. Dimmers also reduce energy consumption by cycling light and increasing bulb life.
Most dimmers cycle the light on and off 120 times per second – faster than your eye can detect. The longer the light is ON versus OFF, the brighter the light output. Likewise, the longer the light is OFF versus ON, the lower the light output and the greater the energy savings. An added bonus is the incredible increase in bulb life from operating at a lower light output (filament temperature). Dimming the light by just 10 percent more than doubles the bulb life.
Dimmer switches come in four popular styles: dial, slide, touch pad, and combination light switch/dimmer slide. Since dimmer switches come in different shapes and each operates a little differently, you should always follow the instructions included with the switch for installation and operation.
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 8. Insulate Windows and Doors
If you can’t afford to replace your single pane windows, remember to put your storm windows in for the winter. You can also block the flow of cold air into your home by insulating the windows and doors.
Begin by installing a clear plastic film across the inside of your windows and frames. Then heat the plastic with a blow dryer until it becomes nearly invisible. The trapped pocket of air between the plastic film and the window acts as an effective insulator which can help reduce heat loss through the window by 25 to 50 percent. Best of all, it's a relatively inexpensive project!
See more information on insulating windows. Related Products: Window and Door Insulator Kits |
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