Tips to Help Energy Efficiency in the Home

Most people would like to lower their heating / cooling bill but are not aware of how easy it is to make their homes run on less energy. Huge decreases in heating, cooling and electricity costs can be created through minimal changes homeowners are mostly able to do themselves. 

1. Discover better ways to heat and cool your home. 

As much as half of the energy used in homes goes toward heating and cooling. The following are a few ways that energy bills can be reduced through adjustments to the heating and cooling systems:

• Consider installing a ceiling fan. Ceiling fans can be used in place of air conditioners, which require a large amount of energy.
• Regularly replace air filters in air conditioners and heaters.
• Turn down your thermostats at night and when no one is home. In most homes, about 2% of the heating bill will be saved for each degree that the thermostat is lowered for at least eight hours each day. Turning down the thermostat from 75° F to 70° F, for example, saves about 10% on heating costs.
• Install a programmable thermostat in the home. A programmable thermostat saves money by allowing heating and cooling appliances to be automatically turned down during times that no one is home and at night. Programmable thermostats contain no mercury and can save up to $150 per year in energy costs in some areas. 
• Install a wood stove or a pellet stove. These are more efficient sources of heat than furnaces.
• At night, curtains drawn over windows will better insulate the room.

2. Install a tankless water heater.

• Demand-type (tankless) water heaters provide hot water only as it is needed. They don’t create the standby energy losses commonly found with traditional storage water heaters, which will save the homeowner on energy costs. Tankless water heaters heat water on demand without the use of a storage tank. When a hot water tap is turned on, cold-water travels through a pipe into the unit. A gas burner or an electric element heats the water, and as a result, demand water heaters deliver a constant supply of hot water. You don’t need to wait for a storage tank to fill up with enough hot water.

3. Replace incandescent lights.

The typical household will dedicate 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Traditional incandescent lights convert approximately only 10% of the energy they consume into light, while the rest becomes heat. The use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), can lower the energy use of a homeowners lighting budget by 50% to 75%. 

• CFLs use 75% less energy and last about 10 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.
• LEDs last even longer than CFLs and consume less energy.
• LEDs have no moving parts and, unlike CFLs, they contain no mercury.

4. Seal and insulate your home.

Sealing and insulating your home is one of the easiest and most valuable ways to help make a home more comfortable and energy efficient. A tightly sealed home can improve comfort and indoor air quality while reducing utility bills. 

The following are some common places where air leakage may occur:

• electrical receptacles/outlets
• mail slots
• around pipes and wires
• wall- or window-mounted air conditioners
• attic hatches (Because hot air rises, air leaks are most likely to occur in the attic).
• fireplace dampers
• inadequate weatherstripping around doors
• baseboards
• window frames; and
• switch plates

5. Insulate windows and doors.

 One-third of the home’s total heat loss will usually happen through windows and doors. The following are ways to reduce energy lost through windows and doors:

• Seal all window edges and cracks with rope caulk. This is the cheapest and simplest option.
• Windows can be weather-stripped with a special lining that is inserted between the window and the frame. For doors, apply weatherstripping around the whole perimeter to ensure a tight seal when they’re closed. If they aren’t already in place, install quality door sweeps on the bottom of the doors
• If existing windows have rotted or damaged wood, cracked glass, missing putty, poorly fitting sashes, or locks that don’t work, they should be repaired or replaced.

6. Install efficient showerheads and toilets.

These plumbing fixtures can be installed to help conserve water usage in homes:

• Low-flow showerheads are available in different flow rates, and some even have a pause button which shuts off the water while lathering up.
• Low-flow toilets. Toilets consume 30% to 40% of the total water used in homes, making them the biggest water users. Replacing an older 3.5-gallon toilet with a modern, low-flow 1.6-gallon toilet can reduce usage an average of 2 gallons-per-flush (GPF), saving around 12,000 gallons of water per year. 
• Vacuum-assist toilets. This type of toilet has a vacuum chamber that uses a siphon action to suck air from the trap beneath the bowl, allowing it to quickly fill with water to clear waste. Vacuum-assist toilets are relatively quiet.
• Dual-flush toilets. Dual-flush toilets have been used in Europe and Australia for years and are now gaining in popularity in Canada. Dual-flush toilets let you choose between a 1-gallon (or less) flush for liquid waste, and a 1.6-gallon flush for solid waste. Dual-flush 1.6-GPF toilets reduce water consumption by an additional 30%.

7. Use appliances and electronics conscientiously.

Electronics and appliances account for around 20% of household energy bills in a common modern home. The following are tips that will reduce the required energy of electronics and appliances:

• Refrigerators and freezers should not be located near the stove, dishwasher or heat vents, or exposed to direct sunlight. Exposure to warm areas will force them to use more energy to remain cool.  
• Computers should be shut off when not in use. If unattended computers must be left on, their monitors should be shut off. Laptop computers use significantly less electricity than desktop computers.
• Chargers, such as those used for laptops and cell phones, consume energy when they are plugged in. When they are not connected to electronics, chargers should be unplugged.