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The average annual cost for heating and cooling a home is $1,900, which can make a big dent in the household; you can reduce that cost by properly maintaining your home and selecting equipment and products with an eye toward energy conservation. Lowering your cooling bill also means that your household is using less energy, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to a healthier environment.
Keeping the power bill low
So just how do you reduce your energy demands this summer? Simple solutions such as improving your home's insulation and more involved projects such as upgrading your HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system can help reduce your home's need for energy, and therefore your energy bill.
• Use the air conditioner only when necessary. If the breeze outside is pleasant, open a window.
• Use ceiling fans and other cooling fans to circulate air, but turn fans off when no one is in the room.
• Educate family members about energy conservation - keep doors and windows shut while the air conditioner is running.
• Schedule regular check-ups and maintenance for your heating/cooling units by a qualified heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) technician.
• Clean or replace unit filters every month.
• Keep air registers open, clean and free of furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
• Use a programmable thermostat. In the summer, set your thermostat to 78 degrees F, or your highest comfortable setting. For each degree you raise your thermostat, you can reduce your cooling costs by as much as 3-5 percent.
• Use kitchen and bathroom ventilation fans wisely - use them for short periods to circulate air as necessary. Running them for extended periods uses energy unnecessarily and allows cool air to escape outside.
Use shade trees and other landscape features, awnings, and window coverings to keep the sun from overheating your home.
Keeping the cool in
Leaks around windows and doors mean that cool air is getting out. Some leaks will be apparent to homeowners, but frequently larger leaks in the attic and basement lose more cool air than the obvious ones. Homeowners can frequently find large gaps around pipes, light fixtures, chimneys, and soffits. Some sealing projects are appropriate for do-it-yourselfers, while others may require the assistance of a professional.
Tax Credits for energy savings
If your HVAC unit is old and inefficient, you may want to consider replacing it. Replacing an old unit can save as much as 50% on your cooling and heating bills. When replacing a unit, look for the Energy Star label. This label identifies products that meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the EPA and US Department of Energy.
Tax credits are available for many types of home improvements including adding insulation, replacement windows, and certain high efficiency heating and cooling equipment. For more information on these credits, visit www.irs.gov and search on energy credits.
Reducing your energy needs in the summer benefits you, the consumer, and the larger community. Keeping your cooling bill in check leaves more money to meet other obligations, and reducing your energy needs means cleaner air for everyone. To learn more about saving energy in the home, come to an Energy Conservation workshop sponsored by Johnston County Cooperative Extension on Thursday, June 18th or Tuesday, July 21st from 5 - 7 p.m. taught by Jayne M. Cubilla, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent with the Cooperative Extension Service. For more information on energy conservation tips for your home or to register for the workshop, contact the Johnston County Cooperative Extension at 919-989-5380.
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By Ceiling Fans on 06/01 03:59 PM
Ceiling fans certainly can reduce the amount of energy you use cooling your home by as much as 40% or more if you currently are using air conditioning. But this only works if you in fact raise the temperature of your thermostat or opt not to use your air conditioning at all. Unfortunately studies by the EPA show that many people do not do this and actually end up spending more on their cooling costs by operating their ceiling fans without raising the thermostat or by leaving their ceiling fans on when they are not in the room or at home. Even more, some ceiling fans use a lot more energy than others, so it is important to install ceiling fans that are energy efficient as well as raise your thermostat. Emerson just introduced the Midway Eco, a new ceiling fan that is over 300% more efficient than other fans according to data published by the EPA. This is a breakthrough in ceiling fan technology worth mentioning here. You can read more about the Emerson Midway Eco ceiling fan here! Submitted by Hansen Wholesale Ceiling Fans!
By callie on 05/31 12:14 PM
Install green inssulation products, radiant barriers in the attic. reflect up to 93% of heat . prolong life of a/c unit. reduce energy use. see at www.GreenInsulationProducts.com also heat your pool with excess attic heat and cool your attic at the same time with solar attic. our newest product line.
By Chris on 05/31 07:00 AM
Also, Progress Energy and PSNC have rebates for High Effecient HVAC systems. Progress Energy beginning July 1, 2009 will offer up to $300 additional dollars to go from a 13 Seer system to 15 Seer. they are also giving some rebates for system maintenance and duct repair. PSNC is giving $100 to use a 90% plus gas furnace. These are in addition to Tax Credits and any manufacturers rebates. Enjoy.
By Battic Door on 05/30 07:32 AM
How To Stop Drafts and Save On Energy Bills Imagine leaving a window open all winter long -- the heat loss, cold drafts and wasted energy! If your home has a folding pull-down attic stair, a whole house fan, a fireplace or clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring in your home every day. Drafts from these often overlooked holes waste energy and cost you big in the form of higher energy bills. Drafts are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home. Drafts occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, etc. Most homeowners are well aware of the benefits that caulk and weatherstripping provide to minimize energy loss and drafts. But what can you do about drafts from the four largest “holes” in your home -- the folding attic stair, the whole house fan, 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 attic door. Try this yourself: at night, turn on the attic light and shut the attic stairway door -- do you see any light coming through? If you do, heated and air-conditioned air is leaking out of these large gaps in your home 24-hours a day. This is like leaving a window or skylight open all year ‘round. An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add an insulated attic stair cover. An attic stair cover seals the stairs, stopping drafts and energy loss. Add the desired amount of insulation over the cover to restore the insulation removed from the ceiling. Whole House Fans and Air Conditioning Vents 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 the drafty ceiling shutter between you and the outdoors. An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a whole house fan shutter seal. Made from white textured flexible insulation, the shutter seal is installed over the ceiling shutter, secured with Velcro, and trimmed to fit. The shutter seal can also be used to seal and insulate air conditioning vents, and is easily removed when desired. Fireplaces Over 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 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 drafts and wasted energy caused by fireplaces. Why does a home with a fireplace have higher energy bills? Your chimney is an opening that leads directly outdoors -- just like an open window. Even if the damper is shut, it is not airtight. Glass doors don’t stop the drafts either. The fireplace is like a giant straw sucking your expensive heated or air-conditioned air right out of your house! An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a Fireplace Plug to your fireplace. Available from Battic Door, a company known for their energy conservation products, the Fireplace Plug is an inflatable pillow that seals the fireplace damper, eliminating drafts, odors, and noise. 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 drafts in through the duct, through your dryer and into your house. Dryer vents use a sheet-metal flapper to try to reduce these drafts. This is very primitive technology that does not provide a positive seal to stop the drafts. 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 drafts, and also keeps out pests, bees and rodents. 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. For more information on Battic Door’s energy conservation solutions and products for your home, visit www.batticdoor.com or, to request a free catalog, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to P.O. Box 15, Mansfield, MA 02048. ABOUT THE AUTHOR 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 an attic access door. Battic Door is the US distributor of the fireplace plug. To learn more visit www.batticdoor.com
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