There are dozens of ways to make your home more energy efficient. The costs range from no more than a little effort to “the sky’s the limit." Many options require little or no skill and very little time. You, as the homeowner, have a responsibility to keep your home as energy efficient as possible.
Many energy saving projects you can perform are little more than preventative maintance items. Start by putting yourself on a schedule of replacing your heating and air conditioning filters. They should be changed monthly and replaced with a good Merv 11 rated pleated filter. Never again purchase the inexpensive see through fiberglass filters. They allow tremendous amounts of dust, pollens, molds and dirt to pass through them. The result is a clogged or restricted cooling coil reducing your airflow and robbing you of CFM’s (cubic feet per minute) making your unit less efficient.
A dirty heating and air conditioning system causes also many costly side effects. A homeowner suffering from allergies may find their home is no longer a safe place as its indoor air quality is more polluted than the air outdoors. For an allergy sufferer, this means more medication, loss of work, and possibly more visits to the doctor. A forced air system with improper filters allows more dust, dirt, skin cells, molds, pet hair and thousands of other impurities to circulate throughout your home. The result is more cleaning products, more vacuuming, and more painting. Replacing air filters regularly requires no skill, very little money, and increases efficiency.
During the cooling season, go out to your condensing unit once a month and hose out the fins. When these fins are clogged or dirty, your unit runs longer and hotter. Don’t worry about getting water in it, its made to run in the rain. With a brisk spray, remove the accumulated dirt and grass clippings from it. While you’re there, make sure you have at least one foot of free space around it to breath properly; if not trim the bushes and grass away from it.
Insulation of your hot water heater is another inexpensive way to increase your home’s efficiency. It requires no skill and very little time to perform. The material is available in most every hardware store. Most every water heater is equipped with a drain valve at the base. Flushing your water heater yearly will remove the build-up of mineral deposits that actually act as an insulator preventing the heat from being transferred to your water. This saves running time therefore making it more efficient.
If either your heating and air conditioning system or your water heater is over ten years old, it is now inefficient compared to the newer models. Newer models can save you up to 40% on your utility bills. At today’s utility costs, this could be a tremendous savings.
Your refrigerator can run as much as twenty hours a day. Most refrigerators today incorporate a condenser in the bottom of the cabinet. This condenser becomes clogged with dirt causing the compressor to run hot. A hot motor consumes more electricity. Purchasing a radiator brush at your local hardware store along with your vacuum cleaner will make cleaning it easier. Remove the bottom front kick plate from the refrigerator. It’s not hard to find, it’s the thing that’s clogged with dirt. Turn on your vac and run the brush through the coils until clean. Your refrigerator will run less and cooler. This requires no skill. The brush, which costs less than five dollars, will serve other purposes as well.
Speaking of that new brush, go to your clothes dryer and slide it away from the wall so you can get behind it. If you can use a screwdriver or a pair of pliers, you can clean the lint clogs from this also. Your lint filter does a fair job of trapping lint but a multitude of it will bypass it and collect in the rear of the dryer and in the discharge line causing a restriction in the air flow. When this happens, you have to run your dryer longer to dry your clothes, not to mention the possibility of fire. Using your vacuum and the brush, clean everywhere you can get the brush in. This requires very little skill, a little muscle, maybe a half hour, and why not, you already have the brush.
Other practical energy saving ideas that are cost effective and easily done by anyone are:
• Replacing your old filament light bulbs with the new florescent bulbs. They use 40% less electricity and last for years.
• Putting motion sensors on your outdoor lights is a money saving project.
• Installing an attic exhaust fan reduces latent heat in it that would be transferred to the inside of your home. It’s inexpensive and requires little skill.
• Purchasing a humidifier will make your home more comfortable and easier to heat during the winter months, not to mention, it helps keep your woodwork from separating.
• Insulate, caulk, or re-glaze windows and doors.
A novice with virtually no experience and a tight budget can perform all these things. Most everything I have mentioned requires very little time and gives you a lot of bang for your buck. These things also help your homes appliances operate longer and trouble free. For just a few dollars you have made your home more energy efficient, less problematic, healthier, and more enjoyable to live in.
Gary and his wife, Judi, have co-authored the book, 7001 Forgotten Secrets of the Ages, due for release in mid October. To learn more, visit: http://www.7001forgottensecretsoftheages.com
Gary R. Lake is the owner of 'Gary R. Lake, Commercial Refrigeration,' and has been in business for over forty years. Migrating from New York, he and his family moved to South Carolina 5-1/2 years ago and continues his business there. He has presently co-authored the book, "7001 Forgotten Secrets of the Ages" with his wife, Judi. For more information visit: http://www.7001forgottensecretsoftheages.com
» left by Doug from Levittown, NY (326 days 6 hours ago.)
Mr. Lake, a lot of good pointers here. I will certainally keep in mind these pointers, thank you. Respond to this comment
» left by Jean Horst(1,032) Jean Horst (324 days 18 hours ago.)
Great ideas, Gary. I especially like that fact that all your tips can be done for a minimal cost. Very practical! Respond to this comment
» left by Anonymous (324 days 16 hours ago.)
Wow, a lot of helpful tips here! Good article! Respond to this comment
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