As much as half of the energy used in our homes go to Heating and Cooling. By doing 2 simple & inexpensive things to our home's heating & air conditioning (HVAC) systems, we can have a big effect on our utility bills.
- Install Radiant Barriers, which can lower cooling costs between 5%–10%! It's usually in attics (on the walls & floor insulation) as well as around water heaters, pipes, & inside of garage doors. Basically, the Radiant Barrier "reflects" the heat to reduce summer heat gain inside the house, which helps lower cooling costs. Here's a great site for more info on Radiant Barriers & how it can be installed http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11680
- Replacing your windows with Energy Star Windows would be the best, but a great inexpensive alternative would be to Install Solar Screens on your windows, or at least the ones that get most of the afternoon sun. Solar Screens are the most effective window treatments that you can apply to your home for lowering energy bills. They essentially reflect the direct sun rays off the screen, create an extra area of shade between the window screen & window pane, and also absorb some of the heat in the screen material itself ... all while still allowing you to have a view out of your window. If you're in the Dallas/Ft Worth area or in Houston, I highly recommend Lone Star Solar Screens!!!
- Install a Programmable Thermostat & Use it Properly. Keep the temperature set at its "energy savings" set-points for long periods of time (~8-10 hrs). It's suggested that during the day, when no one is at home, set the temp back 8° F of what you'd like it to be when you get home in winter & set it 7° F up in summer. For the night, at bedtime, set the temp back 8° F in winter and set it up 4° F in summer. Here's a quick & informative video about Programable Thermostats https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=vid_gallery.showGenYTVideo
- Apply Caulk and Weather-Strip around windows and doorframes that leak air.
And last but not least, here are some super easy & inexpensive ways to save $$$ and make your house more energy efficient:
Samantha Smith
REALTOR - d+b Real Estate
214-422-0729 Cell
972-852-9713 Fax
www.lakerayhubbardlife.com
www.Facebook.com/LakeRayHubbardLife
All very good points and should be posted in your next community target newsletter. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Stan & I just shared it with my SOI ;)
Samantha, Very good post and I hope that most people are doing the things to help conserve power in all forms. A friend of mine just replaced all light bulbs in a small hotel and it saved $1,500.00 from the prior month.
Wow! That's amazing that he saved that much with just changing out the light bulbs! In our house we've put up the Radiant Barrier & the Solar Screens & out electric bill last summer was ~40% lower ... which is quite a feat in Texas :)
Sam - I'm guilty of not changing out our air filter every month...heck we are lucky to change every 3 or 4 months! Gross now that I think of it. :|
Great post though girl! Lots of good tips!
Thanks Ladies! It was a research bear but the info I found was so great it kept me going to find more :) We're guilty of not changing out the Air Filters as often as we should but when we do, I can notice the difference immediatly! The Solar Screens are great but Oh Laura ... you really should do the Radiant Barrier too (nows the time to install it)! Both of those have saved us lots of ca$h. My big thing is keeping my lil' fingers away from the Programed Thermostat :/