- A simple way to find air leaks is to use a piece of thread or an incense stick. Hold the thread or
smoking stick carefully near windows, doors or anywhere you think air might leak. If there is a
leak, they will be blown away from or sucked into the leaking area. Losing conditioned air can
make utility bills higher.
- Seal air leaks around windows and doors with weather stripping.
- Seal any air leaks and insulate heating and cooling system ducts.
- A blower door test can be performed on your house and cooling and heating system to find
air leaks.
- Use a power meter to find out how much electricity appliances are using. You will find out if it
needs to be replaced or just turned off when not in use. For example, if an older air conditioner
is using a lot more power than it was when it was new, you may save money by replacing it with
a more energy efficient model.
- Turn off computer, printer, monitor and other home office appliances when not in use. You can
use the standby or hibernate options on your computer instead of turning it off. Plug
electronic devices that use Standby Power in power strips so they can be turned off at night
or when going on vacation.
- Wash cloths in warm or cold water and air dry them on a clothesline instead of using a cloths
dryer. Dryers use a lot of electricity and can heat up the inside of a home, costing more to cool
it.
- Tankless water heaters reduce energy use and make hot water on demand only when
needed. There's no tank of water to be heated over and over if its not being used.
- Lower water heater temperature to 120'F.
- Insulate an electric water heater with an insulation blanket . When installing the blanket,
make a cutout where safety information and operational specifications are printed on the
water heater so plumbers, electricians and others can read this information so the
manufacturer's warranty will remain in effect. Also insulate water pipes exposed to the
outside. Even insulating pipes inside a house can reduce energy consumption.
- Cleaning appliances can reduce energy costs, lessens the risk of a fire and can lower
maintenance cost.
- Control heat transfer through windows with high-reflectivity window film.
- Passive solar heating and cooling is to allow natural heat from the sun in winter inside to warm
your house and using shade and wind in the summer to cool your house. Open curtains to let
the sun warm your house in winter and plant deciduous trees that will shade your house in the
summer. Leave plenty of room around trees and shrubs for good air circulation.
- Portable fans and ceiling fans help to circulate warm or cool air.
- Whole house fans and attic fans will exhaust stale hot air and bring in cool fresh air during
cool seasons.
- Insulate attics, walls and floors to keep hot air out in the summer and warm air in during the
winter.
- Add a programmable thermostat to heating and cooling system.
- Clean or replace air filters in your air conditioning and heating unit at least once a month.
- If you are going to be away from home for long periods of time and you don't have a
programmable thermostat, turn your a/c up a few degrees in summer and down a few degrees
in winter until you get home.
- Insulation can reduce noises coming in from outside.
- Use (CFL) compact fluorescent light bulbs throughout your house to save money on electric
bills. Fluorescent bulbs are four times more efficient than regular incandescent bulbs. They
provide as much light as regular incandescent bulbs while using only one-fourth of the energy.
A 15-watt compact fluorescent light bulb produces the same amount of light as a 60-watt
incandescent light bulb. Compact fluorescent light bulbs last 10 times longer than
incandescent light bulbs, usually about 10,000 hours.
Small LED nightlights in dark rooms and hallways will light your way at night for very little
money.
- Tubular skylights brings in natural light and reduces energy usage for lighting.
- Using an aerator on faucet spouts reduces the amount of water used and makes water flow
more smoothly without splashing.
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