Home Energy Savings

Home Energy Savings

Like every homeowner like you wants to know how to keep your bills in manageable and acceptable digits, there are systems specially designed to answer this. Systems guaranteed to make your bills and worries lower.

Let us start from:

Insulating- As we all know that clothes keep our body warm by trapping the body heat inside, similarly the same principle goes with keeping the house warm in winter. Keeping the house tightly insulated is the best thing but not always the easiest thing to do. Any gap left around the wall enclosure will deteriorate the quality of the insulation i.e. around electrical boxes, pipes and wires. The alternative in this situation might b cellulose insulation which eliminates gaps and voids making the walls 100% insulated.

This is not all.

Air sealing- Leaks around the house are responsible for 40% of our heating or cooling consumption which means that no matter how good is your insulation, if it has leaks you cannot assure total savings.

Now it is time to solve the minor issues that add big costs on our home energy once we have ensured that our home is properly insulated.

Cleaning the air filter gives two benefits;

1. Clean air filter doesn’t ask the heating system to do some extra work.

2. A clean air filter provides clear air even the house is insulated.

30% straight savings come from leak free ducts of our heating systems so if we can make sure that there are no leakages there then we can save a good chunk of money from it.

We should turn on our electronic appliances only when we have to use them and never leave them turned on when we are away. Lights should be turned off when not in use. Similarly, the thermostat should also be lowered when we are away or sleeping.

We should set our machine to cold dial. Washing machines consume up to 90% more energy on heating the water then using tap water.

By using small electric burners when cooking gives us better savings than large burners. It also keeps our heating system less stressful and helps in maintaining the temperature of the house.

Next, lower down the thermostat of your refrigerator as well.

Using a fireplace to warm up the house is quite cheaper than using the heating systems.

Maintaining – Keeping our homes well maintained gives us a lot of savings. We should invest in energy saving devices that keep our homes arm at the same time keeps our heating system work as efficiently as possible. Regular checks on the ducts for leakages and cleaning of air filters will definitely make our heating systems work efficiently.

Now, my dear friend you have a bill in your hand that is both manageable and acceptable

Try all these and observe the difference they can bring to your monthly electricity bill. If you want a comfortable and tension free life, lets install home energy saving devices in your home and enjoy unlimited benefits.

Save Money With An Energy Audit

Each month your electricity bills give you a shock? And you always think of keeping a close check on electricity usage? It’s quite simple if you really want to ‘audit’ your electricity expenses. Similar to an official audit, your home energy audit will give you a clear understanding of the usage per appliance, the peak hours of electricity consumption and cost-benefit analysis. Ultimately you’ll be in a better position to take control of your monthly bill. Once you get to know the consumption pattern, you’ll be able to take corrective actions that will not only reduce unnecessary electricity usage but will also improve your budget.

You can perform this energy audit yourself if you have the necessary knowledge of energy requirements, consumption pattern and methods to measure energy leakage. Otherwise you can hire an ‘external auditor’ that has been trained for such purpose and are well-equipped for the assessment. They have the blower doors and infrared cameras to assess the loss of cooling and heat from a house. Any hidden holes and cracks are detected. These auditors check the walls, ceilings, doors and every other prospect that can contribute to energy conservation. But if you want to save cost, you can perform an energy audit yourself. You first have to familiarize yourself with the procedure of energy assessment. Make sure to make a list of spots and ways you discover to improve energy usage.

The first and foremost factor in energy spill is air. Any crevices or gaps in walls, window panes, after split units, holes in cupboards or in walls can fairly raise the cooling and heating requirements. Check for any such cracks in your house and fill them up, which can reduce electricity usage by almost 30% a year. Examine each wall, door, ceiling separately and don’t forget to take a look at fireplace dampers and switch boards too. After internal examination, check exterior walls and chimney too but beware of any possible air combustion. Inspect the insulated walls and ceilings, read installation manual and check if the insulation is meeting those requirements. You will need some electricity voltage readers when you’ll deal with the insulation.

A thorough examination of cooling and heating system is must and any defects must be removed immediately. Dilapidated cooling or heating systems consume considerably higher amount of energy than the newer ones. Determine whether you really need to replace your system. It is advisable to take services of professionals as they can accurately measure air filtration, heat conduction, energy input rate and R-value (rate of resistance) of various components. Before his inspection, you must have your own list of possible energy leakage problems.

He can also report the mechanical efficiency of each device by measuring the input and output rate. Home energy auditor is an expert of thermograph and can record surface temperature of each wall. Thus identifying any loss of heat or cooling either through convection or radiation. A thermal assessment can nearly cost $300 to $600.A noncontact infrared thermometer can be used to make a rough estimate of heat loss if you don’t want to spend this much on thermal assessment. Temperature of exterior walls is measures in this method to calculate gross temperature.

Use Bricks, Save Energy

If you are thinking about building your house or renovating it, consider the savings you can ensure by making some design changes in your house. Be sure to make the right decision regarding building material that can ease your life in future. Lightweight construction material can contribute greatly to your monthly electricity bill.

How? Extreme weather conditions require indoor adjustment of temperature that result in installation of multiple cooling units and electric heaters. Ultimately your monthly bills go up. In various parts of the world, houses are built with bricks instead of wood that not only save forests from depletion but also minimize the energy requirements of the house. Governments of some countries have even passed a regulation that requires people to build houses using clay bricks.

If you plan your house design and building material rationally, you’ll end up in saving many dollars monthly to spend that elsewhere.

Design your house according to the established standards of a passive house, which will moderate the temperature by repelling intense heat and wintriness externally. The wall facing the north must be made of glass that would ensure maximum input of sunlight during winters and will keep house illuminated even in cloudy days. During hot weather you can block direct sunlight by using extended shades or eaves.

In passive houses, wind is allowed to enter and exit through ventilators that are usually positioned at upper part of each wall. The air crosses freely and eliminates the need of an Air conditioner. In summers the openings must be reasonable so as not to incorporate heated air. An significant concern in passive houses is insulation that acts as a barrier between internal and external temperatures of house.

When the wind is too icy, insulated ceilings and walls maintain rooms’ temperature and keep it from falling. Similarly during summers, blazing sunlight can’t produce intense heat in house.

Thermal mass bricks do not conduct heat as freely as light construction materials do. Clay bricks obstruct the heat from penetrating into the house because of the thermal mass. Building your house with thermal mass bricks will reduce the energy requirements.

Resistance of walls is measured through R-value, which is very high in passive houses. The indoor environment will always be moderate because of the bricks that act like shield against intense weather conditions. All rooms have standardized temperature unlike the uneven temperatures in ordinary houses. Discuss these issues with your contractor and architect, ensure that your house is properly ventilated and is made up of bricks that contain high amount of thermal mass. Bricks rebound heat to the eternal environment and absorb the remaining, keeping the house safe from becoming too hot or too cold.

Denser material maintains and stabilizes home temperature in all weathers. Passive design of houses makes them more energy efficient by optimally utilizing sunlight and saving cooling and heating expenses. You can even erect solar panels on the external surface of house, which will suffice your electricity necessities. Planting deciduous trees beside house will help in temperature control.