Utility increases and rising gas prices have all put a dent in our wallets but there is one way to fight back and save money every month: with energy efficient Energy Star equipment in your home.
Energy Star gives dozens of tips to homeowners looking to offset increased monthly budgets. Their website outlines each and every room in your home and the many places, some unexpected, that you can save money. Home Comfort is a full-service business capable of helping you to save money in each of the following areas of your home or business:
Heating and Air Conditioning
Plumbing
Electrical Contracting and Service
Plumbing for Commercial and Residential, New Construction or Retrofit
Here are the areas you can save money every month by upgrading to Energy Star equipment installed by Home Comfort:
Your Air Conditioning Unit
When buying new heating and cooling equipment such as a central air conditioning unit, proper sizing and quality installation are critical to your home’s energy efficiency and comfort. Remember: Bigger doesn’t always mean better. Oversizing also can shorten the life of the equipment by causing it to cycle on and off more frequently than a properly sized unit. However, undersized equipment can reduce the efficiency and accelerate wear on system components, leading to early failure.
Upgrading Attic Ventilation
Proper ventilation of the attic with natural air flow keeps the roof deck cool and dry, extending the life of roof shingles and preventing ice dams without using the energy needed to run an attic vent fan.
Sealing Ducts
Look for holes, tears, and other signs of leaking ducts and seal them. Ducts are used to distribute conditioned air throughout houses with forced-air heating and cooling systems. In typical houses, about 20% of the air that moves through the duct system is lost due to leaks, holes and poorly connected ducts. The result is an inefficient HVAC system, high utility bills, and difficulty keeping the house comfortable, no matter how the thermostat is set.
Air Registers
Make sure that the connections at vents and registers are well-sealed where they meet the floors, walls, and ceiling. These are common locations to find leaks and disconnected ductwork. Also make sure that all vents are clear of any furniture or rugs to improve air flow and comfort.
Sink Faucets
Repair any faucet leaks. A leaky faucet can waste gallons of water.
You could waste up to $35 in electricity or in natural gas with a leaky hot water tap. Fixing drips is a cost-effective and easy way to save energy.
Electrical Outlets
Seal holes around outlets with an inexpensive outlet gasket. So simple!
Power Strips
Use a power strip as a central “turn off” point when you are done using equipment.
Even when turned off, electronic and IT equipment often use a small amount of electricity. U.S. households spend approximately $100 per year to power devices while they are in a low power mode, roughly 8 percent of household electricity costs. Using a power strip for your computer and all peripheral equipment allows you to completely disconnect the power supply from the power source, eliminating standby power consumption.
Light Fixtures
Install ENERGY STAR qualified light fixtures or replace standard light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) that have earned the ENERGY STAR. ENERGY STAR qualified lighting provides bright, warm light while using 75% less energy, generating 70% less heat and lasting up to 10 times longer than standard lighting.
Water Heater
By heating water only when you need it, tankless water heaters that have earned the ENERGY STAR save the typical family more than $80 per year on gas bills compared to a standard storage model. Larger families can save even more.
Choosing a gas storage water heater that has earned the ENERGY STAR instead of a standard model can save $20 a year. That’s a $290 savings over the 13-year lifetime of the water heater.
If you have an older water heater, you can improve its insulation by wrapping it with an insulating jacket and save more than $30 per year in excess heat loss. To help keep your hot water from cooling off before it gets to the tap, you can insulate the hot water piping, leaving the water heater for additional savings. Don’t forget to turn off electric water heaters and turn down gas water heaters when going away on vacation.
Reference:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.es_at_home_tips