New Year Resolutions for Your Home
It's time to check out your home’s physical fitness and put it on an ‘energy diet.’ Even new homes can be modified to help you save on your utility bills. By cutting wasteful energy use, an energy-efficient home is a strong defense against winter winds, rain, sleet, snow, and chill, while reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and increasing national security.
Uncle Sam is offering an incentive for energy-efficient modifications: a 30% tax credit—a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your income taxes owed—of up to $1,500 during the remainder of 2009 and throughout 2010 for specific energy efficiency home improvements. Details on qualifying products, including insulation and sealing products, highly efficient furnaces, heat pumps, and windows, are available at www.ase.org/taxcredits.
From the Alliance to Save Energy, here are some tips to cut your energy bills.
1. Plug air leaks to stop heat and cool air going out your windows, doors, and outlets. Seal all those air leaks with sealant or caulking and weather stripping.
2. Insulate for your climate based on R-values. Start with the attic, then exterior and basement walls, floors, and crawl spaces. Insulate and seal attic air ducts. These first two steps will increase your comfort, make your home quieter, and reduce your heating and cooling costs by up to 20%.
3. Find ENERGY STAR windows and see if you can afford to replace at least some of your windows. They can cut heating costs by as much as 30% compared to single-pane windows, while increasing indoor comfort and lessening fading of home furnishings.
4. Maintain your HVAC system at least yearly, preferably twice a year, to improve efficiency and comfort. If it needs replacing, be sure and compare ENERGY STAR equipment.
5. Keep your furnace filters clean. Check the filter monthly, especially in the winter, and change it if it looks dirty - a minimum of every 3 months. A dirty filter will slow down air flow and make the system work harder to keep you warm–wasting energy. A clean filter will also prevent dust and dirt from building up in the system, which could require expensive maintenance and/or cause early system failure.
6. Seal your heating and cooling ducts to increase efficiency and lower energy costs. In a typical home with forced air, 20% of the air moving through the duct system is lost through leaks, holes, and poor connections. Insulate ducts in unheated areas such as attics, crawlspaces, and garages with duct insulation that carries an R-value of 6 or higher. A well-designed and sealed duct system may make it possible to downsize to a smaller, less costly heating and cooling system that will provide better dehumidification.
7. Install a programmable thermostat which will lower the heat or AC while you are away or overnight. This can reduce heating costs by 10%.
8. On your west and south-facing windows, open curtains and blinds to let the sun in (when it's shining), allowing natural heating. Be sure and close again after dark.
9. If you replace any products/appliances this coming year, be sure and shop ENERGY STAR. You can save up to 30% off your energy bills on some 50 product categories, including appliances, electronics, windows, lighting, and home office equipment.
10. Think about caring for your home's "energy fitness." Heating accounts for 31% of the typical home’s energy costs. Sealing and insulating your home, as well as the other energy efficiency measures, will lower your heating bills, increase your comfort, and decrease your carbon footprint.
(resource: RisMedia)