Easy tips for winterizing your home

Check your furnace, make sure filters are fresh and clean. If you have an older furnace, consider having  it inspected and tuned to make sure it is in proper working order and running as efficiently as possible. If it is more than 10 years old you may be wasting a lot of energy and money than it's worth, consider upgrading to a new furnace.

Clean your gutters. Clogged gutters allow rain and snow to pool up on your roof creating a chance for leaks. Also be sure that down spouts are properly attached and draining out and away from the home, preferably 10 feet away from the foundation.

Check attic insulation. If you can see the joists you need more insulation, add a layer to the existing insulation. Make sure to use NON paper backed insulation.

Clean your chimney. It's important to make sure the chimney is clean and free of debris before using it during the cool winter. You can hire a professional to sweep and inspect your chimney. Also make sure your chimney has a screened cap to keep unwanted items and animals out!

Replace batteries on smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

Check for drafts and leaks by walking your home with a lit candle checking doors and windows. Replace old weatherstripping if needed and employ the use of door sweeps to keep cold air out.

Switch the direction of ceiling fans. Did you know that your ceiling fan runs two separate ways? Well they do! In the winter change the direction to clockwise allowing air to push downward into the room recirculating the hot air that rises to the ceiling.

Drain water lines. Make sure those sprinklers are blown out and outdoor spigots are turned off. Detach hoses and store them properly. This will keep water from freezing your pipes and creating costly repairs.

Turn down your water heater. Most household heaters are set to 140 degrees which is a lot higher than you really need, by lowering the temperature to 120 you can save 6-10% on heating costs!

Use a programmable thermostat. This will keep your home energy costs down by operating the heating consistently. It will allow you to decrease the temperature when no one is home and save on your heating bill.

Close off vents in un-used rooms. No sense in heating a room that no one is using!

Throw on a sweater and some slippers and enjoy Old Man Winter.

~5280 Lady

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Building for Energy Savings: 9 great tips

So I have to say thank you to Stewart Perry over at Planting Acorns for this list. He attended a U.S. Green Building Council and listened to a lecture from architect Norbert Lechner. Lechner is an energy expert who discussed energy efficiency and green building with the audience. Here's the 9 tips he gave to save energy straight from the building process.

Now before I go into the list I think it's important to realize here that it is crucial to start with the building blocks when making this transition to energy conservation. It is much harder and less effective to remediate problems after the building or home is already in place. A homeowner can switch out appliances, put in different windows, and add skylights after the fact but this is far more costly and your return on energy savings is far from ideal. The key is to make the home as efficient as possible DURING construction.

And from the guru, here's Lechner's take...

1. Building orientation/positioning (can reduce energy consumption by up to 50%) Just by positioning the building in a particular way on the lot and at the appropriate angle we can drop the consumption in half!

2. Building color (reduction up to 20%)

3. Window placement

4. Window size

5. Shading

6. Passive solar heating

7. Day lighting

8. Active solar heating

9. Photovoltaics (PV)

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Beat The Heat! Tips to save you money & energy this summer

We're in the dog days of summer folks! With temperatures here in the mile high city tipping the triple digits it brings our attention to the best ways to beat the heat. Obviously, you can crank that AC til the cows come home but instead of fainting from heatstroke you'll be fainting from your energy bill. What else can you do to keep your home ambient without breaking the bank?

The average home spends $2200 a year in energy costs but by making simple changes you can save not only your comfort but your wallet too.

Make sure your attic insulation is up to par! Many older homes are lacking in this department to say the least. The insulation creates a barrier between the high (and low) temperatures outside and the inside of the home. An under insulated home can lose up to 40% of conditioned air through the attic! YIKES! You can pretty easily check to see if your insulation is adequate by looking in your attic, exposed beams mean that there is definitely not enough. However, even with covered beams you could be inefficient, a solid 18 inches is ideal. You can add to your existing insulation fairly easily and we recommend a material with an R-60 value, top of the line! An extra bonus, Federal tax credits are available for things like this for up to $1500! By far the best way to save on your heating and cooling bills.

Weatherize your home. Make sure that there are no air leaks throughout your home. Windows and doors are a common place for leaks. You can certainly mediate these problems by replacing your outdated windows but there are also cheaper alternatives. Spray foam is a good option, grab a couple of cans and seal the outsides of your home including your garage, this will also keep pests and rodents out. Door sweeps keep drafts out. You can also re-caulk your window jams to make sure that an effective seal prevents any leaking.

Keep shades and curtains drawn during the day.

Open windows and screen doors at night and allow mother nature to cool your home. Make sure to open things on both sides of your home to create a cross draft.

Turn off lights! The heat, especially from iridescent bulbs, can do a lot more damage than you would think heating up a room several degrees over time.

Use ovens and stoves sparingly, instead bbq on the grill outside!

If you must resort to the AC make sure you have a programmable thermostat. Set the temperatures accordingly, it doesn't make sense to cool a home that no one is in during work hours so program your AC to kick on shortly before you arrive home.




~5280 Lady

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