7 Easy Ways for Louisville Home Owners to Save Energy

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7 even tips that can help you save more energy and money.

Many times when we inspect a home, most people are expecting an overall physical inspection of the property, but often times, the?Louisville Home Inspectors?have the opportunity to help home owners see how easy it is to make their homes run on less energy too.

1. Find better ways to heat and cool your house.?

As much as half of the energy used in homes goes toward heating and cooling. The following are a few ways that energy bills can be reduced through adjustments to the heating and cooling systems:

Install a ceiling fan. Ceiling fans can be used in place of air conditioners, which require a large amount of energy.
Periodically replace air filters in air conditioners and heaters.
Set thermostats to an appropriate temperature. Turning down the thermostat from 75? F to 70? F, for example, saves about 10% on heating costs.
Install a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat saves money by allowing heating?and cooling appliances to be automatically turned down during times?that no one is home and at night. Programmable thermostats contain no mercury and, in some climate zones, can save up to $150 per year in energy costs.
Install a wood stove or a pellet stove. These are more efficient sources of heat than furnaces.
At night, curtains drawn over windows will better insulate the room.
The average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Traditional incandescent lights convert approximately only 10% of the energy they consume into light, while the rest becomes heat. The use of new lighting technologies, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), can reduce the energy use required by lighting by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time that?lights are on but not being used.

3. Seal and insulate your home.

Sealing and insulating your home is one of the most cost-effective ways to make a home more comfortable and energy-efficient, and you can do it yourself. A tightly sealed home can improve comfort and indoor air quality while reducing utility bills.?The following are some common places where leakage may occur:

electrical receptacles/outlets
mail slots
around pipes and wires
wall- or window-mounted air conditioners
attic hatches
fireplace dampers
inadequate weatherstripping around doors
baseboards
window frames
switch plates

4. Use appliances and electronics responsibly.

Appliances and electronics account for about 20% of household energy bills in?a typical U.S. home. The following are tips that will reduce the required energy of electronics and appliances:

Refrigerators and freezers should not be located near the stove, dishwasher or heat vents, or exposed to direct sunlight. Exposure to warm areas will force them to use more energy to remain cool.
Computers should be shut off when not in use. If unattended computers must be left on, their monitors should be shut off. According to some studies, computers account for approximately 3% of all energy consumption in the United States.
Use efficient ENERGY STAR-rated appliances and electronics. These devices, approved by the?U.S. Department of?Energy?and the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR?Program,?include TVs, home theater systems, DVD players, CD players, receivers, speakers, and more. According to the EPA, if just 10% of homes used energy-efficient appliances, it would reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of 1.7 million acres of trees.
Chargers, such as those used?for laptops and cell phones, consume energy when they are plugged in. When they are not connected to electronics, chargers should be unplugged.
Laptop computers consume considerably less electricity than desktop computers.

5. Insulate windows and doors.

About one-third of the home’s total heat loss usually occurs through windows and doors. The following are ways to reduce energy lost through windows and doors:

Seal all window edges and cracks with rope caulk. This is the cheapest and simplest option.
Windows can be weatherstripped with a special lining that is inserted between the window and the frame. For doors, apply weatherstripping around the whole perimeter to ensure a tight seal when they’re closed. Install quality door sweeps on the bottom of the doors, if they aren’t already in place.
Install storm windows at windows with only single panes. A removable glass frame can be installed over an existing window.
If existing windows have rotted or damaged wood, cracked glass, missing putty, poorly fitting sashes, or locks that don’t work, they should be repaired or replaced.

6. Cook smart.

An enormous amount of energy is wasted while cooking. The following recommendations and statistics illustrate less wasteful ways of cooking:

Convection ovens are more efficient that conventional ovens. They use fans to force hot air to circulate more evenly, thereby allowing food to be cooked at a lower temperature. Convection ovens use approximately 20% less electricity than conventional ovens.
Microwave ovens consume approximately 80% less energy than conventional ovens.
Pans should be placed on the matching size heating element or flame.
Using lids on pots and pans will heat food?more quickly than cooking in uncovered pots and pans.
Pressure cookers reduce cooking time dramatically.
When using conventional ovens, food should be placed on the top rack. The top rack is hotter and will cook food faster.

7. Change the way you do laundry.

Do not use the medium setting on your washer. Wait until you have a full load of clothes, as the?medium setting?saves less than half of the water?and energy used for a full load.
Avoid using high-temperature settings when clothes are not very soiled. Water that is 140? F uses far more energy than 103? F for the warm-water setting, but 140? F isn’t that much?more effective?for getting clothes clean.
Clean the lint trap every time?before you use the dryer. Not only is excess lint a fire hazard, but it will prolong the amount of time required for your clothes to dry.
If possible, air-dry your clothes on lines?and racks.
Spin-dry or wring clothes out?before putting them into a dryer.

Homeowners who take the initiative to make these changes usually discover that the energy savings are more than worth the effort.

Drastic reductions in heating, cooling and electricity costs can be accomplished through very simple changes, most of which homeowners can do themselves. Of course, for homeowners who want to take advantage of the most up-to-date knowledge and systems in home energy efficiency can order an energy audit as an added service to their home inspection. ?HomeMD Inspection Services can perform in-depth testing to find the best energy solutions for your particular home.