Guest Post: Cut Your Energy Bills in Half
Mike Taylor is the publisher of Solar Kismet, where he orginally published this post.
Natural Gas , or how I saved $200 this winter (Part 1 of 2)
We moved to the DC area last September and in the first bill from Washington Gas, it had a table of the previous owner’s natural gas use for the last year. A perfect opportunity for a little data analysis…
Using data from the National Weather Service, I was able to make sure that the numbers were comparable. If last January was colder than this January, it wouldn’t be apples to apples, but for months with similar “heating degree days,” they had the same average temperature and any differences in natural gas use would be a good assessment.
December 2006 (us) and January 2006 (old owner) had similar temperatures (639 and 672 HDD respectively). The old owner used 142 therms and we used 63 therms, which based on this year’s prices, saved us $90.
January 2007 (us) and February 2006 (old owner) were also very similar (746 and 733 HDD respectively). The old owner used 156 therms and we used 88 therms, which saved us $76.
That’s $166 in only two months!
So your first thought is that I must be freezing all the time. Nope. The thermostat is set at 70 F right now. Spent a lot of money? Nope. We have the same house, furnace, water heater, stove, etc.
Here are my secrets, which cost less than $100 and only a little effort:
- Bought, installed, and programmed a programable thermostat - We set it at 68-70 in the morning and evening, 55 at night, and 50 when we’re at work in the day. And no it doesn’t take more energy to heat the house back up.
- “Hold” the thermostat when gone - If we’re leaving for the evening, not coming back from work until late, or going away for the weekend or a week, we set the thermostat at 55 F. The cats don’t mind.
- Closed off the guest room - I shut the vent and we keep the room closed (unless a guest is visiting of course). No one’s going to notice. We do the same for a three-season office with poor insulation.
- Covered up the holes - We have a whole house fan in the second floor ceiling, which I assume will be great in the summer, but is basically a hole in the ceiling in the winter. I cut out some cardboard and taped it up. I also put weatherstripping around the attic “hatch” in the ceiling.
- Shut the basement door - It’s gross down there anyway.
Other things I’ve done since, i.e. they aren’t included in the above numbers:
- Seal the “attic bypasses” - You have hundreds of holes in your wall, which basically create a highway for warm air to escape through the walls and out the attic. I bought outlet gaskets, basically foam inserts, to put behind the light and electric outlets. For some, I put a little sealant foam around the outside if the gasket didn’t cover it enough. There are other things to do…for more information on these secret heat losses click here (PDF) - insulation without address the bypasses is almost useless. The better solution, if you have access, is to seal the tops of the wall cavities from the attic (but think about whether you’re going to insulate the walls in the process).
- Covered up more holes - I’ve since covered the kitchen fan and the office vent.
Other things you can do:
- Put up plastic on the windows - It’s not fun, glamorous, or good looking, but it works. I did it in Minnesota but we have better windows here in Maryland.
- Wrap the water heater - Trendy these days but not as necessarily if you’re water heater is newer and uses foam insulation (vs. fiberglass).
- Wrap the pipes - Buy the foam piping insulation and wrap the first few feet of the hot AND cold water pipes going into and out of the water heater. Go nuts and wrap the rest of the hot water pipes if you want to. Do the same if you have a boiler.
- Caulk - Caulk your attic bypasses. Caulk the window edges. Caulk it all.
- Put in a low-flow showerhead - They work well.
- Insulation - If you’ve addressed the attic bypasses, then insulation makes sense. Go with the ceiling and then perhaps the walls, but this isn’t necessarily a cheap option.
Things not to do unless money is no object - if you run the numbers, they aren’t your best investments:
- Don’t replace the windows for energy reasons - Do it for aesthetics. Do it for comfort. Don’t do it expecting to save oodles of money and run from anyone who says otherwise.
- Don’t replace your furnace for energy reasons - Do it for safety. Do it for a remodel. Do it if it’s broken. Have the old one checked out for safety and efficiency, but if it’s working fine, let it keep working.
- Don’t replace your washer or dryer for energy reasons - Do it if it breaks. Do it for a remodel. And when you do, get a front-loading washer and a gas dryer with a moisture sensor.
Next time: Electricity, or how I have a $30 electric bill (Part 2 of 2)
February 24th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Imagine leaving a window open all winter long — the heat loss, cold drafts and wasted energy! If your home has a folding attic stair, a whole house fan or AC Return, a fireplace or a clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring in your home every day.
These often overlooked sources of heat loss and air leakage can cause heat to pour out and the cold outside air to rush in — costing you higher heating bills.
Air leaks are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home. Air leaks occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, etc. Most homeowners are well aware of the benefits caulk and weatherstripping provide to minimize heat loss and cold drafts.
But what can you do about the four largest “holes” in your home — the folding attic stair, the whole house fan or AC return, the fireplace, and the clothes dryer? Here are some tips and techniques that can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes.
Attic Stairs
When attic stairs are installed, a large hole (approximately 10 square feet) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed, leaving only a thin, unsealed, sheet of plywood.
Your attic space is ventilated directly to the outdoors. In the winter, the attic space can be very cold, and in the summer it can be very hot. And what is separating your conditioned house from your unconditioned attic? That thin sheet of plywood.
Often a gap can be observed around the perimeter of the door. Try this yourself: at night, turn on the attic light and shut the attic stairway door — do you see any light coming through? These are gaps add up to a large opening where your heated/cooled air leaks out 24 hours a day. This is like leaving a window open all year round.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add an attic stair cover. An attic stair cover provides an air seal, reducing the air leaks. Add the desired amount of insulation over the cover to restore the insulation removed from the ceiling.
Whole House Fans and AC Returns Much like attic stairs above, when whole house fans are installed, a large hole (up to 16 square feet or larger) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed, leaving only leaky ceiling shutter between the house and the outdoors.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a whole house fan cover. Installed from the attic side, the whole house fan cover is invisible. Cover the fan to reduce heating and air-conditioning loss, remove it when use of the fan is desired.
If attic access is inconvenient, or for AC returns, a ceiling shutter cover is another option for reducing heat loss through the ceiling shutter and AC return. Made from R-8, textured, thin, white flexible insulation, and installed from the house side over the ceiling shutter with Velcro, a whole house fan shutter cover is easily installed and removed.
Fireplaces
Sixty-five percent, or approximately 100 million homes, in North America are constructed with wood or gas burning fireplaces. Unfortunately there are negative side effects that the fireplace brings to a home especially during the winter home-heating season. Fireplaces are energy losers.
Researchers have studied this to determine the amount of heat loss through a fireplace, and the results are amazing. One research study showed that an open damper on an unused fireplace in a well-insulated house can raise overall heating-energy consumption by 30 percent.
A recent study showed that for many consumers, their heating bills may be more than $500 higher per winter due to the air leakage and wasted energy caused by fireplaces.
Why does a home with a fireplace have higher heating bills? Hot air rises. Your heated air leaks out any exit it can find, and when warm heated air is drawn out of your home, cold outside air is drawn in to make up for it. The fireplace is like a giant straw sucking the heated air from your house.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a fireplace draftstopper. Available from Battic Door, a company known for their energy conservation products, a fireplace draftstopper is an inflatable pillow that seals the damper, eliminating any air leaks. The pillow is removed whenever the fireplace is used, then reinserted after.
Clothes Dryer Exhaust Ducts
In many homes, the room with the clothes dryer is the coldest room in the house. Your clothes dryer is connected to an exhaust duct that is open to the outdoors. In the winter, cold air leaks in through the duct, through your dryer and into your house.
Dryer vents use a sheet-metal flapper to try to reduce this air leakage. This is very primitive technology that does not provide a positive seal to stop the air leakage. Compounding the problem is that over time, lint clogs the flapper valve causing it to stay open.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a dryer vent seal. This will reduce unwanted air infiltration, and keep out pests, bees and rodents as well. The vent will remain closed unless the dryer is in use. When the dryer is in use, a floating shuttle rises to allow warm air, lint and moisture to escape.
If your home has a folding attic stair, a whole house fan, an AC return, a fireplace, and/or a clothes dryer, you can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes. At Battic Door Energy Conservation Products, we have developed solutions to these and other energy-conservation related issues.
For more information on Battic Door’s energy conservation solutions and products, visit http://www.batticdoor.com or send a S.A.S.E. to P.O. Box 15, Mansfield, MA 02048.
Mark D. Tyrol is a Professional Engineer specializing in cause and origin of construction defects. He developed several residential energy conservation products including an attic stair cover and a fireplace draftstopper. To learn more visit http://www.batticdoor.com