How to Cut Your Home Energy Costs This Summer
"Money Hunters" Host Matt Blashaw Gives Tips on Keeping Your Home Cool for Less
MAY 13, 2010
New York -- Summer is just around the corner and most of us will be cranking up air-conditioning units. But how can you save money and still stay cool this year?
Matt Blashaw, host of DIY Network's "Money Hunters," shared some of his top tips while visiting the Rogers family's home in West Nyack, N.Y.
Blashaw pointed out heating and cooling account for about 56 percent of the energy use in a typical U.S. home, making it the largest cost for most homes.
To cut down on those costs, Blashaw recommended these tips:
Start with an energy audit: Private vendors and your utility company can both help.
Do a blower door test: With this test we can tell how tightly sealed your home is. First, all of the windows and doors must be shut. Then, we attach the blower door to your front door, which uses a large fan to remove as much air from your home as possible. Recording the air pressure during this process can tell us exactly how much your home leaks - a direct cause of heat loss in the winter. Then we can walk through the house and use this "smoke stick" to find exactly what areas are leaking. Whether it be your windows, doors, electrical sockets or even the pipe openings under the sinks, you can go room by room and take care of the problem areas as you find them.
Take infrared images: This test is best performed in the winter months when the outside air temperature is low. An infrared camera will show the areas where cold air is leaking into the house by showing up as blue spots on the interior wall photographs. This is one of the most precise ways to test for heat loss as part of an energy audit in residential areas, and can quickly identify problem spots in your wall insulation.
Get a digital thermostat: For example, you can program it to a higher temperature when the house is unoccupied during the day, then program it to drop the temperature a half hour before people come home, so your home will be at the desired temperature only when you need it. This will save you 10 percent a year on your bill. On certain units, a digital thermostat can tell you when to change your filter, which is necessary to keep your air conditioner running efficiently.
The obvious: Check the windows and doors to your home: Old drafty windows and doors can leak a lot of the heat you are trying to keep indoors. By replacing old windows with energy efficient windows, you can bring down your heating cost significantly. Even just a simple re-caulking can make a tremendous difference. You should check the seal around your doors yearly. There should be a strong seal around the entire door. Years of wear and tear and usage can break down that strong seal you once had, but adding easy-to-install weather-stripping can eliminate these types of drafts.
You can save 10 percent on your energy bill by plugging air leaks with caulking, sealing or weather stripping
Install exterior or interior stork windows: Storm windows can reduce heat loss through the windows by 25 percent to 50 percent.
Air vents: Some homeowners like to close certain vents, thinking it will cool other rooms quicker. This will restrict the airflow returning to your unit, thus putting more stress on the fan. Your system is designed to work most efficiently when all the vents are open to keep the balance of cool air delivered and returning to the unit. It can also put undue stress on ductwork, increasing the chances of a leak.
Keep vents clear. Keep furniture and drapes away from air vents. This allows the cool air to move out into the rooms and keeps your air conditioner from running more than necessary
Upgrading your attic insulation: Most homes have far less than the amount of R value needed to keep the energy bills down. It's also an inexpensive fix for the return. The recommended insulation level for most attics is R-38 (or about 12-15 inches, depending on the insulation type). You can reduce your home's heating and cooling costs by as much as 30 percent through proper insulation and air sealing techniques.
Try an attic tent: The attic tent slips over the stairway opening in the attic and zips shut to create a seal over the hole. It prevents heat or cool air from escaping directly out the roof. The attic door opening is one of the biggest losses of energy because it is normally a huge opening in an otherwise insulated attic space. Attic Tent provides an R-value of 3.2 and has been proven to reduce air transfer by at least 71 percent. This means, your attic tent will pay for itself in one year, and save you at least $145 per year thereafter.
Foil tape your ducts: Insulate heating ducts in unheated areas, such as attics and crawl spaces, and keep them in good repair to prevent heat loss of up to 60 percent at the registers.
