Whole House FansWhole house fans work a lot like rolling down your car windows in the summer time to cool the car faster. They effectively cycle out the super heated or cold air in your house in order for the HVAC system to replace it with a more comfortable temperature. Whole house fans put less strain on your HVAC system and can save as much as 25% on your energy bills.
Programmable Thermostats
This is something that should be a necessity for a homeowner or home buyer . A top of the line model can cost $150, but many cost as little as $35. These devices can be programmed to heat or cool specific sections of your house, or they can be programmed to turn off when you leave the house in the morning and warm back up a few minutes before you come back home at the end of the day. Results will vary depending on your heating and cooling preferences, but these devices usually can pay for themselves in 2-3 months, then start saving you money in the long run.
Energy Efficient Appliances and Shower Heads
More than 50% of a home's energy is used to heat water. Washing clothes, washing dishes, baths, and showers are using all this energy. Replacing your washer with an energy efficient model will use 35-40% less water. This saves the amount of water being used, and the amount that needs to be heated by your water heater, which reduces energy bills. The same goes for dishwashers. Another tip is to try and use the cold water setting on your washer more. The cost to not heat cold water is $0.
Showers are hard to reduce, especially if you ask people with long hair, but some low-flow shower heads can help.
Making these small adjustments can mean an energy savings of 25%. With the cost of electricity and heating fuels, this can be a big number every month.
3 comments:
These are GREAT tips! My parents saved a ton of money on their water bill by installing an insta-hot under their kitchen sink. Their kitchen is the farthest room in the house from the water heater and it used to take forever to get water hot enough to clean anything. We always felt to guilty about the amount of water we wasted waiting for it to warm up.
I was unaware that a whole house fan can work with removing cold air. Can you elaborate on how that works. I have a number of fans in my attic that were installed to remove heat. will they work or are you referring to a different product>
Thanks
Mark,
I was referencing using your whole house fan in the summer more so than the winter. The air in your house in the winter time is warm enough that you want to keep it within the house.
Post a Comment