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Step 1
Check your home for enough insulation. One of the major energy wasters in a home is not having enough insulation and windows and doors that lack weatherstripping. If you can see light coming from under exterior doors you have a obvious lack of weatherstripping. Your energy wasting drafts may not be as obvious. Use a candle and move it around widow casings and door frames and try to locate places where air is seeping in or out. Doing this on a windy day is more effective. Check your attic insulation. You should have at least R-30 fiberglass batts or an equivalent amount of blow in cellulose insulation. You may qualify for a federal energy rebate for adding more insulation.
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Step 2
Check your appliances for Energy Star labeling, or lack thereof. If you appliances are more than a few years old they may be among your home's major energy wasters. When you can afford it, replace older fridges with Energy Star models. HVAC units are also a major energy hog. Ones that have a SEER rating of 14 or better use much less electricity.
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Step 3
Eliminate phantom loads. Phantom loads or standby power is a major energy waster in most homes. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, phantom loads account for five percent of all electricity used in the United States. Phantom loads are caused by appliances like televisions and VCR's that continue to draw power even when they are off. Use a device like a Kill a Watt to locate phantom loads.
Remove things like phone chargers from the wall when not in use. Look around your home for anything that is plugged into the wall and not used, such as clock radios and alarms in rooms where no one sleeps, or wall chargers for appliances like dust vacuums that you may rarely use. Look outdoors as well for energy wasters. Replace outdoor flood lamps with compact fluorescent bulbs that are weather resistant and put garden fountains on a timer so that they only run a few hours a day. -
Step 4
Replace all of the bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent ones. In addition to saving energy, you won't have to replace bulbs as often as with incandescent ones. Compact fluorescent bulbs give off much less heat than incandescent and halogen, which saves on air conditioning cost. Other major energy wasters in a home include the use of electric space heaters for heating, second fridges and freezers, leaking HVAC ducts, lack of attic ventilation and lack of floor insulation in pier on beam homes. There are many new federal rebates available. See the resources section for how you may qualify for getting some cash back while getting rid of the major energy wasters in your home.
Comments
bobwash01 said
on 5/6/2009 Good tips. Thanks.
langleycornwell said
on 4/28/2009 Good article on How to Find Energy Wasters. Important information, 5*s.
Foxility said
on 4/8/2009 Love this... great ideas