How to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient
Energy Tips
York County’s many crisp, sunny days and clear, cool nights provide the perfect opportunity to open your windows and enjoy the weather (and the energy savings). Here’s how to keep those energy savings going all season long:
1. Rearrange your furniture to keep you warmer without turning up the heat.
Move your sofa and chairs near interior walls, so they’re out of the drafts that can come in through exterior walls and windows.
2. Schedule an HVAC professional to clean your home’s ducts before it’s time to turn on the furnace.
Ducts that are damaged or blocked can leak conditioned air and reduce your system’s efficiency by as much as 20%. You can improve your ducts’ performance by calling an HVAC professional from Strine’s.
3. Enjoy your wood-burning fireplace on mild days in autumn and early winter.
When outdoor temperatures drop below 30°F, the fireplace can pull more cold air into your home through cracks and crevices, forcing your furnace to work harder.
4. Replace the five most frequently used lights in your home with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs).
These more efficient bulbs produce less heat and waste less energy and the savings can be considerable during the shorter days of fall and winter. In fact, if every household replaced five frequently used lights or the bulbs inside them, one trillion pounds of greenhouse gases would be prevented from going into the air.
5. Vacuuming and wiping clean light bulbs and lighting fixtures can also help save energy.
Dust and kitchen grease can build up and reduce the bulbs’ brightness, requiring you to turn on more fixtures to get the light you need.
6. Drain your hot water heater annually to reduce the sediment that settles to the bottom of the tank, creating a barrier between the water and the heating element.
Keep the water temperature set at 120°F, as the higher the water temperature, the faster the sediment builds up inside.
7. Maintain your heating and cooling system.
The best way to keep your equipment running at peak performance is to have a licensed HVAC professional do annual tuneups. It’s also important to clean or change air filters once a month.
8. Seal air leaks.
Fixing leaks around your home will help you get the full performance out of insulation. The biggest gaps are usually found in the attic and basement.
9. Replace old equipment with ENERGY STAR® products.
When purchasing heating or cooling equipment, look for the ENERGY STAR label. These products use advanced technology to help you save on energy bills and improve the comfort in your home.
10. Make sure equipment is the right size for your home.
Remember that bigger isn’t necessarily better. If the heating or cooling unit is too large for your home, it will frequently cycle on and off, which wastes energy. Plus, it won’t run long enough to remove humidity from the air, which can impact the comfort and health of your home.
11. Install a programmable thermostat.
An ENERGY STAR® qualified programmable thermostat, when properly used, can save you about $100 every year in energy costs. To maximize savings, it’s important to keep the thermostat at energy-saving temperatures for long periods of time, whether it’s during the day when you’re at work or through the night.