If you add up the holes and cracks found in a house, the size will end up being the same as a medicine ball! Air leaks can be the cause of 20 to 40 percent of heat loss during the winter and cool losses during the summer.
Begin your hunt for good yet inexpensive ways to start your energy audit with some hidden energy drains. Insulating, weatherstripping and caulking are easy jobs that you can do to begin your journey forward towards energy conservation. Here is some background facts about energy loss:
25% of air will leak where the wood frame meets the foundation.
20% of air can escape from electric outlets outside of the house.
13% of air can escape through your window.
10% of air can leave your home through vents.
7% of air can travel outside through lights, outlets and hatches.
6% of air can wander through the cracks of doors.
Please note that an unsealed and unused fire place can also be a drain of energy. If the damper is open, warm air can be sucked out of your home. Seal it when you aren’t using it. To be the best detective and uncover where you lose the most air, try the incense trick. This is not performing a ritual like a witch.
Just take two sticks of incense on a windy day. Light them so you can see the smoke. If there is a strong leak, it will blow the smoke away from you. If it draws the smoke in, the leak is smaller. There are some quick jobs you can do to stop air leakage.
- Cover your electrical outlets with weatherstripping material.
- Be sure your doors are fitted just right. Weatherstripping can be bought to skirt the door frame.
- Trees and some landscaping can help cool your home.
Trees that are trimmed high allow breezes to pass under and surround the house. They also block the house from the sun. In your basement you should also want to look for leaks in the wood frame where it meets the foundation. Just caulking the joints can help solve some problems.
On the main floor, you should caulk your windows, fireplaces, doors, and vents to be sure potential leaks are avoided. Look to caulk around electrical outlets, ceiling light fixtures, and baseboards. Cracks in the walls or ceilings can allow leaks.
Also, check behind the bathtubs and under sinks. Finally, there is the weatherstripping. This is a job that you can do on your own. Weatherstrip outlets. You can also remove the trip around doors and windows and fill these gaps with some insulation. You can replace the trip and caulk it. All of these are simple, efficient ways you can minimize your air leakage and make the most of your home.
Learn how to get paid to use electricity and how you can create your own homemade power plant. More tips to be found at home made power plant, helping others while saving the planet.
Tuesday
Homemade Power Plant - Seven Ways to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient
Many homeowners don’t realize that a large percentage of the energy they are paying for is wasted more than it’s used. In fact, if all the wasted energy from every home could be lumped together it would be enough to power the rest of the world’s areas covered in darkness.
Crazy huh? While we can’t convert all that wasted energy, it doesn’t mean that we can’t take steps to prevent it from happening by making a few small changes in our own homes. You might be surprised at how easy and inexpensive it can be to make you house more energy efficient. The following is a list of things that you can do:
1. Fix leaks and damaged areas of your home. Especially during the winter, you need to be sure that all areas are sealed to prevent the cold air from coming in. This will help your furnace run more efficiently and it will help keep heating costs down. You can buy sealants at your local hardware store and use it to seal doorframes, windows, and joints. A good strong seal will keep the cold air outside.
Weather-stripping is a good solution to use on areas of your home where sealants would not work. Areas like garage doors, outside doors, operable windows, and attic doors are good candidates. Weather-stripping is a rubber material that is applied on the moving and non-moving parts of the surfaces and creates a terrific barrier. You can even find weather-stripping on the doors of vehicles.
2. Use plastic window coverings Plastic window coverings offer a cheap and easy way to make your home more efficient. This is another tool used to keep cold air out thus reducing the use of your heating system.
3. Get rid of all gaps in doorways Generally, gaps in a doorway happen when the wood of your door contracts due to cold temperatures or if the door was not properly installed in the first place. When you encounter a gap, you should be sure to seal them or get rid of them. Again, preventing cold drafts keeps your heating system from working so hard.
4. Keep the volume down on TVs and Stereos Keep in mind that as your speakers get louder, the more electricity is being used. If you find you are really in the mood for some loud music, try using headphones.
5. Check for cracks in your walls and seal them As well as fixing leaks in your doors, windows, and joints, you should also make sure your walls are free from any cracking. Cracks in walls only tend to get bigger so it’s important that you seal the cracks as soon as you encounter them. Again, this is another great way to be sure that you’re keeping the cold air out.
6. Use a laptop rather than a desktop computer Regular desktop computers use up ten times more energy than laptops. If you have access to a laptop, go ahead and use it. It’s an energy saver. Remember to look for power management when you’re purchasing a new printer or fax machine.
7. Use fluorescent lights instead of incandescent bulbs Fluorescent lighting can save you significantly over standard incandescent lighting. Fluorescent bulbs last up to ten times longer so you’ll be saving money and having to change the bulbs less often. Why not try to make some or all of these changes? Doing so is good for the environment and you’ll start noticing a lower energy bill.
Learn how to get paid to use electricity and how you can create your own homemade power plant. More tips to be found at home made power plant, helping others while saving the planet.
Crazy huh? While we can’t convert all that wasted energy, it doesn’t mean that we can’t take steps to prevent it from happening by making a few small changes in our own homes. You might be surprised at how easy and inexpensive it can be to make you house more energy efficient. The following is a list of things that you can do:
1. Fix leaks and damaged areas of your home. Especially during the winter, you need to be sure that all areas are sealed to prevent the cold air from coming in. This will help your furnace run more efficiently and it will help keep heating costs down. You can buy sealants at your local hardware store and use it to seal doorframes, windows, and joints. A good strong seal will keep the cold air outside.
Weather-stripping is a good solution to use on areas of your home where sealants would not work. Areas like garage doors, outside doors, operable windows, and attic doors are good candidates. Weather-stripping is a rubber material that is applied on the moving and non-moving parts of the surfaces and creates a terrific barrier. You can even find weather-stripping on the doors of vehicles.
2. Use plastic window coverings Plastic window coverings offer a cheap and easy way to make your home more efficient. This is another tool used to keep cold air out thus reducing the use of your heating system.
3. Get rid of all gaps in doorways Generally, gaps in a doorway happen when the wood of your door contracts due to cold temperatures or if the door was not properly installed in the first place. When you encounter a gap, you should be sure to seal them or get rid of them. Again, preventing cold drafts keeps your heating system from working so hard.
4. Keep the volume down on TVs and Stereos Keep in mind that as your speakers get louder, the more electricity is being used. If you find you are really in the mood for some loud music, try using headphones.
5. Check for cracks in your walls and seal them As well as fixing leaks in your doors, windows, and joints, you should also make sure your walls are free from any cracking. Cracks in walls only tend to get bigger so it’s important that you seal the cracks as soon as you encounter them. Again, this is another great way to be sure that you’re keeping the cold air out.
6. Use a laptop rather than a desktop computer Regular desktop computers use up ten times more energy than laptops. If you have access to a laptop, go ahead and use it. It’s an energy saver. Remember to look for power management when you’re purchasing a new printer or fax machine.
7. Use fluorescent lights instead of incandescent bulbs Fluorescent lighting can save you significantly over standard incandescent lighting. Fluorescent bulbs last up to ten times longer so you’ll be saving money and having to change the bulbs less often. Why not try to make some or all of these changes? Doing so is good for the environment and you’ll start noticing a lower energy bill.
Learn how to get paid to use electricity and how you can create your own homemade power plant. More tips to be found at home made power plant, helping others while saving the planet.
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