Wind Energy Voice

Whether heating or cooling your home, you will be using energy and this costs money. If you are able to make your home more energy efficient, you can save some money and as a bonus you can help preserve the environment. Here are some ideas about how to make your home more energy efficient.

The first step that you have to make is to use a lighted incense stick or a tissue to find out any drafts. You can move them slowly next to windows or doors and this will move the smoke or the tissue. Check the caulking around the windows.

There must be no gaps between them and the walls of the house. If there is a leak, remove the old ad install the new caulking. One good way to save energy is to check the caulk every year.

Check also the weather stripping on the doors. They prevent drafts from getting in or cool air from getting out.

If you have no weather-stripping them, it is easy to add them and lots of it is adhesive-back and it easily sticks to the doorframe or the bottom of the door.

You also have to check around the electrical outlets. These areas are often insulated, but you can buy thin foam insulation especially designed for fitting under the outlet panel that blocks the drafts.

Here are some steps to conserve energy. First you have to install a programmable thermostat to control the temperature. It will adjust the temperature to match the schedule and to make sure that you are not heating or cooling an empty room.

You can use compact fluorescent light instead of regular incandescent bulbs. They provide a given amount of light and use much less energy and do not produce as much heat as regular bulbs.

Turn down the temperature in your water heater. They are usually so high set so that somebody may get burned. You have to adjust the temperature to 120 degrees. You can add insulation to your water heater and hot water pipes.

Insulating blankets are designed to wrap around a water heater and insulating foam tubes that go around the hot water pipes and are already available. You can replace your furnace filters on a regular basis.

If the furnace filters are blocked they can make your HVAC system work harder and longer with the use of more energy. If the filter is clean the system will work more efficiently. You have to adjust ceiling fans in order to blow warm air from up high in the room during the winter.

You have to conserve the energy efficient rating (EER) of the appliances that you replace. Modern appliances are much more energy efficient than the few years old appliances. You have to adjust your habits.

You can use heat generated appliances in the cooler evening hours. This will be good for heating your home in the winter and will be easier for the air conditioner during the summer. You have to turn on the washing machine and the dishwasher for full loads only.

Washing the partial load will waste both energy and hot water. It is preferable to take showers and not baths. Showers usually use less water. It is good to install water-saving showerheads that will conserve hot water.

The last step is to open blinds and drapes so the sun to be able to come in during the winter and close them to keep the sun out during the summer.

Most of the ideas will cost you less than 20 dollars and some of them will not cost you anything. If you put them together you have a major impact on the amount of the energy that you use.

The things that you are going to need are insulation for hot water pipes and electrical outlets, replacement furnace filters, programmable thermostat, compact fluorescent lights.

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