How to Avoid Wasting Energy

The key to avoid wasting energy is to need less. A properly air sealed and insulated home will need less energy to maintain a comfortable temperature throughout the seasons. Here are several easy and inexpensive changes you can make to your home:

1. Open windows at night, close them in early morning to keep house cool during hot days. You’ll be pleased with how cool the house is when you do this.

2. Insulate the attic to keep the heat up there! Before you do, have your attic inspected by an energy efficiency expert to make sure the holes that allow air exchange between the hot attic and your living space have been sealed off.

3. Keep basement windows and entry doors closed during the hot months of summer and early fall to prevent the moisture that is held in the warmed air from condensing on your basement walls, floors and ceiling.

Fall will soon be coming to a close and we’ll start to think about staying warm and the cost of doing so. How can you save more by wasting less?

1. A blower door test identifies where there are other openings in the house that allow warm air to escape. Make a list of where there are drafts and start air sealing- which to close the openings in the building envelope.

2. Caulking gaps around window inserts and window frames and around exterior doors.

3. Use canned spray foam to close up large gaps in your foundation walls.

4. Use metal flashing around chimneys where they come through the attic floor to block air movement. Seal the metal to the chimney with high temperature caulk.

5. Install an automatic thermostat so you can reduce the temperature of your home when you’re not in it or when sleeping.

6. Insulate your electrical sockets and light switches. Drafts can come right through your walls using those sockets as a window. You can purchase insulation pads made for sockets and switches and they are easy to install.

7. Remove window fans and air conditioners and seal windows before you get ready to turn on your heat.