Home Comfort & Maintenance Tips
Conservation, Safety and Maintenance
Conservation and Your Comfort
Conservation makes more sense than switching from oil to gas. In any given year only about one out of twenty consumers is likely to be facing the prospect of having to purchase a new heating system. For the 95 percent of consumers who do not need a new heating system, lowering energy bills can be easily and economically accomplished with energy conservation methods. Switching fuels makes no economical sense, since the long-term price difference between fuels is likely to be small. For the five percent who do face the prospect of having to purchase a new heating system, the best advice is to buy efficiency.
Insulate Your Attic and Walls
Make sure you have nine inches of insulation in your attic. If you currently have no insulation, adding nine inches could cut your energy bill by 16 percent. This investment will yield a return almost 14 percent higher than putting money in the bank. If you have some attic insulation, you can still increase it to nine inches and save money. Keeping your attic well ventilated to reduce moisture and making sure that insulation does not block vents in the eaves are low-cost ways to lower your energy bills.
Wall insulation can also be a good investment, if it can easily be added to your house.
A Bright Idea!
A low-cost way to cut your energy bills is to use energy-conserving light bulbs, which are becoming increasingly available, and may even come with a utility-sponsored rebate.
Seal Doors, Windows, Outlets
There are lots of little things you can do to stop warm air from leaking out of your house and costing you money. Install pre-cut foam gaskets in electrical outlets and switches. Tighten your windows and doors by replacing old caulking at the sides of the frame.
Increase the Efficiency of Your Heating System
Increasing the efficiency of your furnace or boiler is just about the best thing you can do to save money. Add a flame retention burner to oil heating equipment if you don't have one and you expect your equipment to last about ten years. This will cut your energy use by about 16 percent. If you need a new piece of heating equipment, buy one with an Average Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) of at least 80 percent.
There are other things to do in the basement to save money. Insulate your water heater. Most hardware outlets have pre-cut insulation for a variety of hot water heater sizes. Insulate all the hot water pipes you can reach in your basement. Again, your hardware outlet can help you with pre-cut insulation. Seal all duct joints with duct tape. Some people even insulate the ducts they can reach in the basement.
Home Repairs - Don't Procrastinate
Any water leak- evidenced by a stained ceiling, rocky toilet, or a musty smell - can cause severe damage such as dry rot, mold or infestation by termites. Fix water leaks immediately. For instance, replacing your roof may cost a lot, but it's much cheaper than replacing the underlying roof structure if the problem is ignored.
If your lights dim when you open the fridge or use the microwave, it could be due to bad wiring or an overload of appliances on one circuit. Try to distribute your appliances more evenly across circuits, or don't run more than one heavy-duty appliance at a time. Your best bet is to have an electrician update your wiring.
Check the Chimney
To combat a smoky chimney, have the chimney swept annually. Burn small, hot fires instead of big, smoky ones, and never burn trash, cardboard or gift wrapping in the fireplace.
Air Conditioning Filters
Make sure your air conditioning filters are clean and in good repair. Dirty or missing filters can lead to fire or an air conditioner breakdown. With a $2 filter, you can preserve a $6,000 air conditioning system.
Duct Cleaning
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems can collect a variety of contaminants that have the potential to affect health such as molds, fungi, bacteria and small particles of dust. Duct cleaning entails cleaning the various heating and cooling system components of forced air systems, including the supply and return air ducts and registers, grills and diffusers. Call 610-429-8200 ext. 18