Save More This Heating Season With These Energy-Saving Tips

The following energy-saving tips are reprinted from a recent CenterPoint Energy flyer.  While these are no cost, low cost or high returns on investment, they are well worth considering as we are in the winter heating season.

• During the winter, set your thermostat between 65 and 68 degrees and at 58 degrees when away from the house for more than a few hours.  Keep temperatures warmer if you have infants or elderly persons at home.                                                                                                                    
• Change or clean return-air filters once a month.  Furnace consume less energy if they "breathe" more easily.                                                                                                                                       
• Run washing  machines and clothes dryers with a full load.                                                             
• Set water heater temperatures at 120 degrees.  A family of four, each showering for five minutes a day, uses 700 gallons of water each week.  By lowering the thermostat, families can cut water heating bills without sacrificing comfort.                                                                                                                                                                                         
• Seal leaks around doors, windows, and other openings such as pipes or ducts, with caulk or weatherstripping.                                                                                                                               
• Open drapes a d blinds to let in the sun's warmth on sunny days; close them at night to insulate against cold air from outside.                                                                                                            
• Install a programmable thermostat to turn down temperatures automatically.              

How To Save Energy In Your Home This Summer

The attached article was first printed in 2011 in YellowBlue Designs to assist home owners in lowering their energy consumption during the summer months.  It still has merit for all of us and I wanted to bring it to your attention as you may find specific things to assist you in lowering monthly utility bills while still maintaining your comfort. 

The North American climate is often one of extremes. So while you’re likely more than ready for the summer heat to arrive, your house may not be. Just as one can winter-proof a home by weather-stripping and providing adequate insulation and sealing, you can do a number of things to prepare for the impending warmth. By “summer-proofing” your house, you will conserve energy and reduce your reliance on mechanical air conditioning systems.

What you can do:

Switch to fluorescent bulbs: A token environmental gesture for all seasons, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), which last roughly ten times longer than the traditional incandescent kind, give off significantly less heat. Not only will your house be cooler (even if you forget to turn the lights off—which, of course, you should never do), but these enduring bulbs use 75 percent less energy, thereby reducing carbon dioxide. Because they last longer, using CFLs mean less bulbs will end up in the landfill each year. You should, however, recycle CFLs in the appropriate manner as indicated by your city, as they contain some mercury and could be contaminating in a landfill.

Get a fan: By installing ceiling fans in frequently used rooms, you can cultivate a breeze without blasting the ever-more-wasteful AC. Make sure to adjust existing ceiling fans so that the air is blown downwards.

If you put a fan next to your window air conditioner and keep the AC fairly low, you can move what air is being produced throughout the house.

Because the attic and roof can trap a fair amount of heat, a well-placed fan can bring air blown through windows in the lower parts of the house up to the roof, lowering the overall temperature. A good whole house fan can do the trick.

Close the curtains: Although many of us sun-starved North Americans are eager to keep curtains and blinds wide open all summer, doing this can add considerable heat to your house, creating a greater need for air conditioning. Just as passive solar design dictates that windows should be large and uncovered during winter, in summer it is advisable to keep them tightly sealed off. Realistically, you’ll likely just want to seal off windows when you’re out for the day (and ideally during the midday spike in heat) and therefore return to a cooler home.

Seal it up: Just as it is crucial to seal cracks and crevices around windows and doors to keep cold air out in winter, the same practice will prevent hot air from getting in.

Insulate: It may seem counter intuitive to insulate a place you want to cool down, but if the insulation in your ceiling and walls isn't sufficient, heat can build up and find its way into your already warming abode.  So look into it.

Paint it white: While painting your house is quite the endeavor  if you are moving in to a new place or are considering painting anyways, having a light color on the house’s exterior and siding will reflect heat away from the house. Darker colors can absorb heat. This, then, may work best if you live in a warmer climate, where cooling needs trump warming. (Sorry Canada).

Plant: As stated in previous posts, shading—whether natural or a built shading device—is an excellent way to provide non-mechanical cooling. Plants and trees on the south and west sides of your home will be most efficient at blocking out sunlight and keeping your house cool. A deciduous tree that loses its leaves in winter and flourishes in summer is ideal for all seasons, as it allows sun to seep into the windows when it’s cold and keeps it out when it’s blazing hot. Thank you, nature.

Clean dryer vents: If a dryer vent is clogged, not only will your clothes be linty, but your house’s temperature may suffer. A blockage can cause warm air to blow back into the room and raise the internal temperature of your home.

Keep daytime low-maintenance: If you can avoid it, use appliances like the oven, dryer and even computers sparingly during the heat of the day. Expended energy and heat will raise the temperature. Save it for evening—or, if you’re really ambitious, for early morning.

Give your AC space: If you keep appliances like lamps, televisions or a refrigerator too close to the AC unit or thermostat, the heat emitted from them could cause the air conditioner to run stronger and longer.

Happy summer!

What's a Cord of Wood?

Attached is a reprint of an article from Power Equipment Direct, a national provider of tools and powered equipment.  I hope you enjoy it as it reminds all of us how to handle and make firewood ready for our use in this winter season.

During the coldest days of winter, there's nothing quite like warming up in front of a crackling fire.

But to fuel a winter's worth of fires, you're going to need a lot of wood. And if you don't have an abundant supply of wood on your property, you've got to buy it.

Firewood is measured in cords. So what is a cord of firewood?

A cord is defined as 128 cubic feet of wood. This usually measures 4' x 8' x 4'.

Keep It Organized

A cord of wood is a whole mess of logs. Using a log rack is the easiest way to keep them organized, neat and out-of-the-way. Typically, log racks are kept outside as the wood ages, or seasons.

If you do elect to bring the wood inside, only bring in a small amount. It's recommended to hit the wood together or against something to get rid of any unwanted pests, such as spiders from accompanying your wood indoors.

Season It

Whether you split your own firewood or buy it, you need to make sure it has seasoned. Generally, this takes about one year, but the thickness, type of wood and weather will factor into how long it takes. One way to tell if your wood has seasoned long enough, is cracks in the ends of the logs.

Unseasoned wood will not create as much energy as seasoned firewood. Also, unseasoned firewood emits much more smoke as it burns. If you procure your own wood, split it before you leave
it to season, as it will occur much quicker this way.

If you hit two logs together and they make a sharp cracking sound, they are good to go. If, when you hit them together, the logs make a dull thud sound, they aren't ready.