The following information has been provided by Ed Schwartz of Green Living Solutions.
Now is the time to think about taking steps to make your home more comfortable and keep r energy costs down this winter. There are simple and inexpensive ways to boost comfort, save money, and make a home more green. So before the shivering starts, try some of these easy fixes.
A Home Energy Audit is always a great place to start to help not only identify areas to save energy, but also to help prioritize the improvements that can be made. An energy audit identifies where energy is being used and wasted within the home. A certified home energy auditor can assist homeowners in prioritizing improvements, whether those priorities are comfort, indoor air quality, savings or minimizing environmental impact. Most people ask about windows, but there are usually many other areas to target, which cost less, and have much greater impact on comfort and reducing energy use.
To help keep costs down for homeowners, both the state and federal governments have rebates and incentives to help offset some of the costs. The Home Performance with Energy Star Program is available to all homeowners, and with its Fall 2011 promotion, can provide up to $5,000 per household to qualified homeowners to offset the cost of energy efficient upgrades. Learn more about state funded rebates and incentives at www.njcleanenergy.com and pick up more suggestions and have questions answered at www.askecoed.com .
Another area that can be addressed is the lighting in the home. In the dark months of winter, we all tend to keep the lights on for more hours, increasing electricity bills. By swapping out your incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent or LED bulbs (both available at most hardware stores), you can keep electrical bills down without sacrificing light quality. Even festive holiday lights are now available in more efficient LED's, that also last significantly longer than the standard incandescent bulbs. In addition, many exterior holiday lights can be both LED and solar powered, requiring no electricity. Check the local hardware retailer, or visit www.efi.org for a variety of energy saving lights. Do not wait until the current bulbs burn out. They waste so much electricity that it pays to change them now. And train the kids, and perhaps the spouse, to turn off lights when leaving the room.
Check the attic insulation. Fiberglass does little to block air movement. It is estimated that roughly 90 percent of homes in New Jersey are under-insulated by current Energy Star standards. Older homes may not even have insulation in the walls. Drafts can be blocked. Some are easy to find, and simple low-tech solutions are often the best. The fireplace damper is a common culprit. Be sure to close the damper in the fireplace when not in use. If the seal is not good, then a "Chimney Balloon" is an inexpensive way to block cold air movement. A door cozy or door sweep are both handy little items that block the drafts that creep in underneath the doorways. Caulk or weather stripping around doors and windows are products that almost anyone can use to minimize drafts and heating bills and increase comfort.
Heating systems use by far the most energy in the home in winter. Properly tuned equipment will help it last longer and run more efficiently. Newer technologies are so much more efficient, that it might make sense to upgrade an older system. Installing and properly setting a programmable thermostat can also reduce energy wasted over night or when no one is home.
Get the whole family involved. Saving energy can be fun, makes a home more comfortable, keeps energy bills down, all while making the home more Earth-friendly.
Eco Ed is a co-founder of Green Living Solutions, certified by the Building Performance Institute. Visit www.greenlivingsolutionsnj.com for additional information.
Source www.northjersey.com/
Now is the time to think about taking steps to make your home more comfortable and keep r energy costs down this winter. There are simple and inexpensive ways to boost comfort, save money, and make a home more green. So before the shivering starts, try some of these easy fixes.
A Home Energy Audit is always a great place to start to help not only identify areas to save energy, but also to help prioritize the improvements that can be made. An energy audit identifies where energy is being used and wasted within the home. A certified home energy auditor can assist homeowners in prioritizing improvements, whether those priorities are comfort, indoor air quality, savings or minimizing environmental impact. Most people ask about windows, but there are usually many other areas to target, which cost less, and have much greater impact on comfort and reducing energy use.
To help keep costs down for homeowners, both the state and federal governments have rebates and incentives to help offset some of the costs. The Home Performance with Energy Star Program is available to all homeowners, and with its Fall 2011 promotion, can provide up to $5,000 per household to qualified homeowners to offset the cost of energy efficient upgrades. Learn more about state funded rebates and incentives at www.njcleanenergy.com and pick up more suggestions and have questions answered at www.askecoed.com .
Another area that can be addressed is the lighting in the home. In the dark months of winter, we all tend to keep the lights on for more hours, increasing electricity bills. By swapping out your incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent or LED bulbs (both available at most hardware stores), you can keep electrical bills down without sacrificing light quality. Even festive holiday lights are now available in more efficient LED's, that also last significantly longer than the standard incandescent bulbs. In addition, many exterior holiday lights can be both LED and solar powered, requiring no electricity. Check the local hardware retailer, or visit www.efi.org for a variety of energy saving lights. Do not wait until the current bulbs burn out. They waste so much electricity that it pays to change them now. And train the kids, and perhaps the spouse, to turn off lights when leaving the room.
Check the attic insulation. Fiberglass does little to block air movement. It is estimated that roughly 90 percent of homes in New Jersey are under-insulated by current Energy Star standards. Older homes may not even have insulation in the walls. Drafts can be blocked. Some are easy to find, and simple low-tech solutions are often the best. The fireplace damper is a common culprit. Be sure to close the damper in the fireplace when not in use. If the seal is not good, then a "Chimney Balloon" is an inexpensive way to block cold air movement. A door cozy or door sweep are both handy little items that block the drafts that creep in underneath the doorways. Caulk or weather stripping around doors and windows are products that almost anyone can use to minimize drafts and heating bills and increase comfort.
Heating systems use by far the most energy in the home in winter. Properly tuned equipment will help it last longer and run more efficiently. Newer technologies are so much more efficient, that it might make sense to upgrade an older system. Installing and properly setting a programmable thermostat can also reduce energy wasted over night or when no one is home.
Get the whole family involved. Saving energy can be fun, makes a home more comfortable, keeps energy bills down, all while making the home more Earth-friendly.
Eco Ed is a co-founder of Green Living Solutions, certified by the Building Performance Institute. Visit www.greenlivingsolutionsnj.com for additional information.
Source www.northjersey.com/
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