Here's part 5 of our series on energy savings tips from Energy Star:
Tighten Your Ducts. If you have a forced air furnace, heat pump, or central air conditioner, then a duct system is responsible for circulating "conditioned" air throughout your home. Leaky ducts can reduce your system's overall efficiency by as much as 20 percent and deliver more comfort where you want it. Sealing your ducts can save up to $140 annually on energy bills, help you consistently heat or cool every room and also improve indoor air quality. It is especially important to seal and insulate ducts that are in the attic or crawlspace.
Keep out of hot water. Set your hot water temperature at the "normal" setting – no higher than 120 degrees F. This can cut your water heating costs by 11 percent. Second, if your water heater is pretty old, make a quick trip to the hardware store or home improvement center for a hot water insulation kit to wrap your water heater and save even more on water heating costs. (New water heaters are better insulated, so may not require an insulation kit). Third, place pipe insulation on the hot water pipe that carries the heated water from the water heater – especially in cold basements or closets.
Load it up. Wait until you have a full load to run your clothes washer, dryer or dishwasher in order to use less energy. Use the energy saver feature on your dishwasher, and skip the heat dry cycle. If you're trying to do your part to prevent brownouts/blackouts or reduce energy demand in your area, it's best to run these appliances during off-peak hours, in the morning or evening.
My thoughts:
1. I need to fix our ducts. I KNOW air is leaking in our basement ductwork.
2. Our water heater is newer, so we're pretty covered here.
3. We always load up (in fact, I've been known to overload). ;-)
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