In October, Money magazine had a special energy insert that featured five ways to save on your energy bills. They not only highlighted the ideas, but the annual savings and up-front costs you'd expect from each of them. They also listed a "quick fix" -- a step you could take in case you didn't want to take the "full-on" advice. Today we'll look at their #2 suggestion, patch leaky ducts. Their thoughts:
Idea: Even if you have the most efficient furnace and air conditioner known to man, if the ducts that funnel that precious hot air or cold air around your house are in bad shape, you'll still lose way too much energy.
Annual savings: About 10% to 20% on your heating and cooling bills.
Up-front cost: About $50 if you do it yourself; $500 to $3,000 otherwise.
Quick Fix: A programmable thermostat (costing about $100) could save you about $100 a year.
My take:
Confession time: I need to do this. I know that the ducts in our house are leaky in the basement and I just haven't taken the time to patch them. But with $200 to $400 per year on the line, looks like a little tape could save me a bundle.
We do have a programmable thermostat and use it regularly. We turn the heat down at night and it kicks back on to warm the house just before we get up. IN the summer, we keep it cool while we sleep and let it heat up a bit in the day. We also use the "vacation" setting that allows us to keep it at a high or low temp (depending on the season) for several days while we're away from the house. It's a great tool, and for a $100 savings, it's a no-brainer.
Programmable thermostats aren't that helpful when one of the family is home during the day. We have one and don't use it.
Also, we have a brand new, high velocity, flexible mini-duct system. No worries about sheet metal bending and cracks causing leaks. (These are like your flexible metal dry vent hose wrapped in insulation).
Posted by: Curtis | November 13, 2007 at 08:59 AM
I have a programmable thermostat that has 4 time settings for each day of the week. It cost us $35 and I'm sure it's paid for itself multiple times in 2 years since we moved in.
It also has a manual override in case someone is home during the day, just a matter of pressing the up or down temperature arrow. There you go Curtis.
Posted by: Kevin | November 13, 2007 at 12:51 PM
Hi,
Great Blog!
I am always happy to find ways to save money and help the environment.
I recently purchased a vent-booster called The AirFlow Breeze which accomplishes both.
It is perfect for the winter time because it makes my room cozy and my bills lower!
You guys should really check it out!
Thanks again and keep writing!
Posted by: Taylor | November 14, 2007 at 09:57 AM
I wish I could take this advice.
About 2/3 of our house is on a slab foundation, so most of our ducts that are leaking are inaccessible. We've been told that we might be able to thread a smaller flexible duct through them, but it's likely that the current ducts are too small to make that feasible.
We do have a programmable thermostat, and it's great - even if some of your family is home all day, it lets you automatically turn the heat down at night and up in the morning without thinking about it. It's easier to get out of bed when you wake up to a nice toasty room.
Posted by: Anitra | November 14, 2007 at 10:20 AM
Anyone know a quick way to locate the leaky ducts? Do you just stand by them and see if you feel hot/cold air coming out?
Posted by: Kevin | November 14, 2007 at 10:37 AM