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 #3 suggestion, seal your house. Their thoughts:
Idea: Small cracks and gaps in your house's shell can allow about a third of the heat and air conditioning in a 10-year-old house to escape.
Annual savings: Up to 10% on your fuel bills
Up-front cost: About $100 if you do it yourself; $500 or more if you hire out the job.
Tax credit: 10% of the cost of storm windows (credit cannot exceed $200).
Quick Fix: A water heater blanket (about $20) could save you $34 a year for a gas heater; $54 for an electric one. Water heaters made 10 years ago aren't well insulated. If yours dates to 1997 or before, it can lose about 3 degrees Fahrenheit of heat an hour.
My take:
I'm missing it big-time on this one. I seal cracks around windows and doors (though I do have one door that I constantly struggle with), but I'm totally missing the attic. And I don't have a water heater blanket either -- so between all of these ideas, I could be losing a few hundred dollars a year. Sheesh!
We did some sealing last year and it made a big difference in how quickly the house would warm and cool. We also started opening the blinds on our southward facing windows during the day in the winter and closing them in summer. It was unreal the amount of heat six foot windows would generate in winter.
Posted by: The Saving Freak | November 14, 2007 at 09:30 AM
Check your owners manual on your water heater prior to installing the insulation blanket. Some recommend not having one (not sure why, maybe fire hazard of some kind?). One litmus test is to put your hand on the outside of the water heater and see if it feels warm. If it does then it is obviously losing heat and insulation is a good idea. If not, it may not be worth the expense and time. Most new water heaters are pretty efficient. The ROI of buying a new one if yours is 1997 or older is probably pretty good.
Posted by: Scott | November 14, 2007 at 09:37 AM
if you don't want to seal the door, there's the "draft dodgers" you can put at the bottom (they're just a big tube filled w/sand or cat litter, if you wanted to DIY it.)
Posted by: annab | November 14, 2007 at 03:42 PM
Also try calling your utility company about an energy audit. My local utility does them for free and one of the things they did was put a blanket on our water heater at no charge.
Posted by: rwh | November 14, 2007 at 05:05 PM
Any one have anything to say about Home Alarm systems?
Are they worth the money?
We live in a safe area but were approached by guy from ADT.
Seems expensive, but is it worth it?
Responses please!
Posted by: Kelli | November 15, 2007 at 09:50 AM