If there has been one bright light that has come from the most serious recession since the Great Depression, is that there is a real and genuine need to find ways to conserve energy. This isn’t necessarily about saving or helping the environment, though that is a wonderful by-product; this is about saving money and for every homeowner in the country today, and especially here in New England, there is a person who can make small to significant changes within their home that could save them hundreds of dollars every year on their energy bills. Sometimes even more.
When fuel prices spiked in 2007 and 2008, many homeowners throughout Connecticut acutely felt the pressure on their savings accounts. The rising cost of fuel directly impacted nearly everyone in the state when heating oil, natural gas, and electricity rates increased. The early drive was on to find ways to improve efficiency, save money, and reduce each person’s carbon footprint.
Many ways to cut back
It was no surprise to learn that what most people did during those trying years was reduce the temperature they kept their homes heated to. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, many of these same homeowners who sacrificed some degree of comfort for savings failed to genuinely seek out better ways to help with their expenses.
In just about every home, there are numerous ways to cut back on electric costs. Using energy efficient appliances is one of those ways. Many older homes throughout New England, and particularly Connecticut, have older appliances. These appliances that may be ten years or older can actually cost more money to keep in operation as opposed to replacing them with energy efficient appliances.
The key to energy efficient appliances is to understand the ratings system that is used by the federal government to help the consumer know how efficient an appliance truly is. Anything that has the ENERGY STAR logo will have a rating number on it. You can learn more about these ratings by reading the Energy Efficiency Ratings article.
Another factor of older homes that can cost more money is insulation. Insulation breaks down over time and eventually serves little purpose. Traditional insulation may not cover every gap or seam in the home and when this happens, warm air can escape in the winter and cold air in the summer. Blown-in insulation is a great way to improve your home’s energy efficiency when it’s time to reapply new insulation. The best part about blown-in insulation is that it can done with existing walls with minimally invasive techniques.
Air sealing is yet another method to help reduce high energy costs. Did you know that, on average, there are enough gaps and cracks throughout a home that it is the equivalent to leaving a window wide open during winter? Most homeowners would be frustrated to find out someone left a window open while the heater was working, right? Yet few take into account all those hidden places in the walls, attic, and foundation where warm air can leak out or cold air could seep in.
Using energy efficient lighting is one of the simplest and least expensive ways to conserve energy. Just by changing a light bulb from a traditional incandescent to a CFL (compact fluorescent light) can save the average homeowner up to $600 a year just by changing out the five or six most commonly used bulbs in the house.
Energy conservation is everyone’s responsibility but when you realize that the benefits can directly impact your wallet, the idea becomes something a bit more important. If you want to find out more about how to conserve energy, you can read more or inquire about having an energy audit performed on your home to show you precisely where you can save energy.
