Generally, a typical Ohio family spends more than $1600 a year on home utility bills! And unfortunately, a large portion of the energy used in home is wasted. Also, did you know that the electricity generated by fossil fuels for a single home puts more carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air than two average cars?
Here is the good news! There is in fact a lot you can do to save energy and money at home! Start by making small changes today, you can reduce your energy use up to 25%!
View your home as an energy system with interdependent parts and take a whole-house approach to saving energy ensures that dollars you invest to save energy are spent wisely. Energy-efficient improvements not only make your home more comfortable, they can yield long-term financial rewards. Reduced utility bills more than make up for the higher price of energy-efficient appliances and improvements over their lifetimes. In addition, your home could bring in a higher price when you sell.
Sealing the air leak is one of the important things you should look at. Do you know that warm air leaking into your home during the summer and out of your home during the winter could waste you a lot of energy dollars?!!
Do not worry! Just act on the following simple steps will do:
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Test your home for air tightness. On a windy day, hold a lit incense stick next to your windows, doors, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches, and other locations where there is a possible air path to the outside. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, you have located an air leak that may need sealing.
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Caulk doors and windows that leak air.
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Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ducting, or electrical wiring penetrates through exterior walls, floors, ceilings.
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Install rubber gaskets behind outlet and switch plates on exterior walls.
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Look for dirty spots in your insulation, which often indicate holes where air leaks into and out of your house. You can seal the holes by stapling sheets of plastic over the holes and caulking the edges of the plastic.
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Install storm windows over single-pane windows or replace them with double-pane windows.
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When the fireplace is not in use, keep the chimney damper tightly closed. The warm air escapes 24 hours a day until you close it during the winter!
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For new construction, reduce exterior wall leaks by either installing house wrap, taping the joints of exterior sheathing, or comprehensively caulking and sealing the exterior walls.
