How to Conduct a Home Energy Audit For Energy Efficiency

Almost a quarter of the total energy used in the U.S. is consumed right in our homes, so energy efficiency should be a vital part of our lives. On average, heating and cooling uses about 40 percent of a home's total energy, while lights and heating water use another 20 percent, and large household appliances consume around another 15 percent of the total. That's a lot of energy going into our homes, and with ongoing concerns about energy shortages and the environment, along with rising energy prices, anything that can help ensure our homes are more energy-efficient is definitely worth considering. But where does a homeowner start?

A home energy audit is what can help you figure out how energy-efficient your home is. Home energy audits can determine how efficiently your home is using energy right now, pin point problem areas you may not even be aware of, and perhaps more importantly, help you prioritize ways to improve your home's overall energy efficiency.

How Does One Go About a Home Energy Audit?

There are a number of ways to conduct an energy audit of your home, ranging from hiring trained and qualified professionals to simple, easy-to-use online assessment tools.

Hiring a Professional

A professional home energy audit will go into much greater detail than a quick online assessment. Since you are hiring trained professionals who will be using specialized equipment, the final report will obviously be much more comprehensive. Make sure you devote the time and budget to this if you are having it done professionally.

o A professional audit will usually begin with an interview during which you will be asked a number of questions regarding how you and your family live (how many people in the home, are all the rooms used, average temperature settings in winter and summer, etc.), as well as a comprehensive look at your utility bills going back for at least a year.

o Next would be a thorough examination of your home from the outside (noting things such as the amount of wall area versus the number of windows, their size, shape and make-up, plus their orientation (which way they are facing), and the position of your home on its lot.

o The final step in a professional home energy audit would be a room-by-room inspection of your home using specialized equipment, such as infrared cameras, furnace efficiency meters, surface thermometers and blower doors to help determine areas where energy could be lost.

o The outcome of all this effort will be a detailed report highlighting how efficiently your home is using energy right now, as well as a providing a list of changes you could implement to improve your home's energy utilization.

Finding a Home Energy Auditor

o You may be able to get recommendations from your state or local government energy office, or your electric or gas utility.

o Check your telephone directory by looking under Energy for companies that perform home energy audits.

o Consult the , and find professional home energy auditors in your state.

Conducting Your Own Home Energy Audit

If you have time and you are willing to put in the effort, you can do your own basic home energy audit in about half a day. Essentially, doing your own home energy audit involves determining if your home has adequate insulation, as well as looking for areas where there may be air leaks or infiltration that would force your home to use extra energy. Here is how to conduct your own simple energy audit.

o Start by measuring the insulation in your attic. Since up to 50 percent of a home's energy loss is through the roof, adequate insulation in imperative. The Department of Energy recommends that if you have less than R-30 insulation in your attic (R-30 equals 11 inches of fiberglass or eight inches of blown cellulose), you should add more.

o Air moving in and out of your home will add a lot to your heating and cooling bills, so walk around the inside of your home, and look for any air leaks. A burning incense stick or even a tissue balanced on a pencil will act as a good indicator of moving air. Simply move it around window frames and door edges, and see if there is air movement. If you see any leaks, you have found gaps that need to be filled with caulking or weather stripping.

o Check heating and cooling ducts to be sure there are not any gaps that will allow air to escape, forcing your furnace or air conditioner to work harder to heat or cool your home.

o Also while outside, look at areas where two types of building material come together (window frame and siding for example) to see if there are any openings on the outside that need to be blocked. Also check where pipes and cables come through the walls to be sure there are no openings.

Visit the ENERGY STAR website. Sign in, answer some basic questions about your home, such as how many people live there, how big it is, the type of heating system you have, and the amount of your energy bills for the past year. After you submit your information, you will receive a report outlining how your home compares to others across the country, as well as some suggestions about how you could improve your home's energy efficiency.

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Home Energy Consumption

5 Ways to Cut Down Your Home Energy Consumption

If you have been receiving high electric bill month after month, then be alarmed. You might be using your appliances more what your require them.

Normally, a regular American household would consume between $1500 and $2000 on electric bills alone. If you happen to fall between these figures, then you can consider yourself as a regular homeowner that uses electricity that is not really needed. Why? One reason: You don’t need to spend as much as $2000 a year for energy. And you don’t even have to spend more than that either. You see, a regular household that spends at this amount often wastes power and of course money. And with an increased electric rate, the bills will go even higher.

Want to do some changes?

Then, here are the things you should know. The 5 ways to cut down your home energy consumption:

1. The thermostat control

When you want your room to be super cool because you are sweating from the inside, you simple don’t turn the thermostat super low. Remember this: the thermostat will not run as quickly as you want. It will run on the same level all throughout until it reaches the temperature you set. So whether you gradually switch your thermostat low or instantly set it on its lowest, you will receive the same result. The main difference is, you only spend more energy when you think you can get your room to cool quickly if you set your thermostat low.

Think of it this way: You are driving at 5mph when you suddenly shift to 5th gear. What you will get? More pressure on the pedal with lesser speed gained. In other words, you waste so much gas but do not instant speed.

Also, to further cut down your electric bill, you can set the thermostat several degrees lower when you are out or when you sleep.

2. Several small consumptions add up

Your iPod charger, cellphone charger, and other chargers that are plugged 24/7 can cost you additional digits on your electric bill. This also goes to your night-lights that are switched on all day, all night. Also, your digital clocks and pots that are plugged since brought to the house consume high home energy. The computer monitor that is left on the whole day adds up to your electric bill. All these contribute to the cost you pay for your electric bill. Imagine this: these things that you think do not contribute so much adds 5% on your electric bill.

3. The cool way

You don’t need a warm water to wash your clothes. Oh, you think that warm water kills germs on your clothes. Well, you don’t need them. Settle for cold water. You can save as much as 90% on your washing machine’s electric consumption of you don’t use water heater.

4. Sealing the leaks

Leaks can come from doors, sills, windows, cracks on the walls, and joints. And making sure that these leaks are given proper attention would yield to saving in the long run. Make sure that your doors are closed properly. If there are spaces, seal them. This goes with all the doors from garage doors, exterior doors, operable windows, to door of the attic. Use sealants such as weather strippers. Windows should also be free from leaks. Cover them with plastic coating so that the heat will be contained inside your home. Cracks on the walls should also be sealed. Regular sealants will instantly do the jobs. The reason for doing this is that you need to keep the heat contained inside your home so that the heating system would not need to do extra work due to heat loss from these leaks.

5. Keep them small

If you are dinning alone and would want to warm up left over straight from your fridge, do not use large pots or ovens. Instead, settle for small pots and microwave. Small pots require less heat while microware has use lesser power than oven. Small burner instead of large burner is more ideal in preparing meals for two reason: one, it consumes less electricity, and two, it your air conditioning would not work double time cooling down the room. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, you can save from 30 to 40% on energy cost if you follow these ways.



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Home Energy Conservation

Making Your Home Energy Conservation Successful

Every year, interest rates are increasing and the cost of heating is definitely going up. And whether we admit it or not, we sometimes find our selves running out of money. However, if you compare an average house to an energy efficient residence, you’ll find out that it is very possible to lessen your annual energy consumption to almost 40 percent. There are lots of ways to conserve home energy which consequently lower your energy bills. And most of the changes that you can do for your home are also helpful to the environment.

Here are some ways to conserve energy in your home:

· Heating and Air Conditioning

1. If you’re going out of an air conditioned room for a long time, be sure to turn off the A/C unit.
2. Rooms that are not used often should have sealed vent.
3. You can also install ceiling fans that are remote controlled than have a built-in heater.
4. When the room is occupied, put the thermostat in a comfortable setting.
5. When the fireplace isn’t used, close the damper in the fireplace

· Laundry Appliances

1. Avoid using your washing machine in partial loads. It is better if you meet the capacity of the machine.
2. Dirty clothes must be pre-soaked for hours. This will prevent you from running your machine twice.
3. For the garments that aren’t very dirty, put small quantity of detergent and put your machine to a lighter wash setting.
4. Electric drier consumes more energy in drying clothes so better apply the conventional way of drying your garments.
5. Ironing clothes should be done at one time and during off-peak hours

· Refrigerators and Freezers

1. Refrigerators and freezers must be defrosted regularly. Frost build-up can increase the load of the compressor motor.
2. Inspect your refrigerator and look for a leaking gasket.
3. Avoid constant opening and closing of the refrigerator’s door because it can contribute to ice or frost build-up.

· Kitchen Appliances

1. Don’t boil water in an open pan. A pan that’s covered will boil the water faster.
2. Keep the burners, range top and reflectors clean. It can help generate more heat and consume less energy.
3. When the food you’re cooking starts to boil, turn the electric stove to low mode.
4. Don’t put smaller pans or pots in small burners or heating elements.

· Lighting

1. Switch off unused lights as well as other appliance that use electricity.
2. Utilize low wattage yet efficient lamps.
3. Replace your incandescent bulb with fluorescent lamp.

Those are just handful of tips to lower your energy bills. There are many other factors which can also guide you in conserving your home energy.

Remember that the two great factors which you can change in order to enhance your quality of life are your lifestyle and your home. If you want to modernize your home, you have to make significant decisions regarding your household appliances. In today’s world, we are faced with a wide range of appliance styles, sizes, configurations and technologies. Evaluating your household appliances can help a lot in your aim to save home energy. The following are the factors that can help you compare and assess your home appliances:

Energy Efficiency. It is always good to carefully weigh up the energy efficiency of the appliances in your home. In some household devices, you are left with a choice between electricity and natural gas as the source of power. The energy efficiency can also be based on the materials the machine or appliance is made of. Various materials can be cooled and heated at different rates.

Size. Having an appliance with the right size is significant. Speed also comes into play. Generally, the faster an appliance finishes its task, the less time it uses energy.

Features. Assess first the features of an appliance before purchasing it and think carefully how these features can improve your lifestyle.

Another advisable tip is to come up with a home energy conservation plan. There are various approaches which you can use in developing such plan and these include:

· Identification of the places where home energy is used inefficiently or lost

· Prioritizing the said areas and finding out how much energy is being wasted

· Correcting the said problems systematically depending on your home energy improvement budget

As you come up with your home energy conservation preparation, you should first identify the problem vicinities. It is good to start in the area where higher amount of energy is used because that area can also be the best place to gain potential savings. With the abovementioned home energy conservation tips, you can free up more bucks without increasing your income.


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Home Energy Audit

Home Energy Audit: Checking Out the Parts of the Home

Going about a home energy audit is one smart way of cutting the utility bills that you pay for at the end of every month. Many people tend to forget about the parts of their homes that might be causing the rise in the home energy consumption. One fact that you must learn to take note of is that the home appliances that you possess, although they are switched off and not in use, still consume energy because of the phantom loads that they create. Examples of these are the VCRs, stereo components, microwave oven, toasters, and the stoves.

Although they are turned off, they still consume energy. How much more when you total their consumptions in a day and then for the entire month? Likewise, the remote controlled devices are always put on a ready mode. Such state of readiness also consumes home energy. Apart from these concerns, the parts of the home contribute to the escalating home energy consumptions. Among these are the attics, fireplaces, and the rest of the less obvious parts of the house.

The General Purpose of the Home Energy Audit

Why is a home energy audit recommended by the experts? What is this process devoted for? For everyone’s clear understanding, the ultimate purpose of the home energy audit is the making possible of the efficiency in the energy utilized in the home. When the home energy used is maximized and securely utilized, there will be the most possible reduction of the utility bills today and the succeeding years to come.

A home energy audit will work best for homeowners who are confronted with very large electric bills. In fact, conducting the needed home energy audit will let you save thousands of dollars in the upcoming years. Stop dwelling on the windows and doors you have at home for they are obvious spots that let you lose much home energy. Why not look into the less obvious spots like the attic, the ceilings, and the fireplace?

Most homeowners put away their unused things and keep them in the attic. Sure, the attic is a great place to store your junked stuffs. But then didn’t you ever glance at your attic and consider the renovation of it so that there will be proper insulation in there? You may indeed throw out big bucks for its improvement but it will do your attic good, so to speak. The attic must be installed with open air vents so as to keep up a good air circulation. When there is no proper air circulation in the attic, the utmost tendency is for the roofing and the stored stuff in the attic to get destroyed.

Now take into consideration the ceiling you’ve got at home. It must have enough insulation so that the home energy will be kept from escaping from it and to go upwards to the attic. The easiest way for heat to transfer into the attic is through a hole in the ceiling.

Also take a good look at the fireplace. When the concern of regulating and controlling the temperature inside the home comes in, the fireplace is the most difficult spot to cover. As the design of the fireplace is concerned, it is particularly aimed at moving the smoke out of the interior environment of the home.

The process is known as the propulsion of the heat. But then the main problem is that whenever the fireplace is not in use, it still goes on with the propulsion of the heat towards the exterior borders of your home.

When dealing with a fireplace, you should bear in your mind that the flue must always be kept closed when it is not being used. But if you intend to have it open, simply turn off the heater inside your home since it will come out of the vents then cross the room, and then right into the fireplace the heat will be blown out. For some logical reasons, such situation will just cause you a nightmare in terms of the electrical bills that will confront you.

If you are serious with your intention of cutting back your home energy costs, a home energy audit will be best.


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Home Energy Assistance Program

Types of Home Energy Assistance Program You Can Avail

With the rising household demand for electricity, particularly during winter and summer, many low earners and widows could not afford the price they have to pay for keeping the house either warn or cold. The matter gets worst with the increasing cost of electricity on every state around the nation. Now, any family with little income or widows who receive small pension have nowhere to go but to seek help.

Good thing, there are several institutions who are willing to take care of household’s electric bills or do some makeovers on homes in order to make them electric efficient. These are called home energy assistance program.

There are several types of home energy assistance program. If you fall on the category of those who need help on electric bill, here are the things you need to know:

Note: Several institutions use different names on the programs they offer. Each state across America also uses own terms. Thus, the terms below may not be available on your State but the descriptions may be similar or the same. (We will try to be as general as possible.)

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program – In general terms, the LIHEAP subsidizes the energy consumption of households with low income. Some programs cover only a specific period, usually during winter or summer. On some STATES, LIHEAP helps households to pay past due electric bills, pay current electric bills, and even improve the home to become energy efficient. To further reduce future electric bills.

Those who want to afford the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program should fall on the categories stated. Remember that every State has their own criteria in selecting households that qualify to the program. You may want to check on these from your local government.

Weatherization – Homes should be built and adapt to the particular climate to maximize home energy consumption. This program covers the cost of home improvement to adapt for the coming winter or summer. Normally, the wetherization programs include changing the home’s windows, installing window plastic covering and weather stripping among others.

Subsidizations – Some states shoulder a portion of the electric consumption of households who cannot afford the high cost of heating during the winter season. Low-income earners are the usual beneficiaries of this program.

Energy Budgets and Energy Conservation Counseling – On some states like Wisconsin, program such as this teaches residents on how to maximize the use of electricity especially during the winter season. The Energy Budgets and Energy Conservation Counseling is one of the more effective ways to ease the burden of those who could not afford to pay for heating.

Home Energy Assistance Program – On most states, the Home Energy Assistance Program or the HEAP provides financial assistance to eligible families to offset their previews and current electric bills. Both the LIHEAP and the HEAP vision one and the same goal.

Emergency – There are times when climate exceeds to the normal expectations. The winter may sometimes become so harsh on a certain period of time that households tend to increase their heating consumption. The emergency assistance program is a contingency program that helps those who cannot afford the extra cost of heating during the winter.

The Children, The Elderly, and The Disabled – Some states offer Home Energy Assistance Program that aims on helping the children, elderly and disabled to get through the winter.

Cooling Assistance – Some states do not have problem with winter but they have problem with the heat of the summer. And on many cases, low-income households need extra energy to cool down their houses. States that lay on areas where there are extreme heat offer cooling assistance. This can fall under HEAP or LIHEAP. The aim is similar.

All these programs have eligibility criteria. To know what are those and to identify what specific type of program do you fall, you must contact your state, local County Social Service Office or institutions that offer these programs. Scout on the internet and look for the sites that offer Home Energy Assistance Program on your State. Researching online will surely give you more information about the particular Home Energy Assistance Program you need.


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Home Energy

Maximizing the Use of Your Home Energy

With the technological advancements we have today, it is hard to resist the temptation of having each electronic device available on the market. And why not grab the latest if you can afford it? However, with the increasing fuel cost and electric rate, there are things that need to be done. You may simply grab the latest plasma television or the most advanced heating system today but the thing is, you have to pay the price not only on these items but the electricity that they will consume. And chances are, if you have all the high tech stuffs at home, your electric bill does not come cheap.

So, as was mentioned earlier, something must be done in order to make sure that your are getting the most out of what you are paying each month energy. And the very first place to do some changes is right at your very home.

A typical household would spend about $1600 per year on electric consumption. You might fall under this figure. This is big enough right? But this is not the end of the story. Don’t you know that a big portion of what you are paying for electric bill is never been used? Let us put it in other words: Energy is wasted month after month right at your very home. Thus, you are spending on something that you never even use.

To make up for this, here are the changes you can do in order to get the most out of every cent you pay for your electric bill:

Turn off unnecessary devices. If you are not watching your television, never leave it on. This also goes with your stereo. Learn how to turn them off if you don’t need them. Turn off the lights if you are leaving the room as well. Also switch off the air conditioning system if you don’t plan to return for a while. If you don’t use the computer monitor, turn them off. Like the television, it consumes electricity when you are not using it.

Keep the sockets free. Unplug all your chargers. Yes, they consume small electric current but if you leave them plugged in day in and day out for months, you will feel their effects on your electric bills. Remember that these little things, when pile up can be big.

If you plan to leave the house, never let the heating system run at the temperature as if you are at home. Keep them low; better yet, turn it off. You are not using them anyway. Heating system consumes a large portion of your electric bill so you might as well do some necessary changes with them. If for instance you do not want to enter cold home, you can set up remote control heating system or a programmable heating system. In this way, you do not have to leave the heating system running all day. All you have to do is to set the time when you want your heating system to work and you will save a lot of money.

During the day, use the sun to warn up the house. The sun is free so open your drapes and windows and let your heating system rest for a while. Close the windows and drapes at night.

Instead of incandescent lights, use fluorescent. They produce more light but consume less electricity.

If you don’t want to turn the lights on and off every time you go in and out of the room, you might want to get some timers, dimmers and motion sensors to do the job for you. They are worth investing for.

Refrain from using hot water when washing your clothes. Also, it will give you much savings if you prefer washing on full loads. On your dishwasher, make sure you also full load them. If there are few clothes or dishes to wash, prefer using your hands. Air-dry them so that you do not consume more electricity.

Doing these things doesn’t mean you deprive yourself from freely using the electricity you need. It only means that you are wisely spending every cent you pay for electric bills.


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Feng Shui Home Energy

How Feng Shui Influences Home Energy, Business Life and Office Reply Time

Many people know about the ancient tradition of Feng shui. In a nutshell, Feng Shui is the Chinese tradition of manipulating energy in order to produce harmony within a certain place.

So how does Feng Shui affect home energy, business life and office reply time?

Well, the principle of Feng Shui operates on the basic principle of Yin and Yang: harmony between the dark and the light. In order to have true harmony, practitioners of Feng Shui try to arrange things around them in such a way that they can manipulate the energy to a balance.

The most recognizable symbol of Feng Shui is the octagon. The octagon or Ba Gua represents the eight directions of chi that must be balanced in order for you to have good fortune. Recently, it has been discovered that octagonal houses are actually more energy efficient. Quite a coincidence, wouldn’t you agree?

Feng Shui influences home energy because of the theory that placing the different parts of a house such as the stairs, the furniture and the door can influence the flow of chi energy through your home. This would lead to different effects.

In Feng Shui, it is believed that blockage to the chi can cause pretty big problems concerning business. In this world today, many people are learning how to respect each other’s beliefs on what affects business. We live in a global community. Hence, we all should know how to do business with each other.

Right now, many westerners are researching Feng Shui because of the simple fact that many Asian businessmen would stop a deal if they feel that something is not right with the energy of the environment.

Thus, Feng Shui influences business life by allowing people to relate to each other in the terms of business. When you observe the proper Feng Shui of a place, you show people that you have a respect for every tradition. This would put you in the forefront of your business community.

But how does Feng Shui affect office reply time?

We all know that in order for an office to function properly, communications must always be in order. This means that people should be able to talk to others within the office itself. Thus, office reply time is very crucial to every person working inside the office.

As mentioned before, Feng Shui has a lot to do with the placement of objects within the area. When designing a place, you not only consider the time factor but the Feng Shui as well. In many cases, these two are often conflicted.

Some Feng Shui experts, when noting building plans, often have stairways change places or even have steps added in order to have harmony. This means that your plans for speedy office reply time may be put on hold in favor of Feng Shui.
Have you ever walked into a place and right away get a bad feeling? Some practitioners say that it is one manifestation of a place having bad Feng Shui.

Placement of objects is not the only factor that influences Feng Shui. The colors and materials used for certain objects also influences the way chi energy moves around the house. For example, wood furniture can enhance chi in the south, while ceramic or clay calms it.

Chi energy flows everywhere. However, you can actually make certain modifications in order to gather more chi and promote good fortune.

Water promotes chi, that’s why you’ll see that in every Chinese restaurant they always have an aquarium. Certain types of fish, like a koi, actually helps promote good fortune.

The concept of Feng shui affecting home energy, business life and office reply time may seem to be pretty fat-fetched to the westerner. However, you need to understand that some Asians take this stuff pretty seriously, and if you intend to have harmonious business relations with Asians, you may want to brush up on the different concepts of Feng Shui.

Here’s a final word: many things happen without any explanations. Feng Shui is one of those things that have neither been proven nor disproved. Thus, a person must properly respect another’s beliefs in order for them to maintain a harmonious relationship.

After all, you do not want to be judged as you judge other people, do you?


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