Energy Efficiency – A Few Quick Tips To Improve Yours

1. Homeowners – we want to share with you with a few quick and easy things you can check today in your home to improve your energy efficiency.
2. Check the temperature – Did you realize your refrigerator and water heater both have temperature dials – and that both may be set at the wrong temperature? To improve energy efficiency, set your refrigerator between 37 and 40 degrees and your water heater to 120 degrees.
3. Use power strips – All those light-up displays on household electronics are drawing power even when you are not using them. Make things easier on yourself and plug everything into a power strip. Simply turn off the strip when not using these devices.
4. Turn off the lights – We are all guilty of walking out of a room and not flipping the switch. Over time the energy used for electricity adds up. This may be the simplest way to improve your home’s efficiency but also the toughest. Make a conscious effort to get your entire family on board and start turning off those lights.
5. Program your thermostat – According to the Dept. of Energy, you can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by simply turning your thermostat back 7°-10°F for 8 hours a day from its normal setting. In the summer, set your thermostat to 78 degrees while you are away.
6. Weather stripping – Many older homes, and even some newer ones, have numerous little cracks, holes and spaces through which warm air escapes during the winter, and unwanted hot air enters during the summer. In homes that have not been weatherized, air leaks can account for up to 30 to 40% of the home’s overall heat and cooling loss. That’s a lot of wasted energy and unnecessary fuel costs, especially in today’s energy conscious world.
7. Check Your Duct Work – According to the Department of Energy, most of the duct work systems 10 years and older, have 20% to 30% air leakage. This creates higher utility bills due the fact that the air you just paid to heat or cool your home leaked out in your attic or crawl space. If you have a 5 ton system, you are probably only receiving about 4 ton of cooling.

Manually locating and sealing all these leaks is labor intensive can be very expensive. Pleasant Air has a revolutionary application to address this issue. It is called Aeroseal. It is a very cost effective approach to this major area of concern.  Contact us today to schedule a complimentary inspection to evaluate your duct work system.