LANDIS CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION

Tips for Creating a More Energy-Efficient Home

Without taking on a large-scale project, there are lots of things you can do around your house to save energy, money, and time. According to national averages compiled by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 44% of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling , 33% goes to lighting, cooking, and other appliances, 14% goes to heating water, and 9% goes to use of the refrigerator. By following some of the tips we provide, you can take the necessary steps towards reducing your energy bill in all of these categories.

Helpful Home Hints for…
Insulation
Windows
Heating / Air-conditioning
Reducing Your Hot Water Consumption
Reducing Your Overall Water Consumption
Lighting
Refrigerators
Clothes Washers
Dishwashers
Computers

When an old appliance gives out or when certain products are not performing satisfactorily, you may feel it is time to replace them. Or you may feel unsure whether a machine is really energy efficient or if its price is worth paying. We suggest that you read the following sections to get a little background before you make any purchases. Before you invest in a new appliance or buy a specific product, you should first do research about the item to ensure that it is the best choice for your home. In the store, there are some key things to look for on a product, namely the Energy Star logo and Energy Guide label. Please, click on the links below and read the information provided so that you are knowledgeable enough to make an informed decision before you buy.

Purchasing Appliances
What is Energy Star?
Terms You Should Know
Suggested Materials and Products

Insulation

1. Insulate your attic.
2. Install attic vents.
3. Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows that leak air.
4. Caulk and seal all other air leaks around cracks in exterior walls, floors, ceilings, and soffits.
5. For old drafty windows, install storm windows.
6. Keep the flue of your fireplace tightly closed when not in use.
7. Insulation is measured in R-values, which stand for the level of resistance to heat flow. The higher the R-value, the more efficient type of insulation.
8. The top sources of air leaks in the average home floors, walls, ceilings, ducts and fireplaces.
9. Before you can look into insulation for your home, you need to be aware of the four main different types of insulation that are out there: batts, rolls, loose-fill, and rigid foam boards. Batts are used to fit between the studs in walls or between the joists of ceilings or floors. Rolls are used to cover the floor of an attic. Loose-fill is used to fill up spaces and can be poured or blown into position. Rigid foam boards are used to provide structural support.

Windows

1. Window performance is measured in U-values and R-values. The U-value is a measure of the heat flow through the window, and the lower the U-value, the more efficient the window is in terms of insulation.
2. Two types of window coatings to look for are low-e glazings and spectrally-selective coatings. Low-e glazings, recommended for colder climates, aim to reduce heat flow through the windows. While windows manufactured with low-e films typically cost about 10% to 15% more than regular windows, they reduce energy loss by as much as 30% to 50%. Spectrally-selective coatings, recommended for homes in warmer climates, block the sun’s infrared rays (which are the main cause of solar heating) while still admitting all visible light.
3. Colder climate windows benefit the most from having wood, wood composites, vinyl, or fiberglass frames, whereas aluminum frames are best in warmer climates.
4. When buying double-pane windows, manufacturers may give you the option of having the space between two panes filled with gas, such as Argon. Gas-fill gives the window better insulation and a lower U-Value.

Heating / Air-conditioning

1. Set your thermostat as high as is comfortable in the summer and as low as is comfortable during the winter. You can also save up to 10% on your energy bill by setting your thermostat to a lower temperature overnight during the winter.
2. Buy a programmable thermostat. They allow you to plan and program the times when you use heating and air-conditioning, thereby reducing the chance that energy goes to waste and the hassle involved with constantly adjusting the temperature of your home.
3. Seal all air ducts. Repair air leaks in ducts with duct tape that displays the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) logo for optimum quality.
4. Keep warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators free from obstructions, such as curtains and furniture, and clear of dust.
5. AC units are most effective when they are left on for extended periods of time, as opposed to being switched on and off frequently. Units should be properly sized to the room; units that are too big for a space are not more effective for cooling.
6. Central AC systems are rated according to their seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER), a measure that compares the air-conditioner’s total output in Btus in terms of how much total energy is being put in to run the machine. When purchasing a new central air conditioner, look for a model with a SEER of 12 or greater.
7. Have a professional check your air conditioner annually.

Reducing Your Hot Water Consumption

1. Turn down the thermostat on your hot water heater (115° F is usually recommended).
2. Insulate your water heater with a blanket or padding.
3. Hot water usually accounts for about 14% of your overall utility bill. According to national averages compiled by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, showers account for 37% of hot water consumption and washers for 26%. Therefore, try to reduce the amount of time you spend bathing by at least five minutes every day.
4. The Department of Energy estimates that a typical family with a home more than a decade old could save $200 per year in bills and 18,600 gallons of water per year by switching to highly energy and water efficient appliances. When purchasing a new water appliance, look for a model with a high Energy Factor of 9.1 or above.
5. Buy a more efficient model of water heater when your old one needs replacing.

Lighting

1. For outdoors, set your lights to motion detectors so that they are only used when needed.
2. Change your incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). CFLs use one-quarter the amount of energy for the same light output as their incandescent counterparts. While CFLs use more energy when they first turn on, they save energy over time. CFLs are most effective for places where lights are left on for several hours a day. And while fluorescents cost more initially, they last about 10 times longer and save a lot of electricity, making them far more economical in the long run.
http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/forms/light.cgi
3. Turn off all lights when you leave a room.
4. Install windows or skylights to increase natural lighting.
5. Use task lighting in work areas.
6. Lower the height of light fixtures to increase usable light.
7. Putting some lights on timers so that they go off at night when not in use.
8. When replacing light bulbs, ask for ones that generate the least amount of heat.

Refrigerators

1. Many people run old refrigerators in their basements to hold extra food. It is actually more cost effective to replace this old fridge with a new Energy Star labeled model. The payback is usually about three years because old models of refrigerators are significantly less energy efficient than the newer models.
2. Don’t keep your refrigerator too hot or too cold. Always keep it as full as possible.
3. When buying, look for a fridge with automatic moisture control.
4. Ensure that your refrigerator door seals are airtight.
5. Keep food and liquids inside covered to reduce the amount of moisture released.
6. Move your refrigerator out from the wall and vacuum its condenser coils once a year.

Washers

1. Do a full load of laundry every time.
2. Set the wash load size on the washer equal to the actual amount of clothes that you are washing.
3. Wash clothes in cold water with cold-water detergent whenever you can.
4. Clean your lint filter after every load.
5. Dry towels and heavier cottons in a separate load from lighter-weight clothes.
6. Washer performance is rated based on its Modified Energy Factor (MEF) which measures the amount of energy used during the washing cycle. The higher the MEF, the more energy efficient the washing machine is. It is also rated based on Water Factor, the number of gallons of water used per cubic foot of washer space. The smaller the water factor, the more energy efficient the product is.

Dishwashers

1. Choose the light or normal wash cycles.
2. Don’t rinse dishes before loading them into the dishwasher. Merely scrape large pieces of food off first.
3. Let dishes air-dry when possible.

Computers

1. The traditional larger cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors use up more energy than the more modern slimmer liquid crystal display (LCD) flat screen monitor. While CRTs are larger, they are often only half the price of a comparable LCD. As the price of LCD technology decreases, you may find the option increasingly appealing.

Purchasing Appliances

This graph shows the amount of electricity consumed by common household appliances. Source: http://www.eere.energy.gov/ consumerinfo/ energy_savers/appliance_barchart.html

1. If any appliance needs replacing, we recommend that you purchase an energy efficient model that features the Energy Star label.

2. You may want to do research in a publication, such as Consumer Reports, to investigate the performance of various machines.

3. In stores, look for the yellow “EnergyGuide” tag which allows consumers to compare different appliances based on two aspects: the overall energy consumption of the product based on the different models of the same product that use the least and most amounts of energy, and the overall operating cost of the appliance during one year based on the national average for the price of electricity. You can use this label as a tool for comparing the energy efficiency of various machines.

4. Click here for a list of appliances that were top-rated for their optimal level of energy efficiency:
http://www.aceee.org/consumerguide/mostenef.htm

5. The following link describes what to look for and how when buying new appliances:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/
senergy_savers/shoppingguide.html

What is Energy Star?

The Energy Star is a “government-backed program helping businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency.” The label that denotes that a product “meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the EPA and US Department of Energy.”

Energy Star products have been proven as more energy-efficient than there non-labeled counterparts. For example, compared to standard models, Energy Star labeled commercial solid door refrigerators and freezers can lead to energy savings of as much as 46% with a 1.3 year payback. Replacing all existing commercial solid door refrigerators and freezers in the US with Energy Star labeled models would result in savings of almost $250 million per year. Also, in 2002, the benefits of consumer use of Energy Star products, those appliances approved by the Environmental Protection Agency as being the most energy efficient, totaled $7 billion saved on collective energy bills. In general, we recommend that you choose products that feature the Energy Star logo whenever possible.

Terms You Should Know to Help You Make Energy-Conscious Choices

British thermal unit (Btu): the unit of measure used to determine the amount of energy used up or given off by an appliance.

Energy Factor: the measure of the overall efficiency of an appliance.

R-value: the level of resistance to heat flow; The R-value of insulation depends on the type of material it is made from, its thickness, and its density. The higher the R-value, the more efficient type of insulation.

SEER: A measurement of efficiency for cooling devices; the SEER is calculated by dividing the total number of BTUs of heat removed from the air by the total amount of energy required by the unit. The higher the SEER value, the more efficient the product.

Weatherization: the process of adapting the home to prepare for seasonal conditions

Suggested Materials and Products

The following products are most cost-effective, because despite the more expensive price tag, they save the most energy and money over their lifetime:

1. Energy-efficient models of hot water heaters and refrigerators
2. High-efficiency furnaces and AC systems
3. Compact fluorescent bulbs
4. Window replacements

You can make your home a greener home after installing energy efficient machines and designing your home to increase the amount of natural light, by using green materials, ones made from recycled products that are less harmful to the environment. These materials are not necessarily the best for every home, but they wear the label of energy efficiency.