Electricity and How To Control Your Costs
DIY Methods To Reduce Electricity Costs
If your utility bill is out of control, you need to consider ways to tame the beast. There are plenty of do it yourself [DIY] methods to save on utilities.
Utility costs for heating, cooling and energy costs are near record highs. Worse, they are expected to rise fairly dramatically over the next few years. Since you will live in a residence for the rest of your life, making small changes to save money on utilities will save you tens of thousands of dollars, if not more. Here are some areas to check out and fix to start saving some bucks.
Leaks and drafts from the interior of your home to the exterior can easily double your utility bill. There are a couple of obvious areas to check out such as windows, frames around doors, fireplaces and entrances to attics. Less obvious spots to check include gaps around electric outlets, mail slots, pipes, spaces around baseboards and gaps around air conditioners where the interface with the exterior. If you find gaps, caulking can often take care of the problem or you can pursue a weekend DIY repair.
Insulation in a home can be a real problem when it comes to electricity usage. Since I hope to avoid getting sued, let me just suggest builders tend to use the minimum amount and grade of insulation required by regulations when building homes. If you live in a tract home, this may be all the more true.
Insulation and DIY Methods To Saving Energy Costs:
If you seal the areas where you have drafts, but the heater or air conditioner is still turning on every few minutes, insulation may be a problem. Inspecting insulation isn't the easiest or most comfortable task. The easiest method is to first climb into the attic and see if there is any exposed insulation. Unfortunately, the grade of insulation in the ceiling may not match the grade in the walls.
To check the walls, the best bet is to find a small area where you might have a hole. Closets are typical spots. If you have kids, look for areas where a doorknob has punched through a wall. If none of these are available, you can remove a small surface area in a closet. Once done, determine if the entire area is filled with insulation as well as the R grade of your insulation. Compare it to recommended grades in your area. You can then patch the area and nobody will be the wiser. If all else fails, get a thermal inspection from a professional. Most people are not going to need to blow out their insulation. Doing so will help, but sealing a home will go a long way to cutting your electricity costs. With this in mind, give your home the once over.
Home Insulation:
Other DIY methods to save on utilities is your roof. Most energy loss is thru the roof. When it is time to re-shingle or replace your roof, be sure to use radiant barrier ply wood. I can't stress enough the importance of radiant barriers for you home.Radiant barriers cost a little bit more than conventional barriers, but the return on your investment starts immediately.Radiant barrier ply wood on roofs saves 60% on your heating and cooling costs.
Home Insulation
As with anything, solar energy has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages, however, significantly win out when you consider just the impact on your bank account. Throw in the environmental positives and solar energy is clearly a winner.
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For more DIY methods for heating, cooling and cutting energy costs see these articles:
