The winter is approaching and it's time to get ready for the winter. We have the all fall to do that http://www.ecy.wa.gov/news/envirotips/tips_fall.htm.
This year we may receive quite expensive heating bills, as energy cost is steadily rising.
As you may know heating and cooling account for about half the energy used in a house.
So what about starting to follow some of the advices I collected at the bottom of this posting?
But first I’ll tell you what I did
I have a new house and while me and my husband were going through the process of building it, we tried to make as much choices we could afford, that would have save energy in the future.
We have two energy efficient heating and cooling systems to which we applied a zoning system so that we can heat and cool only the areas where we leave in a certain time of the day.
And we installed thermostats so that we could control the temperature in each zone. I was advised from the technicians to avoid more than 5 degree F of difference between the zones, or the system would have run inefficiently.
So during the winter mornings we keep the day zone at 65-67 degree F and the night zone at 60-62 degree F.
You may say it's quite chilly, but if you wear a warm sweater and sleepers and you are moving (cleaning, cooking, etc), it's actually quite a comfortable temperature. Usually when is extremely cold outside I keep the temperature lower, because the furnace is going all the time anyways, and the house feels warmer compared to the outside.
If despite the slippers and the sweater you are still chilly, start the funs before modifying the temperature. The funs will allow the air to move and make the temperature more uniform.
Then at night we reverse the temperature set. In the day zone we put the temperature at 60-62 degree F and in the night zone at 64-65 degree F.
Cool temperatures make you sleep better and a nice, warm pajamas and covers are all you need at night.
If you have programmable thermostats you can change the temperature about 1 hr before you go form one zone to another.
One important thing is to keep the door from one zone to the other closed.
It's also good to close all the drapes to keep the warm inside from dusk to dawn.
If you are warm do not open the windows, but instead lower the thermostat.
We installed energy efficient windows and our walls and roof are well insulated.
I have a heating and cooling system yearly check up by a professional to make sure that the machines are tuned up, the air filters are clean, and the humidifier is working properly. It makes your house safer and your systems can run at the highest efficiency.
If I leave the house during the day, all the thermostats are set at 60 degree F; there is no need to keep the house warm if anyone is in the house.
Last, if we go on vacation we leave all the thermostats at 50 degree F that is the lowest temperature to keep the pipes from freezing and the furniture and appliances to be damaged from condensation.
Also the water heater uses quite a lot of energy. So if you have a water heater older than 5 years it’s a good idea to put a water heater blanket. In my case I don’t need to.
Keep the water heater at 120 degree F. If you leave for vacation set the water heater on vacation mode.
What I still need to do is to insulate all the hot water pipes in my unfinished basement. So this would be my fall project.
Do you have any project or question? Leave a comment to the post.
For more advices use the following very helpful and detailed links.
-Duke Energy saving tips http://www.duke-energy.com/ohio/savings.asp
-Energy Star EPA program http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=heat_cool.pr_hvac
- USA Department of Energy: weatherization program http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/wip/- USA Department of Energy Consumer guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/
This year we may receive quite expensive heating bills, as energy cost is steadily rising.
As you may know heating and cooling account for about half the energy used in a house.
So what about starting to follow some of the advices I collected at the bottom of this posting?
But first I’ll tell you what I did
I have a new house and while me and my husband were going through the process of building it, we tried to make as much choices we could afford, that would have save energy in the future.
We have two energy efficient heating and cooling systems to which we applied a zoning system so that we can heat and cool only the areas where we leave in a certain time of the day.
And we installed thermostats so that we could control the temperature in each zone. I was advised from the technicians to avoid more than 5 degree F of difference between the zones, or the system would have run inefficiently.
So during the winter mornings we keep the day zone at 65-67 degree F and the night zone at 60-62 degree F.
You may say it's quite chilly, but if you wear a warm sweater and sleepers and you are moving (cleaning, cooking, etc), it's actually quite a comfortable temperature. Usually when is extremely cold outside I keep the temperature lower, because the furnace is going all the time anyways, and the house feels warmer compared to the outside.
If despite the slippers and the sweater you are still chilly, start the funs before modifying the temperature. The funs will allow the air to move and make the temperature more uniform.
Then at night we reverse the temperature set. In the day zone we put the temperature at 60-62 degree F and in the night zone at 64-65 degree F.
Cool temperatures make you sleep better and a nice, warm pajamas and covers are all you need at night.
If you have programmable thermostats you can change the temperature about 1 hr before you go form one zone to another.
One important thing is to keep the door from one zone to the other closed.
It's also good to close all the drapes to keep the warm inside from dusk to dawn.
If you are warm do not open the windows, but instead lower the thermostat.
We installed energy efficient windows and our walls and roof are well insulated.
I have a heating and cooling system yearly check up by a professional to make sure that the machines are tuned up, the air filters are clean, and the humidifier is working properly. It makes your house safer and your systems can run at the highest efficiency.
If I leave the house during the day, all the thermostats are set at 60 degree F; there is no need to keep the house warm if anyone is in the house.
Last, if we go on vacation we leave all the thermostats at 50 degree F that is the lowest temperature to keep the pipes from freezing and the furniture and appliances to be damaged from condensation.
Also the water heater uses quite a lot of energy. So if you have a water heater older than 5 years it’s a good idea to put a water heater blanket. In my case I don’t need to.
Keep the water heater at 120 degree F. If you leave for vacation set the water heater on vacation mode.
What I still need to do is to insulate all the hot water pipes in my unfinished basement. So this would be my fall project.
Do you have any project or question? Leave a comment to the post.
For more advices use the following very helpful and detailed links.
-Duke Energy saving tips http://www.duke-energy.com/ohio/savings.asp
-Energy Star EPA program http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=heat_cool.pr_hvac
- USA Department of Energy: weatherization program http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/wip/- USA Department of Energy Consumer guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/
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