Making Your House more Energy Efficient

As a Solar Energy company, we specialize in helping our customers produce their own energy to save money. One of our first steps in the solar consultation process is to check on the current energy usage of our customer’s houses. When we can help our customers save money by doing some relatively inexpensive energy saving modifications and home usage techniques we can potentially reduce the recommended size of the solar power system. In this write up, we will discuss some of the common modifications and living techniques that you might consider to save energy in your own home.
Regarding home modifications for energy savings there are expensive modifications and comparatively inexpensive modifications. More expensive options might include projects such as changing out the HVAC unit with a higher efficiency model, replacing windows with Energy Star rated windows, and installing a high efficiency water heater. However, there are also less expensive options you might consider. Here are a few:
Smart Thermostat installation – even your regular digital thermostat is not as good as a smart thermostat. Smart thermostats save money by keeping your house temperature at an optimal level for saving. Most models will auto program themselves around your usage habits as well. In that way the thermostat knows your schedule so that it can also maximize your personal preferences for temperature when you are home. The other great thing about the Smart thermostat is the ability to remotely monitor and control your temperature.
LED lightbulbs – Changing out your lightbulbs with LED is a great energy saver. LED bulbs do not use nearly as much energy as other options. They are also safer than some other energy efficient types of bulbs in the event of breakage and are easier to dispose of.
Sealing gaps for stopping exterior air intrusion – With inexpensive implements such as caulk and weather stripping you can make a difference in your energy bill. One step is to check for gaps around your exterior doors to see if weather stripping needs to be adjusted or replaced. You can also caulk other gaps around your house. One less obvious place to look at is at your HVAC vent boots. When you remove your vent register you will often see a gap around the “boot”. That gap allows unconditioned air from the non-insulated areas on the other side to leak into the house.
There are also home usage techniques that can save you money. Here are some examples of these:
-Lower your water heater to 120 degrees
-Wash only full loads of laundry
-Do not let ice buildup in your freezer
-Dry towels and heavy items in separate loads from lighter clothes
-Clean the lint vent on your dryer
-Replace your HVAC air filters regularly

In addition to the above tips, there are many other improvements and usage techniques you should do to help your energy bills. For a consultation, speak with your Monarch Solar rep.

By | 2017-11-08T07:34:16-05:00 November 8th, 2017|Blog|