From Guest Blogger James Vasanth: How to Save Money on Heating your Home
There’s good news and bad news if you’re a homeowner who’s bracing yourself for the annual rise in winter heating costs: The bill won’t hurt more this year, but it won’t hurt much less.
The Energy Information Administration forecasts that the average household heating fuel expenditures this winter will decrease to $928 per household, down from $947 last year. This is the first price drop since the winter of 2001-2002.
If you hope to save more than the projected $19, there are many steps you can take.
Tip 1
Install a solar hot water system that will provide 100% of the solar hot water needs and heating needs for your home. At today’s electricity cost of $0.15kWh, the payback is 5 years or less. This is based on electricity costs not rising over the next 5 years. When electricity costs rise. It will be even more expensive. One solar hot water system that is being used in the residential and commercial markets is the SolarBeam Concentrator. The system is installed in the ground and creates 44,000 BTU’s energy per hour.
Approximate savings is $5,000 per year.
TIP 2
Use curtains. Opening curtains and shades on south-facing windows during the day allows solar radiation to warm a living space; closing all curtains at night helps retard the escape of that heat.
Approximate savings is based on the number of hours the windows are closed and the thickness of the curtains
TIP 3
Close gaps and seals in the house. The small gaps surrounding windows, doors and other areas in the American house, taken together, are like a 9-square-foot hole in the wall, according to EarthWorks Group’s “30 Simple Energy Things You Can Do to Save the Earth.” Plugging them can save you up to 10% on that heating bill, and the materials will pay for themselves within a year, ACEEE says.
How to find leaks? On a windy day, hold a lit incense stick to the most common drafty areas: chimney flashing, recessed lighting, sill plates, window and door frames, all ducts and flues and electrical outlets
Approximate savings can be $300 per year in fuel costs
TIP 4
Upgrade your old furnace. If your furnace is over 20 years old, you’re probably paying far more to use it,” says Maria Vargas, spokeswoman for Energy Star, a federal-government-backed program that promotes energy efficiency and that lends its name to energy-saving products. Furnaces bearing the Energy Star label are about 15% more efficient than a standard conventional model, says Vargas.
Many utilities offer discounts or rebates on energy-saving products. Call and ask. Loans are also sometimes available for major improvements that will incorporate energy-efficient products or to purchase a high-efficiency home.
Payback in fuel usage from efficient new stove is 3-4 years
These 4 tips if employed can save you approximately $6,000 in energy costs. The biggest saver would be the solar hot water system because in cold countries there is usually a lot of sun in the winter, and this free hot water can be used to heat the home without paying a dime.
Image Credit: www.newenglandpost.com
James Vasanth writes a blog on SolartronEnergy, about solar energy, solar hot water and connecting the dots between online and offline. He can be found on Facebook and microblogs on Twitter as @solartronenergy
Natural thermal sources (the heat from the summer air, the cold from winter air, and waste heat from AC) will always have a much greater capacity than is required for heating and cooling buildings and for DHW providing the heat or cold can be stored (and that can be done quite inexpensively). The world is NOT running out of energy for those applications. The practice of upgrading homes to achieve higher energy efficiency in the use of fossil fuels does not make any sense. We need to stop using such fuels, not wasting yet more money on protracting the fossil fuel era. (See http://sustainability-journal.ca )
Tip 1 Installing a solar water heater is an excellent thing to do from an environmental point of view, but in most regions will not provide 100% of your hot water year round. 50% to 70% is more likely assuming you are not prepared to build a system 4 or 5 times bigger than would be needed for summer loads. In some climates, especially sunny high plains regions, solar thermal can make a useful contribution to space heating as well as hot water.
Tip 2 Use Curtains – excellent advice, I would suggest high quality thermal lined curtains for maximum effect. Install them close to the wall, and take them up to the ceiling or use a pelmet above the curtains to minimise drafts.
Tip 3 Close gaps and seals in the house – good in principle, but be careful as you do not want to prevent humidity from leaving the house or you will end up with a very unhealthy situation with black fungus growing all over your walls, and risk structural problems from rot.
I would suggest combining this with a mechanical heat recovery ventilation system so as to get rid of the damp air without losing too much heat.
Tip 4 upgrade your furnace – again good advice. You might consider alternatives such as high efficiency reversible air conditioning units able to deliver both heating and cooling, or a heat pump either air source or ground source and fan assisted radiators to allow efficient low temperature running. The optimal system in terms of environment and cost varies according to local climate so take local expert advice.
I would add two more tips –
Tip 5 ensure that you have upgraded the insulation as well as just draught proofing – e.g. roof space, walls and if possible floors. This will keep heat in your house for longer and cut heating demand significantly.
Tip 6 Take measures to cut water demand – especially consider spray inserts in the hand wash basin, and aerated shower heads. These can very substantially cut the flow rate of water without compromising function. When replacing washing machines and dishwashers select water efficient models. Reducing water consumption is useful in its own right, and also saves significant amounts of energy otherwise used for water heating, to supply water, and to deal with sewerage.