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GAZETTE Newspapers
By: Arthur S. Lazerow
Title:
Self-Help
for Energy Efficiency
Question: My new best
friends Susan and Philip emailed once again, writing “You gave
us such good advice as new “Harry-Homeowners” with seasonal
tips, can you help us with our energy bills. We’ve been
worried, watching Pepco raise our rates on our heat-pump heated
home. CNN last week had an excellent video report on energy
audits and the inspector stated that there are a number of
repairs owners can make themselves. Can you elaborate on what
we should look at and what repairs we might make?”
Answer: Since residential energy audits are a new service of my
company, I have asked Joe Dempsey, our experienced home energy
auditor to respond to Susan and Philip’s email. Joe responded:
Susan & Philip, The good news for almost all homeowners is that
there are concrete steps you can take to improve the energy
efficiency of your home. Since homes function like a chimney
with air being pulled in around the base and sides and warmer
air rising and sending heat out the top, you need to think about
where air is coming in and how heat gets out.
To limit cold air from coming in, make sure that all your
windows are closed and locked. In a home with storm windows,
make sure that they are all in place. If you have more openable
windows in a room than you require for emergency exit safety,
think about sealing the additional windows, especially if the
windows are old and leaky.
Then check the weatherstripping and thresholds around your
outside doors. If damaged, new weatherstripping material is
surprisingly easy to install and will greatly save heat loss.
Replacing a worn out threshold is a bigger job. If you are not
comfortable replacing it, the addition of a simple vinyl “sweep”
on the inside bottom of the door can greatly improve the seal of
a door with a leaky threshold.
If you have a fireplace, make sure to close the damper tightly.
Once closed, take a flashlight and visually check that the
damper seals well.
Now that you have sealed up openings in the perimeter, it is
time to look at the attic. Check the depth of blown-in or batt
insulation. If you don’t have at least 10 inches, think
seriously about adding insulation. Care needs to be taken when
insulating to avoid obstructing any vents or contacting exposed
electrical equipment or can lights. On your way out of the
attic, check the attic hatch or pull-down stair to see that it
seals well in the opening. If you don’t use your attic for
storage and don’t need regular access, think about placing a
bead of removable caulk around the opening.
Finally, consider the cost of operating your appliances. New
Energy Star rated refrigerators are much more energy efficient
than models from the early nineties. Go to
www.energystar.gov and consult the Refrigerator Retirement
Savings Calculator to see how much you will save by replacing
your old refrigerator.
You have a heat pump. Every forced-air system requires regular
filter changes. At a minimum, change your filter every three
months, but changing your filter every month is better. For
many years, programmable thermostats were not recommended for
heat pumps because setting back the temperature on a heat pump
only to increase it later does not provide the same savings that
a similarly operated gas furnace provides. There are now
programmable thermostats that do work with heat pumps, but this
is probably a job for a skilled electrician or heating
mechanic.
One final recommendation: Sealing up homes does have a risk if a
gas appliance is malfunctioning. If your home has combustion
appliances, an attached garage or a fireplace, you should have
carbon monoxide detectors installed near the bedrooms.
Detectors cannot replace competent regular service of your
combustion appliances but can help in case of a malfunction.
Susan & Philip, thanks for the question. One of the benefits of
systematically working to improve your home’s efficiency is that
you become aware of which energy expenditures contribute to the
comfort and usability of your home and which simply cost you
money.
Have a question
relating to housing or an environmental issue? To contact Mr.
Lazerow, click on “Contact Us” at Albaninspect.com.
Mention “Gazette Newspapers” in your question. Every question
will be answered and some will be included in this column.
Arthur Lazerow, president of Alban Home Inspection Service,
Inc., was a homebuilder for 25 years and is now a nationally
certified ASHI home inspector, having performed more than 5,000
inspections during the past 10 years. He can be heard every
Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. as co-host of Real Estate Today
on WMET 1160 AM.
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