You’ve heard the news: Fuel costs are rising. Natural gas prices alone will be 17 percent higher this heating season than they were last year, says the Energy Information Administration.
For the owners of a single-family, 1,800-square-foot house, that means the average gas bill will be $1,100 for the 2004-05 heating season, compared to the $863 average last winter. That’s an increase of $237.
What’s a homeowner to do? Here are some ways to trim heating bills and use less fuel this winter.
Under wraps
Heat rises, so it will escape through your attic if it can, then go, literally, right through the roof.
Insulation is rated by R-value, meaning the resistance to heat flow. The R-value depends on the thickness (thicker usually being better), type of insulation and its installation. The higher the R-value number, the better. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, attic insulation should have an R-value of 49 in Chicago. That adds up to about 15 inches of fiberglass blanket or batt insulation.
However, according to the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association, 63 percent of homes are under-insulated. To jack up your attic floor’s R-value, insulate it with either loose-fill insulation or rolls of insulation. Add insulation to the attic-side of your attic hatch door, too; a plain piece of wood does not stop heat from escaping.
If your house pre-dates World War II, it might not have any wall insulation at all. This can be easily remedied by an insulation contractor, who can blow insulation into the wall cavities.
Gregory Redfeairn of Chicago, who owns a 1914 brick, two-flat, cut his heating bill last year by adding insulation to his exterior walls and the cavity between his ceiling and flat roof. He also insulated interior walls, which had been cold to the touch in winter. The results: “I didn’t turn on the furnace until Oct. 15 this year,” he says. “Normally, I would have turned it on as soon as the weather turned cold. It used be every room was a new experience–one warmer, one colder. Now it’s consistent.”
Draft dodgers
Air moving through the cracks and leaks in an average home can account for as much as a third of the total heat loss in your home–the equivalent of having a 2-foot hole in one wall, according to the This Old House Web site.
Fill in gaps under exterior doors by installing new thresholds and/or door sweeps. Replace worn-out weatherstripping surrounding doors. Seal leaks with caulk and weatherstripping, including dryer vents, pipes, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures and foundation gaps and cracks.
Next to the uninsulated attic, the most air escapes through windows. Around windows and doors, make sure your house is well caulked. This is one of the easiest do-it-yourself jobs that not only saves energy loss but also keeps out moisture. For step-by-step instructions for installing weatherstripping or caulking, go to www.thisoldhouse.com and type in “weatherstrip” or “caulk” in the search box.
If your windows are the old, single-glazed, uncoated variety, the energy loss may be dramatic. If you decide to replace some or all of your leaky windows, look for the U-value. The lower the U-value, the better insulated the window.
“We say that in general you save three months’ energy bills by replacing single-pane [windows] with double-pane,” says Pat Meyer, a general manager at Pella Corp., a window manufacturer. “We make them in 1/4-inch increments so you can buy them to fit your existing window openings.” New windows are only effective if installed properly, Meyer adds. This includes insulating the area between the window and the house frame.
Inside your home, one of the most economical ways to stop warm air from escaping is by sealing your ductwork, says Scott Vanderwiel, general manager of Aeroseal by Nicor Services. “Add up all the holes in your ductwork and you probably have an area the size of a 14-inch pizza,” says Vanderwiel. “Sealing the holes can save you $300 in heating bills.”
But because most of these holes are between your walls, this is not a do-it-yourself job,’ he says. He recommends hiring a service which can blow in an adhesive mix that fills duct holes.
Getting audited
Not sure where to start to make your home more energy efficient and comfortable? An energy audit can help a homeowner pinpoint where the biggest energy problems are and how to address them.
If you want assistance to determine just how energy efficient your house is (or isn’t), call an energy auditor for a top-to-bottom inspection. Typically, professional energy audits cost $250 to $400.
One tool the energy specialist uses is the blower-door test, which involves sealing a fan into an exterior door opening, then surrounding it with fabric to make the opening airtight. While the fan pulls air out of the house, he uses a handheld instrument that blows small poofs of smoke along potential air-leak areas such as window perimeters and electrical outlets. Another tool is an infrared camera to identify poorly insulated walls and ceilings.
Cappy Kidd and John Porterfield, who run Informed Energy Decisions in Chicago, follow up their energy reviews with retrofitting recommendations and names of reputable contractors.
“Too often, people spend the most money on what’s the most heavily advertised, like new windows, when that’s not necessarily what they need or what they need the most,” says Kidd.
After her energy audit, Terry Leja of Chicago was able to warm up her too-cold high-rise condominium with $500 worth of small improvements. That was a considerable savings over the price of a new furnace, which was recommended by some HVAC contractors that Leja had interviewed.
“We sealed air leaks where the heated air was leaving my home and going up to the top of the building,” she says. “We added a heater to the master bathroom, which was especially cold, and attached a hood to a ceiling-height register in the master bedroom to send hot air down.”
If you’re interested in conducting your own energy audit, try the following Web sites:
– The Home Energy Saver, developed by the Environmental Energy Technologies Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, at homeenergysaver.lbl.gov.
– The Environmental Protection Agency’s Home Energy Advisor at advisor.lbl.gov/hit/Controller.
– The Home Energy Checkup and Audit by the Alliance to Save Energyatwww.ase.org/section/(underscore)audience/consumers/homecheckup/.
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KEEP WARM FOR LESS
Here are simple steps to slash energy costs. (Prices don’t include professional installation.)
– A new programmable thermostat can help cut bills by pre-setting temperatures. Price: $80.
– Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Price: $2 each.
– Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket to keep the heat in. Price: $15.
– Have your furnace checked annually. Replace furnace filters regularly. Prices: $100 service call, $3 per filter.
– Insulate water pipes in unheated areas to protect against freezing and to save energy. Price: $8 per 30 feet.
– Have your water heater’s tank pressure and temperature relief valve inspected. Price: $100 service call.
— Leslie Mann
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How energy aware are you?
Answer the following true-false questions:
1) When it comes to furnaces, the bigger, the better.
2) There’s nothing like a roaring fire in the fireplace to warm up the house on a cold winter evening.
3) You save money on your gas bill by locking in a fixed rate over 12 months.
4) Ceiling fans help cool and warm a house.
5) Opening the shades on a cold day warms up the house.
Quiz answers
1) False. A furnace that is too big for a house cycles on and off too often, which wastes energy. Better to size it correctly for the house.
2) False. The traditional fireplace pulls hot air up the chimney and out of the room. But you can reduce heat loss by adding doors to contain the heat or a fireback to reflect heat into the room.
3) Depends. At Nicor, for example, you can choose the “budget” plan that spreads payments over a 12-month period and may be adjusted up or down every four months to correct for future gas prices and usage. Or you could lock in at a price through the “fixed-bill” plan, in which you’ll pay flat amounts for the next 12 months. You may or may not save money, depending on gas prices and the weather.
4) True. Spin the blades clockwise, and they pull warm air up in the summer. Spin them counterclockwise, and they push warm air down in the winter. Keep the speed low during the winter, though, or you will create a chill.
5) True. Even with today’s energy-efficient windows, this old rule still applies. Let the sun shine in.
— Leslie Mann
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Do the math
For every component in your house that could be replaced by a more efficient one, whether it’s a furnace, refrigerator or water heater, do the math to determine if the replacement will pay for itself in energy savings. Don’t forget the house’s resale factor; energy-saving products are a plus for buyers.
Start your home-energy review by checking out the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star program. The EPA has done much of your homework for you by rating energy-saving home products and materials–including furnaces, windows, doors, light fixtures, appliances, home office and entertainment equipment, fans and thermostats. For a complete list, go to www.energystar.gov.
