Have You Looked Under Your Home’s Hood Lately?
Prevention is always the best medicine, whether you’re talking an annual physical with your primary physician, a 30,000 mile checkup with the neighborhood grease monkey, or a DIY energy audit for your home. If you’re wondering how you can find ways to save money and go green when it comes to your home, here’s an easy 10 point DIY energy audit to help you identify areas where you can turn your home a brighter shade of green.
#1—Inspect Your Lighting
The lights in your home can account for as much as 10% of your home’s annual energy use. If you’re still using incandescent light bulbs, it’s time to switch them out. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use a third of the electricity as incandescents and last 10 times longer!
#2—Evaluate Your Appliances
A new, Energy Star rated dishwasher is 41% more efficient than a non-Energy Star rated model, an Energy Star rated clothes washer will save you $550 in energy costs over the course of its lifetime, and new Energy Star rated refrigerators are 40% more efficient than models sold in 2001. Add to that the fact that high efficiency furnaces and air conditioners can reduce energy bills by as much as 50% when they replace older units, and it’s easy to see why appliances are one of the first places to look if you’re interested in going green and saving money.
#3—Check Windows and Doors
Windows and doors are two of the worst offenders when it comes to reducing home energy efficiency. Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows to help eliminate unwanted air flow, and think about installing high efficiency models if your current windows and doors are starting to show their age.
#4—Light Some Incense
Curious where hot air might be escaping or entering your home? Fortunately, there’s an easy, DIY way to find out. Close up your home, turn on the ventilation fans on your oven hood and in your bathroom, and then light a stick of incense. By passing the smoke in front of windows, doors, light switches, outlets, and other common sources of air leaks, you can easily identify areas that need to be sealed up.
#5—Check the Attic
Take a minute or two of your time and poke your head into the attic. Ideally, you should have a foot to a foot and a half of insulation lining your attic floor. If you don’t, you’ve just discovered a major source of energy inefficiency in your home. Upgrade the insulation throughout your attic, and don’t forget to insulate the hatch, a major source of heat and cooling loss that is overlooked by many homeowners.
#6—Tour Your Electrical Outlets
Plugged in, unused electrical devices can account for as much as 8% of your home’s annual energy bill! In order to eliminate these “phantom loads,” walk through your home, and unplug any electrical devices (including cell phone chargers, hair dryers, and larger appliances, for example) that aren’t being used on a regular basis.
#7—Check Furnace Filters and Compressor Coils
Dirty furnace filters and air conditioner compressor coils can seriously compromise your heating and cooling system’s ability to operate at peak efficiency. Considering the fact that heating and cooling accounts for over 50% of the energy costs in most American homes, it’s easy to see why it pays to change your furnace filter on a monthly basis, and vacuum off your AC’s compressor coils on a regular schedule as well.
#8—Check Your Ductwork
Poorly sealed ductwork can reduce your home’s energy efficiency in two ways. If your ductwork is poorly sealed, you’re spending a lot of money to heat and cool your attic and crawlspace, instead of your living area! And if your ductwork runs through unconditioned areas, such as an old attic or unfinished basement, you should consider insulating it in order to reduce unnecessary heat loss and gain as much as possible.
#9—Is Your Insulation Up to Par?
Professionally administered infrared thermographic scans are the best way to see how the insulation in your home is holding up, but there are some DIY tricks you can perform to help gauge the current status of your home’s insulation. Cutting a small hole in the drywall in an inconspicuous spot, for example, should give you a good idea of the level of insulation you’re currently working with. Or you can just take five and sit on the couch for a few minutes. If you can hear your neighbors chatting it up even with all the windows and doors closed, there’s little doubt that your insulation needs an upgrade.
#10—Review Your Utility Bills (Before & After!)
The proof is in the pudding. Before you perform your home energy audit, pull your old energy bills out of the filing cabinet and look them over carefully. Dramatic spikes in energy usage in summer and winter may indicate that your home’s insulation isn’t up to par, and that your furnace and air conditioning units are having to work overtime during these times to compensate. Furthermore, by comparing pre-energy audit energy use to your bills after you’ve made some green home improvements, you’ll be able to see exactly how much your DIY home energy audit is saving you, and if there is more that needs to be done.
