Making Your Home More Energy Efficient

Defining Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency can refer to the amount of energy that is used or wasted in the materials or appliances that you choose for your home.

For instance, concrete home builders will tell you that concrete homes are more energy efficient than wood-frame homes.  The mass of concrete slows the transfer of heat moving through the walls.  With the same insulation, a concrete home may stay warmer in winter and cooler in summer than a wood-framed home.  But  be sure to ask how the concrete they used in being manufactured.

Cement is the most consumed material on earth, after water.  Every year 2.5 billion tons are produced.  Global production is expected to reach 5 billion tons by the year 2050.  But the cement industry also accounts for 5 percent of all man-made carbon dioxide emissions, third in line behind burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.  Most of this is from the extreme heat that is required to produce cement.  With this in mind, many companies are building more efficient cement-producing plants.  Canada's cement manufacturers, for instance, have improved energy efficiency by 11% per ton of cement and have reduced greehouse gas emissions by 6.4%.

This illustrates the need for you to ask questions about the products you use.  The materials you choose to use in building your energy efficient home will affect the sustainability of our planet's resources.  These choices will affect the air we breathe and the purity of the water we drink.  In some instances, you may pay more for the materials, but you will save on the overall cost of cleaning up the environment through tax subsidies and health care costs.

Energy efficiency is also affected by the types of materials you choose for your home and by the way you use them.

We know that for every dollar you spend on improving the insulation in your home, you will be paid back many times in lowered energy bills.  Likewise, if you replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs, you'll save oodles of energy.  The U.S. Energy Star program estimates that if every household in the U.S. replaced one incandescent light bulb with an Energy Star-qualified compact fluorescent light bulb, it would prevent the same amount of pollution as removing one million cars from the road.

Energy efficiency can also refer to the amount of energy that is used or wasted by the appliances you choose for your home.

What makes one appliance more efficient than another?  Most of the differences are on the inside of the appliance: in the motors, compressors, pumps, valves, gaskets and seals, or in the electronic sensors that make appliances smarter.  Manufacturers use test procedures developed by the Department of Energy to prove the energy use and efficiency of their products.  Many manufacturers have these tests performed by independent labs and print them on the Energy Guide labels that manufacturers are required to post on their appliances.

Look for labels on washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, water heaters, pool heaters and on central home heating and cooling equipment.  If you do not see a label, ask the salesperson for that information.  Look for Energy Star appliances.

Use creative solutions which do not depend on mechanical devices.  Clothes lines are a perfect example!

Tips and Links

Lifestyle choices and a myriad of household decisions affect the energy efficiency of your appliances. Here are some energy saving tips that save you money:

• Place your refrigerator away from heat sources such as your oven/stove, dishwasher or heat vents. Vacuum the coils every three months to eliminate dust that reduces efficiency. Replace leaky door gaskets. Defrost your freezer when more than a quarter-inch of ice builds up.
• Don't keep your refrigerator and freezer too cold. Set temperature between 36-38 degrees F and freezers at 0-5 degrees.
• Scrape but do not pre-rinse dishes by hand if your dishwasher can automatically pre-rinse or has a rinse/hold cycle. Use the "energy saver" setting.
  
• Use pots that fit the size of your stove's burners. Use lids so you can cook at a lower burner setting.
• Match the water level on your washing machine to the size of your load.
• Clean your clothes dryer filters after each use.
• Dry your clothes on a clothes line, or use small racks to dry clothes inside in the warmer areas of your house.
• Set the temperature on your water heater to no higher than 120 degrees.
• Use cold water settings for washing clothes.
• Weatherstrip and caulk your windows and doors.
• Keep your furnace filter clean.
• Insulate your hot water heater, including the top (!) and check it periodically for rips and tears.

Here are more energy saving tips for your electronic equipment:

• Learn how to set power management on your computer.
  
• Download the Google Desktop Power Management Gadget.
  
• Buy certified energy efficient computers.
• Plug your computer and its peripherals (printer, scanner, speakers, fax machine) into powerstrips.
• Set your computer to power down when not in use for 15 minutes.
• Turn down the brightness on your TV and computer monitor.
  
• Consider replacing that old inefficient refrigerator.  This calculator determines how much energy your refrigerator is using.
• Get rid of the freezer in the garage or basement.  Seriously, what were you thinking about?!
• Use powerstrips for any appliance that has lighted dials or that draws energy even when turned off.
• Or simply unplug appliances that you rarely use.
• Wire switches to TV and stereo centers and turn them off, all the way off, at the wall.

Helpful links:

	Energy for America's future The National Energy Policy promotes the development and deployment of energy systems and practices that will provide current and future generations with clean, efficient, affordable, and reliable energy.
	Protecting the environment through energy efficiency By working closely with private industry, governments and consumers the ENERGY STAR® program was established in 1992 to identify energy efficient products and reduce carbon emissions.
	Making homes more energy efficient The Weatherization Assistance Program works to reduce the burden of energy prices on the disadvantaged by making low income homes more energy efficient.
	Maintaining energy for the future Department initiatives help industry maintain the infrastructure to deliver energy to the consumer now, and for the future.
	Learn How You Can Make Every Day Earth Day Explore ways to save energy and improve the environment by taking simple steps around your home.