You've read the energy-saving tips. You've armed yourself with caulk. You're ready to do some serious damage to your gas and electric bills.
Not so fast.
Some common recommendations for cutting energy use don't save as much as we're led to believe, said Michael Blasnik, a Boston-area building-science consultant who analyzes and evaluates energy efficiency claims. "It's remarkable how little research has been done on what really saves energy," he said.
To figure out what really works, he's done an analysis that includes comparing the utility bills of homeowners who participate in home weatherization programs to the expectations offered by such sources as government agencies, utility companies and, yes, newspaper articles.
So what does save energy in a home?
Blasnik urges homeowners to have a blower door test done and to address big issues such as sealing attic leaks and insulating attics and walls. And other big-ticket projects such as replacing really old refrigerators, clothes washers and furnaces with highly efficient models can yield significant energy savings, he said.
But smaller steps can pay off handsomely, too.
Here are low-cost, low-effort measures that can make a noticeable difference:
Unplug an underused refrigerator: Often the fridge in the basement or garage is an older, inefficient model. Taking it out of service saves an average of $128 a year, according to Blasnik's study.
Change the thermostat when you're asleep or away: Turning the heat down 8 degrees for eight hours a day saves an average of $84 a year, although the savings are smaller in a highly efficient home. Get a programmable thermostat, and you won't even have to think about it.
The savings are even bigger when you turn up the temperature on your air conditioner.
Set the furnace/air conditioner fan on automatic: The air handler fan generates a lot of heat, which warms your home and makes the air conditioner work harder in summer, Blasnik said. What's more, you may have air ducts in unconditioned areas of your home, and the fan can accelerate the loss of heated or cooled air through leaky ducts. Switching the fan from on to automatic year-round will save a whopping $480 a year, on average.
Activate your computer's sleep mode: Blasnik recommended checking your computer's power options to make sure it powers down when it's not in use, saving an average of $80 a year. On computers using Windows, look in the control panel.
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Michael Blasnik, a consultant who analyzes and evaluates energy efficiency claims considers these to be some of the least effective recommendations for saving energy.
Replacing windows: Replacing old, leaky windows will make your home more comfortable. They can solve condensation problems and prevent moisture damage. They might boost your home's resale value. In a study for Concord Municipal Light in the Boston area, he determined that replacing 15 old windows would save $42 to $112 per year. Even at the higher number, it would take more than 62 years' worth of energy savings to pay for $7,000 worth of windows.
Weather-sealing windows and doors: Maybe 20 percent of the air leakage in a house is through the windows and doors - even less in a newer, tighter home, he said. The bulk of the leakage in a typical home is from air coming into the basement, traveling up through wall cavities and escaping through the attic, he said. In his research, caulking and weatherstripping doors and windows saved $7 to $28 a year.
Closing the refrigerator door quickly: Standing in front of an open refrigerator while you ponder its contents will not drive up your electricity bill, Blasnik said. The moment you open the door, the cooled air rushes out, and it's a fairly trivial loss, he said.
Cleaning refrigerator coils: Cleaning dirty coils may have been good energy-saving advice back when refrigerators gobbled electricity, but Blasnik said that's no longer generally true. Most refrigerators built in the last 15 years use far less power than older models. So say your fridge uses $70 in electricity in a year. Cleaning your coils might make the refrigerator operate 10 percent more efficiently, but that's an annual saving of just $7, he pointed out.
Changing the furnace filter monthly: The main reason furnaces have filters is to keep dirt in the air from fouling up the furnace. But at least in the case of inexpensive, standard furnace filters, they do a better job of filtering the air when they're a little dirty, Blasnik said.
For high-efficiency filters that trap allergens, he'd follow the directions on the filter. He emphasizes that it's important to start air conditioning season with a clean filter because air conditioners need adequate air flow. But otherwise, he thinks changing the furnace filter once a season is enough.
That doesn't mean you never have to change the filter. A filter that becomes clogged with dirt will restrict air flow, and that will make your furnace run less efficiently, Blasnik said.
Akron Beacon Journal
