Energy Efficiency Tips

Keep More of Your Hard Earned Dollars

To make your home more energy efficient you must determine where you are using the most energy. In the average home, energy is used in the following way:

• space heating, 49%
• appliances and lighting, 23%
• water heating, 16%
• air conditioning, 16%
• refrigerator, 5%

Cooling Tips

Since heating and cooling use the largest amount of energy in the home, consider a few of these tips.

• Make sure you have your cooling system serviced by a professional annually. This will ensure your unit is operating at optimum efficiency and help prevent many problems.
• Consider using a fan on really hot days. Remember though, fans cool bodies not rooms, so when leaving a room turn off your fan.
• Whenever possible, turn off your heating and air conditioning and open your windows.
• Caulk around your fireplace, under the baseboards on outside walls and the edges around window air conditioners.
• Weather strip your doors; the best seal is an interlocking metal threshold, but vinyl and adjustable sweep thresholds are easier to install.
• Set the thermostat at the highest setting in the summers. We recommend 78° in the summer. Install a programmable thermostat that is compatible with your heating system.
• Clean or replace heating and cooling system filters monthly during the seasons of highest use.
• Keep registers and air return vents clean and clear of furniture or flooring. This allows for easy air flow.
• During the summer, keep drapes and blinds closed during the heat of the day to prevent solar heating.
• Replace standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. The electricity used by standard bulbs produces 10 percent light and 90 percent heat. Compact fluorescent lights are cheaper to operate too.
• Schedule heat-producing chores like baking or doing the laundry after the hottest part of the day.

Home Energy Audits

It is important to perform a do-it-yourself energy audit and determine where you can reduce the amount of energy wasted in your home. Begin by checking insulation levels in your exterior walls, attic and crawl space. In North Carolina, it is recommended to have R-30 in your ceilings, R-16 in exterior walls and R-19 in the floors. You can visit www.energysavers.gov for more information on how to measure insulation levels. For more information about home energy audits, visit our energy audit page.

Repair Holes & Cracks

Check for holes or cracks around walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light and plumbing fixtures, light switches and outlets. Holes in these areas can allow cold air to leak into your home and warm air to escape. If you find holes or cracks in these areas repair them as soon as possible.

Household Lighting

Consider replacing standard bulbs in high traffic areas with compact fluorescent bulbs. These bulbs use less energy and have a longer life than conventional incandescent bulbs. Teach family members to turn off the lights when they are finished in a room. If this becomes a problem, consider installing occupancy sensors, that will automatically turn the lights on and off.

Appliance Replacement

When replacing appliances, select energy efficient models. Look for the Energy Star label. This label designates appliances that have passed stringent energy-efficiency standards set by the federal government. This information taken from Energy Savers: Tips On Saving Energy & Money At Home. For more energy-saving information, visit www.energysavers.gov