Labor Day weekend is fast approaching. With it, as always, means closing the door on summer and looking ahead to the cooler temperatures and falling leaves of Autumn. Like any other season, Fall brings with it a unique set of challenges and reminders for home performance and home energy.
As the Labor Day weekend approaches, we thought we’d develop a blog series with ways that you can ensure you’re saving the most energy possible as we move into cooler temperatures this fall.
Here are some tips that you can follow on your own to help:
- Lower your water heating requirements. Many of us have our water heaters set far too hot, which is not only unnecessary for the hot water we use, but also a huge culprit when it comes to heat usage in your home. In fact, water heating can account on average for 14-25% of the energy usage in your home. By lowering the temperature setting to around 120 degrees, you’ll save a lot of energy and money. Not to mention, you’ll also avoid scalding hot water that can burn you or your loved ones!
- Insulate the attic door. This is a project that many put off, but making sure all parts of your attic are properly insulated and sealed can pay off big time for saving energy in the colder months. Even making sure the attic door is properly insulated can save you a lot of energy and money. A poorly insulated attic door, in some cases, can account for 10-15% of heat loss in a home when it is cold. Many attic doors are just drywall that sits on a frame, making it easy for heat to escape that should be kept inside the home. A quick insulation project can go a long way here.
- Seal or block the bottoms of your doors. You may have seen commercials for silly-looking “draft snakes” that slide beneath your door. The truth is, these can actually be a very inexpensive way to make a big improvement to old or inefficient doors. By blocking drafts coming into the house and disallowing warm air to escape, your home will not only use less energy, it will be much more comfortable in these areas.
We’ll be following up with more tips for the fall to increase your home’s efficiency shortly. Stay tuned!
