(A great big thanks to Steve Cattaneo for helping me out this week by writing the following):
OK, my favorite sister-inlaw - translate: The one that sent a frantic e-mail requesting help - asked me to fill in for her this week while she’s getting ready for the big wedding. She suggested I talk about “fairly simple changes all of us can make to be more earth friendly.”
Well, that’s an enormous subject and we’re all familiar with Reduce, Reuse and Recycle; high mileage vehicles; buying locally and using “green products”; so I’ll talk about something that, due to my work experience,I’m a little more familiar with: Your home.
When I look at the big picture of energy usage in America, I see that we use just about as much energy heating and cooling our buildings as we do moving ourselves around in vehicles every day - about 40 percent of our total energy usage. Now, we’re doing a pretty good job when it comes to transportation. You can go out and buy yourself just about any size vehicle made today and it’s going to be a lot more energy efficient than what you bought a couple of years ago, without sacrificing much in the way of speed and comfort.
Now consider your home (or any building, for that matter). Here we have something that uses as much energy as our cars. But we haven’t so far seen much improvement. Plus, most of us are in a ‘80s or ‘90s model.
So, what’s a big bang for the buck?
Let’s start with your air conditioning unit because is going to be running full tilt soon.
Change the air filter every month!
If you haven’t had a tune up in a couple of years then call one of the AC contractors. This can pay for itself in a month. If you can’t afford one, then at least turn the unit off and go check the condenser (the outsidepart). The coils should be as clean as possible and not a bunch of junk flying around inside. You can do a lot of good with a water hose and soft brush (don’t bend the fins). If you needto take the fan off to clean out the inside, then be sure to disconnect the electricity because there is a shock hazard. Get help if you’re not sure. There are double dividends if you have a heat pump!
Check around and above the unit to see if there’s anything to block the flow of air in or out. You should have a good three feet clear around it.
Next up: Cracks! Around doors, windows, floors, you name it. Shut the door - these are the places where you pay to cool the outside.When you have a couple of extra bucks, then go by a case of caulk and use it. It’ll probably be the best investment you can make.
Add some insulation in your attic! R-38 is the “code minimum,” and a little more won’t hurt anything. And make sure your attic has plenty of ventilation to let the heat out. A lot of heat and cooling is lost throughyour floor so consider that as well.
After this, things get a little harder to define. It’s time to call in the experts.
I got a pretty yellow note with my electric bill last month saying if I give them $100, they’ll do a complete home energy audit on my house. Not only that, they’ll give the 100 bucks back if I spend it on energy-efficiency upgrades. What a deal! Even without the incentive, it will be worth your money to hire a certified home energy auditor to come out and check your place.
Too many people spend lots of money on new windows - or that solar photovoltaics panel - when they would have saved more by getting the leaks in the duct work fixed or by buying a new water heater. The auditor can help you sort out these things. I highly recommend energy audits.
There are lots of incentives out there, with moreevery day, since some are starting to think about our homes like we do our cars. And the best part of all this is we end up with a more comfortable home and more money in our pocket. What could be better than that?
Steve Cattaneo is a semiretired building official / code consultant and is highly qualified because he knows a little about everything and not much about anything.
(Annette’s note: Give yourself a little more credit, Steve. You know a great deal about a lot of things.However, you will notice I didn’t ask you to write on how to keep your canoe from tipping.)
Annette Rowe is a freelance writer and a speechlanguage pathologist at Siloam Springs High School. She may be reached by e-mail at awalkinthepark50 @ yahoo.com.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 06/09/2010