Saving Energy and Making Your Home More Comfortable for the Winter

This is a recurring theme I get questions about every fall, so here are some tips to get your home ready for a more comfortable and efficient winter! 

In this area, many of us live in older homes that have less than optimal insulation, older windows, along with a host of other efficiency issues.  Below are some guidelines to help you solve your problems, in the most cost effective manner!

First of all, you want to keep an eye out for improving your air quality when making efficiency upgrades.  Most people overlook this area, which is a mistake.  The last thing you want to do is to seal in contaminants, of have a moisture issue, which now becomes a mold issue once you add insulation.

A Home Energy Audit is always a great place to start, to help you not only identify areas to save energy, but also to help you prioritize the improvements that can be made.  The Home Performance with Energy Star Program is a New Jersey program available to all homeowners in the State.  The process begins with an energy audit (which is a paid service), and it provides up to $5,000 per household to qualified homeowners to offset the cost of energy efficient upgrades.  One caveat – be sure to choose the auditor carefully.  You want to find someone that is certified by the Building Performance Institute, and participates in the Home Performance Program – so you can get access to those incentives.  Also, look at the company’s motivation.  An insulation company may not provide you with an objective opinion, as they want to sell you their product.  Beware of a low-cost audit, as those companies want to get into your home and sell you something.  The few hundred dollar investment is usually well worth it. 

If an audit is not for you, take a look at these areas to prepare your home for an efficient winter:

Track down drafts in your home.  Some are easy to find, and simple low-tech solutions are often the best.  The fireplace damper is a common culprit.  Be sure to close the damper in your fireplace when not in use.  If the seal is not good, then a “Chimney Balloon” is an inexpensive way to block cold air movement.  A door cozy, or a door sweep are both handy little items that block the drafts that creep in underneath your doorways.  Caulk or weatherstripping around doors and windows are products that almost anyone can use to minimize drafts, heating bills and increase your comfort.

Check your attic insulation.  Fiberglass does little to block air movement, and it is estimated that roughly 90% of homes in NJ are under-insulated by current Energy Star standards.  Typical insulation materials should be over 12” deep to help keep heat in and cold out.  Older homes may not even have insulation in the walls. 

Your heating system uses by far the most energy in your home in winter.  Has your equipment been serviced recently?  Properly tuned equipment will help it last longer and run more efficiently.  Newer technologies are so much more efficient, that it might make sense to upgrade an older system.   The rebates and incentives make this option more viable for many families. 

Installing and properly setting a programmable thermostat can also reduce energy wasted at times when no one is home, or while you are sleeping.  

Don’t assume that your windows need replacing!  While sometimes this is a good investment, the vast majority of the time, this should not be at the top of your list.  You can install storm windows on any single-paned windows, which is much less expensive, and focus your dollars on insulation or other areas that have much greater impact on energy savings.

An area that everyone can address is the lighting in your home.  In the dark months of winter we all tend to keep our lights on for more hours, increasing electricity bills. By swapping out your incandescent bulbs for LED or compact fluorescent bulbs (both available at Costco, hardware stores, and others) you can keep your electrical bills down without sacrificing light quality. Even your festive holiday lights are now available in more efficient LED’s that also last a lot longer than the standard incandescent bulbs.  Do not forget about your outside lights.  Many exterior holiday lights can be both LED and use solar power, requiring no electricity! Do not wait until your current bulbs burn out.  They waste so much electricity that it pays to change them out now.  And train your kids (and sometimes your spouse) to turn off lights when you leave the room!

Get your whole family involved.  Saving energy can be fun, make your home more comfortable, keep your energy bills down, all while making your home more Earth-friendly!

**********************************************************************************

Eco-Ed Schwartz (www.askecoed.com ) is Co-founder of Green Living Solutions (www.greenlivingsolutionsnj.com ), a Century Club Award Winner from the Clean Energy Program, the former chairperson of the Ridgewood Environmental Advisory Committee, and a Certified Energy and Sustainability Consultant.  Eco-Ed has also restored his own historical pre-Revolutionary War home in Ridgewood using energy saving and sustainable practices, which is now the Most Sustainable Historical Home in New Jersey.  Eco-Ed can be reached at ed@greenlivingsolutionsnj.com  .