Table Of Contents
I. Introduction
The cost of operating homes and the percentage of energy wasted
Recommendations for energy-saving upgrades that are appropriate for the home's climate and energy prices
Examples of energy-saving upgrades, such as programmable thermostats and energy-efficient light bulbs
V. Conclusion
The importance of energy conservation for homeowners and the environment
Encouragement to consider a home inspection Houston service to operate homes as efficiently as possible.
How Home Energy Inspections In Houston Can Help Homeowners Save Energy and Money
Did you know that the United States is the biggest energy consumer in the world, using around 20% of the total global demand? And did you know that homes and buildings in the US consume a whopping 40% of all energy and 75% of all electricity? That's a lot of energy, and unfortunately, around 30% of it is wasted by our homes. This means that homeowners in Houston, as well as the rest of the country, are throwing away money every year by wasting energy.
In fact, most homeowners waste the equivalent of a 42" flat-screen TV in energy every year, which could instead be spent on a brand new mountain bike, a nice gas grill, or even a weekend getaway vacation. Homeowners often underestimate the cost of operating their homes, and they may not fully understand how much energy and money is being wasted due to their home's inefficient use of energy.
This is where home inspection Houston services can help. By hiring a licensed electrician to inspect your home's electrical system, you can identify any faulty wiring or other issues that may be causing your home to waste energy. The electrician can then make necessary repairs or replacements, ensuring that your home is up to code and functioning safely and efficiently.
Saving energy not only helps homeowners save money, but it also benefits the environment. So if you want to reduce your carbon footprint and save some money in the process, consider a home inspection Houston service to ensure that your home is operating as efficiently as possible.
Throwing Money Away
Did you know that the average American household spends around $2,500 on energy each year? Shockingly, almost a third of that is wasted! This means that homeowners are flushing approximately 30% of their money down the drain. The issue is compounded by the fact that out of the 130 million homes in the United States, a staggering 80 million were built between 1980 and 2000, pre-dating modern energy standards. Consequently, these homes are associated with higher energy consumption and operating costs per square foot. Don't let your home become part of this statistic; take steps to save energy and lower your costs.
Low To No Cost Tips To Help Stop Throwing Your Money Away On Energy Bills
#1 HOME ENERGY INSPECTION
Many homeowners could save hundreds of dollars every year without really changing their lifestyle. InterNACHI’s Home Energy Report provides simple, basic, prescriptive measures that millions of homeowners can take to reduce their energy bills, while making their homes more comfortable, and use that money for something they really want.
The Home Energy Report was developed by InterNACHI to be:
A reporting tool for Home Energy Inspectors
And an affordable inspection service for current and prospective homeowners.
A Home Energy Inspector can complete a Home Energy Report in an extra 10 minutes, if done as part of a standard home inspection, and in less than one hour, if done as a stand-alone inspection service. It is not a comprehensive energy audit and no diagnostic tools are needed. The Home Energy Inspector is not an energy auditor. Home Energy Inspectors are trained and certified by InterNACHI.
To generate a Home Energy Report, the Home Energy Inspector conducts a brief walk-through of the home and collects about 40 data points related to energy, essentially the same data gathered during a general home inspection. The Home Energy Inspector then uses a reporting tool that interfaces with the Home Energy Saver of the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the engine that powers the Home Energy Report.
The Home Energy Saver engine helps empower the Home Energy Inspector to:
Produce a report in a matter of seconds
Collect and save home-description information from customers
Compute a home’s energy use, cost, and carbon footprint on-line in a matter of seconds based on state-of-the-art models and data for any location in the United States
Perform operational or asset ratings
Estimate the relative importance of specific end uses (heating, cooling, water heating, major appliances, small appliances, and lighting)
Generate a list of energy-saving upgrade recommendations; create a payback-ranked list of energy-efficiency improvements
Generate a wide range of summary and drill-down reports
#2 Save Over $500 A Year
Homeowners appreciate straightforward, simple information that is clearly presented and easy to understand. They also want a report with customized recommendations that is easy to read. Consumers care about the bottom line. However, many are misinformed about which home energy improvements will pay off more quickly and save the most energy. Many don't realize that home energy improvements can also improve the comfort of their homes, as well as their families' health and safety, not to mention their home's potential resale value.
The Home Energy Report recommends energy-saving upgrades that are appropriate to the home and make sense for the home's climate and local energy prices. The money invested in these upgrades commonly earns "interest" in the form of energy savings of over $500 every year, which is an impressive overall annual rate of return on investment.
20 Home Energy Maintenance Tips To Help Lower Energy Costs
Here are several do-it-yourself tips to save energy right now, including easy low-cost to no-cost ways to save energy.
Install a programmable thermostat to lower utility bills and manage your heating and cooling systems efficiently.
Replace lamps in your older indoor and outdoor incandescent lighting fixtures with energy-saving incandescent, CFL, and LED light bulbs. Upgrading 15 of the inefficient incandescent light bulbs in your home could save you about $50 per year.
Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle.
Turn down the temperature of your water heater to the warm setting (120-degrees Fahrenheit). You'll not only save energy, you'll avoid scalding your hands.
Start using energy-saving settings on refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, and clothes dryers.
Turn things off when you are not in the room such as lights, TVs, entertainment systems, and your computer and monitor.
If you have one of those "silent-guzzlers", a waterbed, make your bed today. The covers will insulate it, and save up to one-third of the energy it uses.
Take short showers instead of baths and use low-flow showerheads for additional energy savings.
Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.
Air dry clothes.
Check to see that windows and doors are closed when heating or cooling your home.
Keeping the air filter on your HVAC system clean can lower your system’s energy consumption by 5%–15%.
You can significantly reduce hot water use by simply repairing leaks in fixtures—faucets and showerheads—or pipes. A leak of one drip per second can cost $1 per month.
Install heat traps on your water heater tank (valves or loops of pipe that allow water to flow into the water heater tank but prevent unwanted hot-water flow out of the tank) to save around $15-$30 on your water heating bills.
You can significantly reduce swimming pool heating costs by using a pool cover.
You can use weatherstripping in your home to seal air leaks around movable joints, such as windows or doors.
Look for the ENERGY STAR® label on light bulbs, home appliances, electronics, and other products. ENERGY STAR products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Unless your water heater’s storage tank already has a high R-value of insulation (at least R-24), adding insulation to it can reduce standby heat losses by 25%–45%. This will save you around 4%–9% in water heating costs.
Insulate your attic the general movement of warm air and heat in a building is "up" and "out" as warm air rises through a home. If a home is not insulated or not well insulated, the attic floor is the place to start with improving the home's heat retention.
Insulate your walls, the second direction of heat loss, once we've fixed drafts and insulated an attic, are the building walls.