Darrell Cooper, Energy Advisor and older Mainer, has performed energy audits on numerous houses in the past two years. Here are some of his top tips for easy savings on energy costs, that you can do yourself or have done at a minimal expense.
1. Turn down your thermostat – Lowering your settings a few degrees could provide savings of 5%-10%.
2. Reduce your water heater temperature – Setting the temperature at 120 degrees will not be noticeable and prevent scalding.
3. Fireplace – Make sure the damper is closed. Warm air loves to rise to the outdoors. (The same with your dryer, since it’s also vented outside. Close the door.)
4. Curtains – Close your curtains at nighttime and open them during the day, especially when it is sunny.
5. Water savers – Purchase some water flow restrictors for your faucets and showers. This will reduce the number of times the water heater has to switch on to heat your hot water.
6. Outlet inserts – Purchase some foam inserts to place under the face plate of your exterior wall outlets. You will be surprised by the cold air that enters though outlets located on your outside walls. Just put your hand in front of one of the outlets to test the cold draft. Local hardware stores carry this product.
Here you have 6 money saving tips which you should be able to do yourself. Adjusting the temperature on your water heater may require a plumber. The bottom line is that you will save more on your heating bill then it will cost to do these easy upgrades.
Mr. Cooper directs the Maine office of Energy Audits Unltd. It was ranked number 1 auditor in the Portland area for 2010 and number 2 for 2011. Mr. Cooper is a senior citizen as well. He offers free consultation to our readers within 10 miles of Portland. (Any distance beyond that, there would be a mileage charge.) Energy questions may be directed to Mr. Cooper at dnergy18@gmail.com.