I am John from Cool Breeze Air Solutions, thanks to my friends at Arizona Professional Plumbing for letting me share some facts with you today.
How energy efficient is your home? Did you know that something as small as an uninsulated electrical outlet could cost you several dollars per week in extra energy costs? Or that one unsealed seam in your home’s ventilation ductwork could also add several dollars to your monthly utility bill? There are many ways to make energy efficient upgrades to your house that will save you money on your monthly utility bills – and most can be done by you.
The easiest upgrade that you can do yourself is to seal leaks around doors, windows, and ventilation systems. There are also holes in walls, roofs, and basement foundations that can be sealed too. Besides these obvious locations, you should also check registers, recessed lighting “cans,” soffits, plumbing vent stacks, dryer vents, outdoor faucets, and electrical outlets. Check your ductwork for leaks in joints, too. These are all areas that air can leak into or out of your home.
These leaks can be sealed up by using a number of different products including duct tape, mastic tape, or spray foam – all items you can pick up at your local hardware retail store.
Poor insulation – or none at all – can make your home extremely inefficient and send hundreds of dollars in energy costs through roofs, walls, crawlspaces, and basements, to name a few major areas. It is especially important to check for insulation that might have fallen from floors or walls, or that may have never been stuffed in or around electrical outlets, recessed lighting cans, recessed attic, kitchen, or bathroom fans, etc. Some homes – possibly yours – may have the original insulation in attics and crawl spaces which is not up to current energy codes and should be added to or replaced.
If your metal ductwork is installed in uninsulated spaces, i.e. crawlspaces, your furnace will have to work harder to move warm air through cold ductwork. Adding insulation to the ductwork or replacing metal ductwork with insulated flex duct is also an alternate energy efficient upgrade to your home.
There are also a number of different ways to seal up leaky areas of your home. The products available include:
- Door sweeps or weatherstrips
- Water pipe insulation wrap
- Water heater blankets
- Window insulation kits
- Storm windows
- Attic stair covers
- Chimney insulation
For more information, contact your local contractor.
Cool Breeze Air Solutions offers heating and air conditioning service, repair, and installation to the Greater Tucson area. Click here to visit their blog and read more home improvement and energy saving tips.
