Ideas on saving energy (Lowes, Air Conditioners, water heater, phones)
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Since we are going to be getting into the heating season I think it would be a nice thread to talk about how to cut energy cost. I would like to start this thread to give everyone ideas on how to save money/energy for the heating season that can also lead into energy saving year round. It would be nice if folks have tips on how to save energy backed up with data or websites.
I ask kindly for folks to post data only and not politics/arguments/name calling. As always people will have a difference of opinions which is fine to discuss, but please keep it formal and mature.
I will start with my background. I am a Maintenance Superintendent with a large company here in Charlotte with a deep background in the Charlotte area.
Here are some useful sites and information about energy savings i have acquired over time:
Next up we have some info for an air conditioning/heating purchase to get system efficiencies and other information from the leading authority on HVAC testing and certifying. You may notice this sticker on any piece of equipment you will purchase in the US as they certify them. You will need the model numbers of the equipment you are planning on purchasing:
ARI Directory of Certified Product Performance (broken link)
This is the explanation of how those numbers are figured(warning technical and long)
http://www.ari.org/NR/rdonlyres/CE3D72C1-1D53-432B-A3E0-BD0FE39DAB6A/0/2102402006.pdf (broken link)
(This is also the standard that is used to certify your HVAC/R equipment)
Next we have a load calculation program. The reason why this is so important is the correct size of an HVAC/R system is critical for performance/efficiency/longevity of the HVAC/R system:
Next up we have some information on water heaters. (Warning! if you are unsure of how or what to do to perform maintenance on your water heater then call a professional!) Routine maintenance on your water heater will prolong the life and keep your cost down to a minimum.
You may ask why so much information on HVAC equipment. Your heating and air conditioning equipment accounts for approximately 70% of your power bill. Plus I'm a little partial since I actually find HVAC very interesting
Thanks for the info...I started today and called the gas company to test my equipment to make sure I am not wasting gas. It was more because I owed alot this last year. My wife and I have talked about trying to go Green. I started yesterday unplugging chargers ( cell phones, unused appliances and electronics, Etc.) I will look more at your list and see what pertains to my house.
We need to start doing our part especially seeing reality with water shortage.
Thanks for the info...I started today and called the gas company to test my equipment to make sure I am not wasting gas. It was more because I owed alot this last year. My wife and I have talked about trying to go Green. I started yesterday unplugging chargers ( cell phones, unused appliances and electronics, Etc.) I will look more at your list and see what pertains to my house.
We need to start doing our part especially seeing reality with water shortage.
This might be a useful tool for you.
T.E.D. : Electricity Monitor, Energy Monitor (http://www.theenergydetective.com/index.html - broken link)
Make sure your water level in your toilets are as low as needed for a proper flush. Make sure you have water saving aerators for the sink faucets and shower heads have the lowest flow that's acceptable to you. Obviously washing laundry loads you want to do as much as you can at one time per load but this is pretty well known. If you never run out of hat water then you may want to look into cutting the thermostat down a little at a time until you find you run out then cut it back up slightly. Cutting the ice maker off when you have an acceptable level of ice to keep you happy is a decent idea although won't save much water it does save on the life of the ice maker and having unneeded ice. I just look at everything that uses water and see how I can go about limiting what it uses. But I'll be honest this isn't my specialty although I have a good bit of exp. with it.
Great info! Do you use, or have you used the T.E.D.?
I haven't personally but I have heard many great things about it. I cut everything off when not in use and use just enough lights (at night) so I can function.
Don't use a fan in the bathroom during the winter during and after a shower. It sucks heat and moisture outside.
I agree also I would like to add my opinion. Just my thoughts on it.
In the summer where you don't want humidity for comfort reason you would want to run the fan only during showering time. It helps keep the latent heat (humidity) out of your conditioned air. Shut it off as soon as the shower is done though.
In the winter time where humidity levels are already extremely low you would want that humidity to help with your indoor comfort (more humidity means less dry bulb temps to feel the same comfort level)
I do agree on it sucking conditioned air out of your home and placing it outside other sources of this problem are dryers, range hoods that vent outside and any other exhaust type fan that pulls conditioned air from inside and places it outside.
My test:
In the summer where humidity levels are around 50% inside with a inside dry bulb of around 70-72º a 7-10 minute shower brings my relative humidity to 60% with everything else still the same without running the exhaust fan. With the exhaust fan running my RH only gets to about 53-55% during that same showering time. In the winter time it adds humidity to a level of around 10% which allows me to keep my thermostat about 2º cooler until fresh air from infiltration brings that RH back to a balanced level.
Of course all this doesn't take into account the infiltration rate of your home. If it's exceptional you need to try and bring fresh air in anyways at a rate of around 25% per hour.....meaning your replacing 25% of your air with fresh air for IAQ per ASHRAE standards. If you cannot achieve this you need some sort of mechanical means to bring in fresh air.....usually a fresh air intake the supplies your air handler depending on outside weather conditions.
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Little things
