Chances are, even if you think you’re heating and cooling your home efficiently, there’s still a lot of steps you can take — either on your own or with the help of a professional contractor — to glean more savings on your Dayton area home energy usage.
Here are some other steps you should consider taking:
- Get a programmable thermostat to curtail energy use when your home is empty or when you’re asleep. Or as an alternative, consider a zoned system with multiple thermostats. This allows you to control the temperatures in different rooms and on different levels of your home.
- Think about replacing your heating/cooling system if it’s more than 10 years old or if it’s no longer working as well as it should. New high-efficiency systems eventually pay for themselves through reduced energy costs.
- Seal drafts and air leaks in your house with caulk or weather stripping. Find drafts by waving a wet hand in front of likely spots like the fireplace, electrical outlets, window casings and door jams. Likewise seal any leaks in accessible ductwork, with, thermal mastic duct sealant or a similar product.
- Consider hiring a professional contractor to test/seal the whole duct system.
- Add insulation. Use R-18 insulation for exterior walls and R-10 to R-13 for crawl spaces and the basement. R-38 is recommended for the attic.
- Install an Energy Star labeled water heater. Do the same for doors and windows to increase comfort and decrease utility bills while protecting your belongings from fading in the sun.
- Replace light bulbs with Energy Star bulbs.
For more information on these and other home energy savings tips, contact Ace Hardware Home Services. We have been family owned and proudly serving the Dayton area since 1978.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Ace Hardware Home Services services the Ohio’s Miami Valley. To get started, check out our website or request an appointment.
