Energy Efficiency: Spend $40, Save a Bundle

Whether it's Energy Efficiency Day, Energy Conservation Day, or ANY day, Socket wants to share some easy suggestions for integrating energy efficiency into your home or workplace.

We have all heard the phrase, “Sometimes you have to spend money to save money.”

Examples include insurance, car maintenance, or buying quality over quantity. Another one of these areas is energy efficiency: by spending some money now to weatherize your home or make its systems work more efficiently, you will save energy and lower your utility bills going forward.

But it is not necessary to spend thousands, or even hundreds of dollars to see your bills shrinking. By spending less than $40 on a few items for your home and taking a couple of hours to install, you can start saving energy and lowering your utility bills.

Insulate Hot Water Pipes

Installing insulation for your hot water pipes will reduce heat loss, resulting in less time waiting for hot water to arrive and raising the temperature of the water at the faucet or shower head, letting you lower your water temperature setting. Conserving energy and conserving water: all for a few dollars!

Utilize Smart Power Strips

Up to 10% of an average home’s energy usage is from devices that draw power even when they are “off.” A smart power strip can help reduce these phantom loads. Smart strips can detect when something plugged into one of its outlets is in standby mode or not charging anything. When the smart strip senses this, it cuts off all power to that device. Other outlets on the same smart strip may stay on.

Insulate Outlets

Unconditioned air (i.e., hot air in summer and cold air in winter) can enter your house through your outlets. Outlet covers are inexpensive pieces of foam insulation that fit around your outlets. Remove the outlet cover, carefully place the insulation inside the box, and then replace the cover. At about $0.10 each, outlet covers are a great investment in energy efficiency.

Weatherstrip Windows and Doors

Improperly sealed windows and doors cause your home to lose conditioned air to the outside. Seal leaky windows and doors with the proper type of weatherstripping depending on the location and function of the door or window. Make your home more comfortable by sealing up those air leaks!

Caulk Stationary Leaks

For stationary building components and materials, seal leaks with caulk. Pick the best caulking compound for the job and take simple steps like caulking windows and sealing leaks around chimneys and recessed lighting to stop conditioned air from leaving your house.

Replace Dirty Filters

On average, heating and cooling a house account for almost half of the energy consumption. Therefore, making sure your heating and cooling units run efficiently will definitely save you money. One easy way to make sure the system does not work harder than necessary, is to replace your air filters routinely. Replacing a dirty, clogged filter with a clean one can lower your air conditioner’s energy consumption by up to 15%. An air filter whistle is a tool to help you know when to replace your filter. Install a reusable air filter whistle on your air filter, and once the filter has collected dust and needs to be changed, the whistle will begin making a noise (a whistle) that lets you know it’s time to change the filter. The whistle is reusable again and again!

Use a Low-Flow Showerhead

Showering accounts for about 17% of the average home's indoor water use. You can easily save water by switching to a low-flow showerhead. Low-flow models ensure a comfortable shower but limit water use to less than two gallons per minute. Since it takes a lot of energy to heat up water, this DIY improvement will save you both energy and water.

In Nashville, Metro has partnered with Nashville Electric Service (NES) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to weatherize hundreds of homes through the Home Energy Uplift program, funded by the Power of Change initiative. Interested Davidson County homeowners can apply to this program to receive a whole home, deep energy retrofit.

Socket loves to celebrate Energy Efficiency Day and share ways to save energy and reduce utility costs. With these seven easy DIY solutions, you can do both!