THERMOSTAT TIPS

• You can save money on your heating and cooling bills by simply resetting your thermostat when you are asleep or away from home. You can do this automatically without sacrificing comfort by installing an automatic setback or programmable thermostat.

• Using a programmable thermostat, you can adjust the times you turn on the heating or air-conditioning according to a pre-set schedule. Programmable thermostats can store and repeat multiple daily settings (six or more temperature settings a day) that you can manually override without affecting the rest of the daily or weekly program.

LIMITATIONS FOR HOMES WITH HEAT PUMPS, ELECTRIC RESISTANCE HEATING, STEAM HEAT, AND RADIANT FLOOR HEATING

• Programmable thermostats are generally not recommended for heat pumps. In its cooling mode, a heat pump operates like an air conditioner; so turning up the thermostat (either manually or with a programmable thermostat) will save energy and money. But when a heat pump is in its heating mode, setting back its thermostat can cause the unit to operate inefficiently, thereby canceling out any savings achieved by lowering the temperature setting. Maintaining a moderate setting is the most cost-effective practice.

FURNITURE

• Furniture will block natural air movement; so do not place pieces in front of or below your thermostat. Also make sure your thermostat is conveniently located for programming.

FURNACE

• A common misconception associated with thermostats is that a furnace works harder than normal to warm the space back to a comfortable temperature after the thermostat has been set back, resulting in little or no savings. In fact, as soon as your house drops below its normal temperature, it will lose energy to the surrounding environment more slowly.
•  The lower the interior temperature, the slower the heat loss. So the longer your house remains at the lower temperature, the more energy you save, because your house has lost less energy than it would have at the higher temperature

ENERGY EFFICIENT HOME DESIGN

• Before you design a new home or remodel an existing one, consider investing in energy efficiency. You’ll save energy and money, and your home will be more comfortable and durable.

• In an existing house, the first step is to conduct a home energy assessment (sometimes referred to as an energy audit) to find out how your home uses energy and determine the best ways to cut energy use and costs.

ULTRA ENERGY EFFICIENT DESIGN

• Ultra-efficient home design combines state-of-the-art, energy-efficient construction, appliances, and lighting with commercially available renewable energy systems, such as solar water heating and solar electricity. By taking advantage of local climate and site conditions, designers can incorporate passive solar heating and cooling and energy-efficient landscaping strategies.

Energy-efficient windows, doors, and skylights—also known as fenestration—can help lower a home’s heating, cooling, and lighting costs.

TYPES OF STORM WINDOWS –

• Interior storm windows offer greater convenience than exterior storm windows. They’re easier to install and remove; they require less maintenance because they’re not exposed to the elements; and, because they seal tightly to the primary window, they’re more effective at reducing air infiltration.

LIGHTING

• Energy-efficient light bulbs are available today and could save you about $50 per year in energy costs when you replace 15 traditional incandescent bulbs in your home.

• Compared to traditional incandescent, energy-efficient light bulbs such as halogen incandescents, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and light emitting diodes (LEDs) have the following advantages:
• Typically use about 25%-80% less energy than traditional incandescents, Can last 3-25 times longer.

COOL ROOFS-

• Cool roofs use solar-reflective surfaces to maintain lower roof temperatures. Standard or dark roofs can reach temperatures of 150°F or more in the summer sun. A cool roof under the same conditions could stay more than 50°F cooler.

A cool roof can benefit a building and its occupants by:

1. Reducing energy bills by decreasing air conditioning needs
2. Improving indoor comfort for spaces that are not air conditioned
3. Decreasing roof temperature, which may extend roof service life

If you are building a new home, you can decide during the planning phase what type of roof to install and whether it should be a cool roof. If you want to convert an existing roof into a cool roof, you have three basic options:

• Coat the roof
• Re-cover it with a new waterproofing surface
• Tear off the existing roof and replace it with a new one.