Energy Conservation
Energy Efficient Equipment
Sara Spaeth
Axia College-University of Phoenix
Putting an energy-efficient heating system into a drafty, poorly insulated house will reduce your energy bills. But you’ll notice a more dramatic saving, and even make yourself more comfortable, if you also make your entire house more energy efficient. How? Here are some ideas…
• Weather-strip and caulk to seal air leaks. You may have to replace uncontrolled sources of air with designed sources to ensure proper ventilation.
• Increase insulation levels where appropriate (such as in the attic or walls) to reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer.
• Open drapes on south-facing windows on sunny winter days so that the sun’s energy can help heat your home, and close them in summer to help keep your home cool.
• Choose energy-efficient products when replacing windows and doors.
By making your house more energy-efficient, your heating and cooling systems will work less, and you may reduce the capacity needed when you replace your systems, which means more savings for you.
It’s good for your budget, your comfort and our environment. Each year you spend hundreds of dollars to heat and cool your home and to heat your hot water. By installing energy-efficient equipment, which gives you the same comfort for less energy, you can lower these costs. Furthermore, the lower you can make your energy costs now, the better off you will be should energy prices go up – and conservation reduces upward pressure on energy prices.
Whenever fuels are burned – in your home, in a generating station to produce electricity, in vehicles...