How can I cut down on energy bills?

Question

I live in michigan, winters can be sub zero, and summers can be over 100. I am planning on buying a fixer house soon, so I should be able to make some nice changes. What would you recommend to cut down on energy bills? Obviously insulation is a good thing, but what kind of insulation would be best? I have changed the lightbulbs to cfl in my current house and the electricity bills dropped by 50%, what else can I do?

Also, would gas or electric appliances and furnace better? It would probably be semco energy for gas, and consumers energy for electric.

Answer 1

start with good insulation in the walls along with a good vapour barrier,attic insulation use batts blown in insulation can be uneven applied and with compact over the years and give very poor R value even after 5 yrs and if you need to get into the attic its less messy,good windows read some consumer reports,buy energy star efficient appliances,and look into a ground source heat pump heats in winter and cools in summer

Answer 2

If you are not using the appliances, remove the plug. Try to check the energy consumption of every appliances you have. Compare them and if you are planning to buy appliances, check the energy requirements and choose the appliances that can cut down your energy bills.

Answer 3

keep up the good work w the bulbs, if it is a starter home you are right insulation , make sure the windows are good. regulate the furnace in the winter. pull the shades early in the morning in the summer to keep it cool inside longer. buy energy star appliances. led christmas lights last longer and use alot less electricity to run for the holidays. set the hot water heater at a lower temp so it runs less often, or get a model that only heats when needed. look into buying a corn pellet stove for extra heating. i hope these ideas are helpful to you.

Answer 4

It depends on how much you're willing to spend...  Awhile back, I was doing some reading about "residential geothermal heat pumps", and I was amazed at the energy savings' potential.  The big "downer" is the initial installation price - but after that, you get heating and cooling year-round for a huge savings, because you're using the constant temperature of the earth - from 25 to 100 feet down as the transfer point.  

It's been awhile since I've read the information, but one thing really stood out for me.  They listed the average heating / cooling bill for a 3,000 sq. ft. house in Minnesota, and it was not much higher than what I'm paying for a 1,000 sq. ft. house in Utah.  And, with the right installation, for half of the year, you get your hot water almost for free.  

Do a little reading if you're interested.  Just Google "residential geothermal" or "residential geothermal heat pump".

Good luck.

Answer 5

Go gas as much as possible.  You will have a big savings there.  Double pane windows... the new ones even have improvements on the housing to decrease energy transfer.  Hot summers are not a big issue I imagine so you can probably safe by not getting fancy reflective coatings (which are very helpful in the south).

Insulate your attic *well*.  You can even have foam sprayed (basically from a spray paint rig) if desired for very high effeciency.

Make sure all doors are well insulated around the edges.  Have a double pane screen door in front of the wood/metal door.  Check edges for insulation.

If you get some good sunlight during the cold months through specific windows you can have an interior wall made from adobe that will soak up the sun's radiant heat and radiate it back into the room long after the sun is down.

Some houses up North are partially built underground.  That helps considerably with those lower floors.

Fireplaces can be a huge energy waste... (though they are fun/pretty).  Make sure it can close well.. and you have some covering that can be put in place for further insulation.  There are also further things that can be done (including conversion) to make a fireplace more efficient.

Answer 6

There are a number of things that you can do. Do not use blown in insulation. Instead buy the type that comes in rolls. They have what are called R ratings. The higher the number, the more insulation in terms of thickness. Place insulation both in the rafters in your house as well as in the cellar if you have one.

  There is a product on the market that has been out for about fifteen years. They are foam cut outs that fit behind your outlet and wall swich plates. Use these on your exterior walls. They help to hold some cold are out and heat in.

  If you can, buy an electric stove rather than gas. It is cheaper. After using your stove leave it open a crack and let the heat out. A little bit extra heat.

  If you can afford it, install double pane windows. buy the type that have gas( I can't think of name of gas) in them . The help to keep your house cooler in the summer by reflecting the suns rays. We have these installed in our house. The temperature reaches eighty degrees in one of our rooms(south faceing) on a clear sunny day in the middle of winter. Usually on bitterally cold days and have to turn the fan on to circulate the air in the house.

  Insulate you hot water heater and water pipes especiall if your pipes come into your house from above ground. If you are going to be away from your house for an extended period of time, turn your tempture down to 55 degrees. This is the minimum temperature you can set it for. Anything cooler than that will affect the sheet rock in your walls.

  If you have sliding metal windows, place insulating strips in the space behind the sliding window. they are cheep made of foam. flexable and can be cut to any size you need and can be used for one year to the next. Replace all of your exterior doors with insulated doors. Or install storm doors out side of your side or front doors. We use thes doors on the outside. They don't have to be removed. There is a central panel where the window can be put in for the winter and screen in the summer.  If you can, install a fan. It helps to keep your house cool in the summer and reduces the cost of air conditioning quite a bit.



If you have other questiones, feel free to ask. Leave me a message and a window of time that I may be able to leave a message if you do not accept mail to your account.

Answer 7

blown in insulation to as close to 6 inches thick in your attic would be best.make sure windows are caulked everywhere. insulate your hot water heater and use a medium setting for water temperature. use stripping  to make sure doors are insulated around the edges. using ceiling fans are a great way to make it cooler,like 10 degress cooler. In summer turn off the hot water heater when gone for days or you just need less water. Wash clothes in cold water.

Answer 8

Definetely go for geo-thermal heating & cooling.  Also, sub-radient floor heating.  A tankless water heater (if you are using solar panels then an electric tankless water heater, if not then a gas one is better).

Answer 9

The cheapest and most simple is just good old common sense conservation. Then:

Eliminating Air leaks is normally the greatest return on your money.

Insulation is next.

Better windows next.

higher efficiency furnace and appliances are next.

Answer 10

II'd recommend a home energy audit to determine where your house is leaking - all houses leak, especially older ones.  Then you can strategically target areas to seal up leaks.  Since your heat and cooling bill will be almost 50% of your utility costs, you should spend time and money there.  You can also qualify for an energy efficiency improvement loan for the improvements you want to make through certain banks such as Bank of America.  www.energystar.gov.  I live in Michigan too and just finished a serious weatherization and sealing effort in my house and cut my energy buill by almost 60%.  

Plug your computer, televisions, DVD players and other electronics into surge strips and make it a part of your nightly routine to turn off the surge supressors - hidden loads take a lot out of your energy bill.  Unplug the coffee maker, the cell phone and ipod charger, the hair dryer, etc. when not in use.  Hidden loads add up to almost one months worth of electricity each year!

Regarding insulation - I highly recommend blown cellulous for existing walls that still have drywall on them.  You put small holes at the top and middle of your wall, rent a machine from home depot and blow the cellulous in. If you have exposed studs, then I recommend the spray foam insulation.  

THe issue with the pink batt insulation is that it doesn't seal up the cracks, and air can leak around the insulation into and out of your house.  Pink batt has an R-value of about 2.5, spray foam insulation has an R-value of 4.6 and will seal up cracks and crevices that air leaks through.  

Both the cellulous and the spray foam are environmentally friendly because they don't offgas VOCs and can be recycled.  The fiberglass is highly toxic and can cause respiratory issues in sensitive people, and can't be recycled.  

Depending on where you live, and if they allow it - look into a wood burning stove (if you have to replace the furnace).  You can get wood laying in wooded areas that's already down and dead and that's free heating.  The cost of the wood stove is about double a furnace, but if there's no heating bill, you will be paid back in a few years.  

If you can't do a wood burning stove, consider geothermal heating and cooling - it's also more expensive, but my parent's heating bill in January is $50 and the same in August.  It's very very cost effective.  

I would go consumers since you can buy renewable energy through them - Semco does not have a renewable energy program yet - they won't until they are forced to, then it will likely be much higher than consumers.  I have had both, and I don't like Semco.  

Best of luck.  Let me know if you have more questions.