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An Energy-efficient-home Plan(Moj News Agency (Iran) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Times may be tight, but in making your home more energy-efficient it's actually true that the more you spend the more you save. The changes, repairs, installations and general improvements also can lower your utility bills, which helps your wallet as well as the planet. Everyone still wants to be green, but the global economy is just such where they're really looking to cut back and save as well. You can start saving by unplugging every gadget that's not in use, from nightlights to video game consoles, a step that can quickly cut a home's electricity use by 10 percent. Then check out these tips guaranteed to be cheap and easy weekend projects to help green both your home and your bank account. 1. Get an audit. Before you invest in a project, you need to know what areas of your home need an upgrade and which will be most cost-efficient. You can hire a professional to do an energy audit, sometimes at a cost of a few hundred dollars, but there's nothing to keep you from trying one on your own. 2. Seal air leaks: As temperatures fluctuate, building materials expand and contract, and cracks can form that let outside air in and inside air out. To cut air seepage, shell out about $3 for a spray can of foam sealant or a bit more for weather stripping. If you're not sure where the leaks are, use an infrared thermometer ($30 and up) to find where temperatures fluctuate. 3. Heating and cooling: Programmable thermostats start as low as $20 and a novice can install one in an hour or so. The benefit? Many have up to four different settings, letting you decide what days and what times to turn on the AC or the heat. 4. Lighting: The twisty compact fluorescent light bulbs called CFLs are definitely more expensive, starting at about $10 for a four-pack of 75-watt bulbs. But they pay for themselves in about 6 months because they use about 75 percent less energy and then they last about 10 times longer than a standard incandescent light bulb to keep saving you money. Lowe's experts recommend swapping five of your home's most-used incandescent bulbs for CFLs to save as much as $70 in energy bills over the life of the five bulbs. About a quarter of a home's energy is used for lighting and appliances. You can cut the lighting use dramatically by buying LED lights, which use up to 90 percent less energy than an incandescent bulb. But the selection remains limited. 2009/07/06 (c) 2009 Mojnews Agency. All rights reserved Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |