Tired of costly gas and electric bills?
Your home can be more efficient if you follow a few simple tips on saving energy.
While some of these ideas require a little up front investment, many are easy to follow without spending a dime.
Here are the top 10 energy saving tips you should consider:
Energy Efficient Light Bulbs
It is [...]
The air we breathe inside our homes need to be fresh and clean.
The quality of your air indoors however depends if you have clean air ducts.
These air passages convey cooled or heated air inside your homes. As air comes from outside, dust, mites and other microscopic dirt can find their way inside air ducts. Filters [...]
Insulation - silently hidden in your walls, no moving parts to fix - is a material you probably spend precious little time thinking about.
Until sub zero (or sweltering) weather, a three-digit utility bill or chilly drafts start to come, and you start thinking about it a lot!
At home, you ponder whether it’s worth the time [...]
Homebuilders too often overlook pipe insulation.
Some shady contractors wishing to cut corners in order to keep the bottom line low for their clients will leave out these options often, but pipe insulation is essential for the performance and long service-life of piping systems.
So it is often these kinds of additions that homeowners will want to [...]
Homeowners have more choices than ever when deciding on the insulation for their homes.
Plastic foams, rock wool, cellulose and even cotton insulation are readily available. Insulation materials come in many forms. They are sprayed, stapled, blown, nailed or simply laid in place.
The choices can be difficult to sort through, but cellulose insulation is one of [...]
Insulated or Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) give you all the benefits that have made concrete popular over the years.
Concrete forms offer the same wind and fire resistance, but also offer an additional built in layers of foam insulation.
Homes built with insulated concrete forms offer homeowners greater energy efficiency and less noise pollution from outside.
An insulated [...]
Weatherstripping and caulking may be the easiest ways to increase energy efficiency and reduce heating and cooling costs for your home.
Caulking and weather-stripping prevents air from entering or escaping the home, and also prevents the spread of moisture around pipes, drains, and faucets.
Replacement weather-stripping is usually available at most building supply and hardware stores.
The most [...]
You may have heard the term ‘Energy Star’ or seen the labels on various appliances, but what is the Energy Star program?
The Energy Star program is a voluntary labeling program sponsored by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Energy Star label helps businesses and consumers easily identify highly efficient products, homes, and [...]
Kermit the Frog said it best; it isn’t easy being green.
Neither is living green, but you can make the effort to help save our environment for future generations!
With all the buzz and confusion over green homes, organic homes, chemical free homes, recycling, energy efficiency, and green decor, it can be a daunting task to know [...]
An increasing number of houses are being built with foam board, also known as rigid foam, core panels these days.
They attract many people because of their high insulation value and the ease and speed in construction.
Foam board wall panels can be used in homes, or in garages. In my last home, we used them to [...]
Window tinting film can help you solve problems with heat, glare, fading and privacy without blocking your view.
It is a simple, cost-effective way to increase your home’s comfort, energy-efficiency and overall appearance.
Insulating window tints add year round comfort to your home. They reflect the sun’s heat in summer. As a result, your home feels cooler [...]
We’re all familiar with fluorescent lighting in one form or another.
Almost all of us have worked in offices where the glow of fluorescent lights hummed overhead! In recent years, however, compact fluorescent bulbs that can be used interchangeably in sockets originally designed for incandescent light bulbs has brought the use of functional and decorative fluorescent [...]
Solar heating is becoming an attractive and more commonplace option for homeowners!
With the stress on our electrical grids and power supply concerns; more and more homeowners are opting to use solar heating for either part, or their entire home heating needs!
Solar heating harnesses the power of the sun to provide solar thermal energy for solar [...]
