Things to Save Power

Author: Forrest Ochoa

Before you go to the cost of greening your home, there are quite a few things you can do to raise the’comfort’ level of living there. The cost savings for some of these might be unimportant, but your comfort level will increase, and that will make the daily living in your house more pleasurable.
everybody wants their home to be nicely warm in winter, and comfortably cool in spring, summer and fall. And they want to pay as little as possible to acquire that comfort.

Even if your home is powered by solar power, you continue to do not need to waste any of it.

So what are you able to do to both save energy and make your home more comfortable, before you even start working with solar?

Seal your house against air leaks, and let nature help with the rest.

Perform an Energy Audit

Where are all the drafts in your home coming from? Some of them are so massive you can most likely feel them yourself when you are sitting in front of your TV, but other drafts, which can cost you money in wasted energy, may be so little that you won’t know about them unless you go trying to find them.

Perform an energy audit to find out where all the air leaks are in your house. The best way to try this is to use what’s called a pressure test. The test works best on a cold day, when it’s warm outside. Close any vents or skylights you have, too.

Next, turn on any exhaust fans – the fans that are meant to suck air out of your home and transfer it outside. This can assist in creating some negative pressure. If do not have any exhaust fans, open up one window, and place a transportable fan within it, blowing outward. You can do this just using your bare hand, or, to make it even simpler to catch even those slight drafts, fill a bowl of water and carry it around with you. Moisten your hand sometimes, then place it next to the sides and bottoms of doors and windows, around electric outlets and ceiling vents, and any place else you can think about. The moistness will allow your hand to feel just that bit cooler, should you spot a draft.

Don’t forget to check under your kitchen and bathroom sinks. Use froth insulation to seal gaps round the plumbing pipes. This will also help to keep out both hot and cold air, and deter rodents and insect life also.
If you’ve got an attic, make sure you check the door or hatch to see that there are no leakages there, also. Put weatherstripping around the door or hatch too. ( turn on the light in the attic, then go below and turn off the lights. If you can see the light in the attic, you must weatherstrip the door. ) Consider placing insulation in your attic if you do not have any.
check your Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning ( HVAC ) system and the ductwork, to make certain they aren’t leaking. Your ducts should be insulated – if that insulation is torn or shredded at all, replace it.

Although you don’t want air leaks in your house, be aware that your attic does need to have some air movement.
Excerpt from Solar Electricity System’s DIY book on energy saving and solar pannels. Read More at : Solar Energy Pannel System