When most of us think about a fireplace, we think about a warm fire blazing on a
very cold winter night. If that is the case, then you should take into consideration how the fireplace can affect your home’s energy benefits and your home’s cost
effectiveness.
A fireplace can be a blessing. If you use it correctly, it can generate a good deal of heat for you to use throughout your home during those cold winter months.
Since wood is a renewable energy source, it is not hard to find, overly costly and
does not need to be something that hurts the environment either.
Yet, there are some problems with fireplaces that you should take into
consideration too. If you have one, insure that you are not wasting your hard
earned money right through that smoke stack.
It’s drawing away Your Heat
One of the largest problems with a fireplace in a home is that it can actually draw
the heat inside a home up, onto the roof and out the house.
This is not what you want to see happen with your fireplace. In fact, this will
cause you to lose quite a bit of energy quickly. But, unless you give up your
fireplace altogether for a lower fuel bill, you will need to take some steps to help you to save money with it in your home.
For example, determine if you actually use the fireplace. Many people like the
idea of having it there but never actually use it. If it is there for decoration, then seal it. You should have your fireplace sealed off at the top. You should, though, provide some ventilation into this area. If you do not do this, you will find
condensation forming in your chimney and causing mold and other problems to
form.
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Once the fireplace is sealed, have the chimney insulated as well. Adding a layer of insulation there is an important factor in keeping the home warm.
Now, the key here is to remember to remove that insulation and inform others
that use your home that it is there. Otherwise, you can catch fire to your home
easily.
Other Fireplace Tips
In addition to this, there are other things that you can do to insure that your
fireplace is not costing you too much money in energy costs.
For one thing, make sure that you have a damper on the fireplace. This will help
to keep the heat in while still allowing the necessary ventilation. Make sure that
you use it as well. To do so, it needs to be working in its proper way.
Of course, you should have your fireplace checked out each year as well. If you
use your fireplace, this is a necessary task to have completed. It will allow you to make sure that the fireplace is working correctly and that there is no build up of
soot or carbon in the actual chimney. Removing and having this cleaned also can
help to insure that the fireplace is keeping you safe and warm too.
If you do not have any, add glass doors to the front of your fireplace. As the fire dies down after you have used it, the glass doors will help to keep the heat from
being lost altogether.
Keep ash and debris out of the fireplace as much as possible too. The build up of
these in your fireplace can cause problems with the ability to generate heat.
For your insert, consider one that is both tube and glass. The glass doors of your
fireplace will actually keep you from losing too much heat, as we mentioned. In
addition, though, when you add on a tube and blower to your fireplace, you can
keep the glass doors closed and force the heat out into the home, allowing for
better and more energy efficient usage of it. You get more from the fire, in other
words.
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Yet another option to consider is the heater insert. This is the ideal choice for
those that are looking for a way to get the most benefit from their fireplace. In
this case, you will need a well designed, efficient model. It should come with
blowers as well as thermostats.
Simply place them into your fireplace and they will allow you to increase your
heating efficiency because it will help to maintain the heat there. You do not lose
the effect of the fireplace that we all love so much either.
Don’t give up your fireplace; just make sure that you get the most from it without
losing from it.
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Chapter 7: Energy Saving Habits to Develop
Do you remember as a child being asked by your mother if you were “born in a
barn?” There are plenty of reasons why this is important. The fact is that there
are small things, even simple things, to incorporate into your every day life to see improvements in your energy usage without really having to do much of
anything.
In fact, all you really need to do is to insure that you get yourself into some habits and within a month you will notice changes.
While switching one light off isn’t going to make a huge deal on your bill,
combining this with other features will show you some real signs of improvement
and quickly too.
To help you, here are some of the best habits that you can form to gain great
energy saving benefits from the beginning.
You’re Shower
You probably do not realize how this affects your energy bills, but it does. Unless you take a very long shower, you may not realize that it is more effective and uses
less hot water than a bath does.
Instead of filling up the tub with water, you save a great deal by using the shower.
To make it even a better option, install a water saving shower head. These are
inexpensive (although they do cost more than a standard shower head) but will
reduce the amount of water that comes through and is wasted. You simply will
use less water and reap the benefits of lower consumption.
Because you do not need to use as much hot water, you are reducing the work
load of your hot water heater and saving energy in the process.
Appliance Use
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Next, take a look at your appliances usage. There are certain appliances that
generate heat more so than others. The washer and dryer as well as your oven
are prime candidates.
Therefore, whenever possible, use these during the cooler parts of the day such as
the morning and in the evening, to keep your air conditioning from having to kick
on. If it is already hot and you are using them, the air conditioning units have to work harder using more energy to do so and costing you more.
During the winter, doing this will help you to keep your home warmer in the
coldest times of the day, therefore keeping your furnace from having to work as
hard and using less energy.
Washing Clothing
When washing clothing, there are some great tools to use here too for energy
savings. First off, only run full loads of laundry. If you run just a few items, you are simply wasting the energy that is needed.
In addition, make sure that the weight of the object is taken into consideration.
Keeping like weights together can help to reduce the amount of time that some
items are needed in the dryer. For example, if you wash towels together, which
require longer periods of time to dry, you can save energy when you wash light
weight t-shirts.
Another tool that has been put onto the market is cold water detergent for your
washer. These chemicals claim to work well if cold water, meaning that you do
not need to use as much hot water in your laundry. Without using hot water, you
lessen the demand on your hot water heater and therefore lower your costs
significantly.
Keep the units working at their best. That means cleaning out the dryer filter too.
There are two things to consider here. First, keep the interior filter clean by
cleaning it after every load. This allows the clothing to dry faster with each load.
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Second, clean the tubing that runs from the dryer to the wall clean as well. This
should be cleaned out every six months for optimal use.
Cook Tops
Cook tops that are electric can pose a problem for those that are looking to save
energy. These pull quite a bit of electricity to be used effectively. To help to keep this to a minimum, make sure that you select the right size burner for the pot that
you are using.
Another trick with these units is to insure that the bottom of your pan is flat.
Those that are rounded have less surface area actually touching the cook top,
causing it to take longer to heat and therefore requiring more energy use for the
same meal.
Keep the surfaces cleaned and wiped down after each use. If you have a gas
stove, in this case, keep the carbon build up around the actual pilots clean as well.
They will work better and use less gas in the process lowering your costs while
doing so.
Lights
Throughout your home you will find various lights on and off at all times of the
day, right? Make it a habit to turn them off each time you leave a room. In
addition, you will want to make sure that the smallest comfortable light is in use
at all times, not necessarily the light that is going to fill the room.
In addition, as you go throughout your home replacing bulbs (as they burn out of
course) begin replacing them with compact fluorescent bulbs. These are
becoming more and more readily available even at the supermarket and
department stores. Although they will cost more to put them into your home,
they will benefit you.
These light bulbs put out as much as four times as many lumens per watt. So, if
you purchase a 25 watt fluorescent bulb, you are going to have as much light as if
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you were using a 100 watt bulb of the standard, incandescent bulb. Therefore,
with lower wattage use, you will use less electricity and save money.
In addition, these light bulbs will last you almost ten times as long as a standard
light bulb will. In some case, you won’t have to replace them for years! This is
definitely worth the investment. Doing this slowly as the others die out will allow it to be less of a cost shock.
Exhaust
Your home needs exhaust systems in it. Some older homes may not have them
though. This is one system you will want to consider adding if that is the case.
You can benefit from an exhaust fan in your kitchen area to pull out the heat and
humidity from the area as you are cooking. In the summer, their use is
outstanding in these areas to keep your air conditioning working less.
In addition, the bathroom is another area of your home for an exhaust system.
Here, the humidity can be pulled out before causing the air conditioning to kick
on.
But, be careful. During the winter months, do not use these systems as often.
They can pull the heat from your furnace that is trying to keep your home warm
out, causing your furnace to work harder and losing money with energy costs.
Window Tips
While we have already talked about how windows affect the heat and air
conditioning in your home, it also is important to mention them as in habit
usage.
If you will be using your windows during the summer months to bring in air, do
so! This is a great way to bring in free, fresh air to your home. But, do not turn off the air and open the windows. Instead, open them once the effects of the air
conditioning have worn off and the home has started to heat up. This way, you
do not lose the benefits of all the work your air has used.
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In addition, during winter months, keeping the drapes and blinds closed can
significantly lower the energy need for heat throughout your home especially
during dark hours and colder periods. But, you can benefit from opening up
those drapes when the sun is shining and allowing the home to get some free heat
from that sunshine.
During the night, the drapes will act as insulation to the windows keeping heat in
during the winter and cool air in during the summer.
In summer months, if there is a breeze or if there is a temperature drop to a
comfortable level, ease off the air conditioning and let the cool air from night cool down the home.
In addition, make sure that you lock your windows when they are closed. That
little extra push can help to keep the right temperature maintained.
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