Creative Ways to Enhance Home Energy Efficiency
Atlanta Home Energy Efficiency Tips
By now, you probably know many of big ticket things you can do to enjoy improved home energy efficiency. Upgrading to Energy Star appliances, adding insulation and installing a programmable thermostat is not where energy efficiency should end, but only where they should begin. The number of little things you can do everyday to save energy translates into big savings over the course of a year.
Tips for Conserving Energy
- Close Windows Near Thermostats
The home energy efficiency of your central heat/air supply is actually impacted more by the temperature immediately around the thermostat than the temperature of the rest of the house. A draft blowing across the thermostat from an open window can cause the heater as well as the air conditioner to cycle on and off unnecessarily.
- Leave Oven Open After Baking During Winter
Every time you bake something during the winter and then close the door when you turn off the oven, you are wasting precious energy. Why allow all that wonderful warming heat to dissipate behind closed doors when it could be spilling out into the kitchen?
- Refrigerating Food
Ever put hot food in the refrigerator? Don’t. If at all possible, allow food to cool down to room temperature before you put it away inside the refrigerator. The hotter the food, the more work your refrigerator has to do to cool down. Not just cool down that hot food, but cool down the entire space inside that has now been unnecessarily heated. Home energy efficiency at its simplest.
- Ceramic Food Warmers
Do you ever use your oven to keep food warm? You can save energy by using just a fraction of your heating supply to accomplish the same effect. Look for ceramic bread warming tiles that can be heated in either the oven or microwave. These tiles are fantastically efficient conductors of heat that can keep food warm for surprisingly long periods of time without wasting energy. Just make sure you get the right kind of ceramic tile.
- Match the Pots and Pans to the Burner
Did you realize that every time you put a big pot on the small burners on your range or a small pan on the largest burner that you are wasting energy? Sure, the energy waste is not up there among the worst offenders, but every little bit counts and since you may very well be engaging in this type of energy wasting behavior dozens or hundreds of time a year, it will add up.
- Clean Your Windows
Cleanliness is next to godliness, they say. Maybe so, maybe not so much, but cleanliness is certainly next to energy savings in the home. The more dirt, dust, grime, and grease you allow to collect on your windows, the less heat from the sun penetrates. Perhaps not such a bad thing during the summer, but definitely not conducive to energy savings during the winter.
Atlanta Home Energy Efficiency Experts – Empire Heating and Air Conditioning
To talk more about home energy efficiency or heating and air conditioning, or anything else, please Contact Us. Empire HVAC has been serving the metro Atlanta area since 1985.