Please turn off those ceiling fans!

Ceiling Fans Don't Save Energy! Unless you are in the room.

Unless you are in the room, your ceiling fan is doing nothing for you.  Yes it's true, unless you are in the room, ceiling fans do nothing to reduce your cooling costs, they only waste your hard earned money.  Ceiling fans will make you feel a few degrees cooler, when they are blowing on you.  On average ceiling fans use about the same amount of energy of a 60-75 watt bulb.
  
While that isn't much, it will cost you $4.38 to $5.50 per month on medium speed if always running (without lights).  Yes, that does not sound like much but when you consider most houses have more than one fan, it starts to add up.  I am in houses all the time with 5-6 ceiling fans on, running 24/7.  That is a real waste, money blown away for nothing.  When we cut needless energy use we save money, every little bit adds up.

Thermal Image of running ceiling fan.

There is another cost to running your ceiling fans needlessly, and that is the heat they put off.  I shoot thermal pictures of fans all the time, they average 110 to 120 degrees.  This is additional heat put in the home, which in turn adds Air Conditioning costs.

Ceiling fans DO have their place, when you are in the room under the fan you will feel a few degrees cooler.  Just like that cool breeze that is so nice out side.   The breeze usually isn't any cooler than the air temperature but you feel cooler, as it passes over you.  If you apply this to reducing you AC use, turn the fan on and adjust your thermostat up a couple few degrees to compensate. 

I really like it cold at night, if I kept the house at the temperature I like the family would not be happy.  So rather than freeze out everyone in whole house I sleep with my ceiling fan on.  It cools me nicely and Shaun-ta' can have a blanket on next to me.  But the kids don't have to put on winter gear just to accommodate Dad's temperature.  It is a good compromise and it does reduce our AC costs.

Ceiling fan Energy Label

When buying ceiling fans, look for the Energy Star label, this will ensure you are purchasing a good energy efficient model, that moves more air for the energy used.  All ceiling fans have a little label on the box that tells you how much power it uses. Compare these labels and you will be able to choose the most efficient model for your money.

Pilot - Who's steering your money away

Gas Fireplace

Gas Fireplace pilot (little blue flame)

It is Mid July, is your pilot running?

A lot of houses have some sort of gas appliance like a Gas Fireplace.  Typically these gas fireplaces have a burning pilot light.  Out of curiosity a few months ago I pulled out my thermal camera to look at my fireplace that had a burning pilot.  We only used the fireplace a handful of times this last winter.  Here it was the end of March, it has been months since we used it and my pilot light was still on.  So I shot a picture with the thermal camera....94.1 Degrees! A pilot light will cost you $3-$6 per month.   We only use our fireplace for two months of the year, if I don't shut off the pilot the rest of the year it is costing me $30-$60 in gas.  You have to also account the the additional heat load added to the house that your AC will have to work against costing you more money in electricity.

With just the pilot running...94.1 Degrees

So turn off the pilot lights on any appliance you are not using or do not plan to use for a while.  They typically all have some sort of instructions on how to do so, mine even has little step by step pictures.  I turned my pilot light off and also shut the gas off to the fireplace.  When you go to use it again, it is really easy to start you pilot light back up again.

You might be thinking "It's only a few bucks a month!"  Well a few dollars a month here and a few there start to add up.  Living more Providently includes not tossing money away on unneeded items and also it's about not wasting resources.  There are many small changes we can make daily that can save us a little here and a little there.

Do You Need an Energy Audit?

After reading the Home Energy Audit post you may be wondering if your house needs an audit or not.  Well I will layout many the reasons you may need one.

Solar or Going "Off Grid" -  Yes, Yes & Yes.  You need an Energy Audit.  I will write a large post just on this topic alone in the next week or so....

Improvements  - Are you about to install new windows? Adding insulation? Installing a new AC Furnace or Heat Pump?  If you are, you need an audit first.  You will recoup the audit cost no problem. 
  I have saved homeowners a lot of money by helping them see what really pays back.  Usually where they need to spend money is not where they intended to.  We all have limited funds, we need to be sure that, where we spend the money is where it is actually needed and not wasting it on unnecessary things.  If you believe all of the advertizing out there, new windows will save you 30-50% on your bill, so will a new high efficiency AC.  More often than not those are not the items needed in the home.  I have countless examples of a homeowners wasting money on things that were at the bottom of the list with decades before it pays back.

Windows - Thinking of new windows?  Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it.  Get an audit first, the auditor will calculate the payback for all recommended improvements.  Most of the time I find that windows have a 30+ year payback some times its over 40+ years.  There are reasons to replace windows but if you are doing it for saving money you will not see the payback.  There are usually a dozen other things to spend all of that money on first.
 
Comfort - Do you have areas or rooms in you house that are always either hotter or colder than the rest of the house?  Does your house or certain rooms feel muggy or sticky.  Your house does not need to be this way, there are solutions to these problems, and often a very simple solution. 

Is your old AC Tired? - Is it time to replace your AC?  Well an energy audit may be in order, far too often homes have had their AC's up-sized each time they are replaced.  Or the house wasn't operating right so a bigger AC was installed.  Too large of an AC will cost you more money and will typically cause moisture issues in the home.  An AC needs to run for a period of time before it is up to peak efficiency, until it reaches this point is pulling allot of power.  Too large of an AC pulls more power and only runs a few minutes before shuts off.  When installing an AC a Manual J is needed.  A Manual J is a load calculation that defines what size AC the house needs.  The old thumb in the air or rule of thumb is not right.  If your AC guy is either unwilling or unable to do a Manual J, find a new AC contractor.  A Manual J is a requirement by most adopted building codes.   A Manual J takes into account all aspects of the home, the windows, insulation levels, electronics, people loads etc, etc.       

High Utility bills -If you are faced with high bills, whether they are always high or you have huge spikes, an audit can address the causes of those costs. There are many possible reasons for high bills, an audit can help ferret out what the issues are.  By just accepting the high bills and not making an effort to resolve the causes you are throwing money down the drain.

Are you about to buy a home? -Get an energy audit before you buy.  Ask the sellers for copies of their last year of energy bills.  You will get a home inspection right? They do not look at the energy factors in any real detail nor are they trained to diagnose energy issues.  Their inspection is only a visual inspection, they are looking for safety and general code issues.  You need to have a qualified Energy Auditor in to evaluate the issues.  I have seen many people walk into a new home oblivious to the what it will cost them each month in energy costs, only to be shocked by their first bill.  You are approved for your loan amount based on what the bank believes you can afford, all too often that is pushing the envelope.  When that first bill comes and it is $300 or even $700 dollars you are now in a world of hurt.  Know before you buy, while you still have the ability to negotiate repairs or the purchase price.

Selling your Home? - Read the above section, when selling your home it is vital that you address all of the areas that could become an issue, keeping you from getting top dollar for your home.  Often very simple and inexpensive items make a big difference in the performance of your home.  Any added value to a prospective buyer goes along way.  Peace of mind is added value.  Having the Energy Auditors report on hand will go along way to ease the mind of the buyer.  I have performed audits for sellers and making some small energy improvements.  I then write up another summary report indicating where the house stands as far as energy and the condition of the equipment with summaries of the improvements that were completed and what those improvements may save each month.
  This second report is geared more towards a buyer, rather than indicating everything that could be improved it is more focused on where things are now and what acceptable levels are.  I often on Home Inspections I see that they list every little thing that could be done, often sounding as though everything must be done or else the house is not a good buy because it is full of issues.  It makes the reader think there is a huge list of things that are needed when in reality most of the items are either not needed or are just the opinion of the inspector with little basis to justify the time, energy or cost fixing.

Curiosity - If you are curious if anything could be done to reduce your homes energy cost or increase your overall comfort, consider an audit.  I have even been able to save people real money who are in brand new homes.  I once went in to a house that was only a few months old, their bills were higher than expected.  In the matter of about 20 minutes I found the problem and a $5 fix saved them over $100 per month.  That is over $1,200 per year for as long as they own the home.There were also some simple lifestyle items that would also save them some money each month.

No home is perfect, every home has room for improvement.  The right set of eyes, backed with real world experience can decipher what your home's needs are.


Sign up for an email every time we post anything new, look for  "Follow by Email" on the right side of the page.

Home Energy Audit

Blower Door

When it comes to Energy Audits, the old saying "you get what you pay for" definitely holds true.

I can't count the number of times I have gone into a home after the homeowners had a "free energy audit" but still have high energy bills or continued comfort issues.   Free typically meant they got crap for an audit sometimes they have had "free" improvements done too.  By the time they are fed up and call us in, they have had little to no improvement or savings from their free audit/work.  Throwing more money down the drain.  I have even found where they did improvements but were dishonest in how much they improved it, often no actual improvement was  made.  I have also been to homes where they just spent $3500 on a radiant barrier with no improvement to the home.  I have been to homes where they had a brand new 5 ton high efficiency AC unit just installed but their house is now so humid they can't stand it and their bills have actually gone up.



Even if you are paying for an Energy Audit they are not all the same...  This is an area where experience really counts.


What a Quality Energy Audit should Include:

Blower door installed on a house

•  An experienced RESnet or BPI certified auditor or one with both certifications.
• A brief initial discussion about energy usage, problem areas, comfort concerns etc.
• Blower Door test
• Duct blaster test
• Thermal imaging
• A full diagnostic of all HVAC performance
• Combustion appliance safety testing of any gas appliance.
• Your house should be measured including windows etc
• The auditor spending quality time in the attic and crawlspace
• The audit should take 3-6 hours in your home.
• A computer energy model to evaluate the recommended improvement
• A quality detailed lengthy report showing their findings, recommendations and payback of recommendations, my reports run 20-35 pages.
• Improvements should include no cost and low cost improvements even simple lifestyle changes.
• An option for a post work "test out" to verify installed components
• Often the utility will come through after an audit and do a quality control audit, this is good thing, if they ask, let them do it.  It keeps companies honest and ensures your home was assessed correctly with correct findings.

Missing Ceiling Insulation (lots more like this in the room)

 I never recommend having an audit done by a Window company, an Insulation company or an HVAC company, it's like letting the fox into the hen house... In my company we can install anything we recommend through our circle of quality subcontractors.  We manage all of them and the improvements as a general contractor.  But we do not walk down that path till we have given the homeowner their report.

Pic of above thermal."Our Master Bedroom is always so hot"

Since we can do any and all work we suggest we are far less biased than the window guy will be or the HVAC company is.  We also write the report and work order in a manner that will allow them to get quality bids/work from any contractor and we tell the homeowners they are welcome to.  We would love to do the work but our audit is not contingent on doing the work and neither is our advice.  Our advice is based on the individual house, the occupants and their needs.  If we don't put them first, we are no better than the guys running around knocking out 6 "free" audits a day.  We (team of 2-3) will only do one audit a day, most will take 4-5 hours, plus about the equal amount of time in the office running calculations and writing the report.

So what should this Energy audit cost?  There are a lot a variables but on average nationally it is between $400-$750+.  Every home I have audited the cost of the audit was more than recovered in the first year (even in  a few months) by following our suggestions.

There are several places to find Auditors:

• Check with your local utility for any comprehensive audit programs (utility offered "Free audits" are a waste of time) 
• Resnet. (Residential Energy Services Network)
• BPI.org
• Look into Home Performance with Energy Star.
• Internet
• Friends and Family who have had Audit's preformed.

Shop around, ask details about what they offer, ask them for references (you are about to spend good money on them), and ask for a sample audit report.  If you catch voice mail leave a message and wait to hear back, I never have my phone on when I am in a house doing an audit, but I always return calls when I am packed up and back in the truck.  Ask them pricing and see if there are any utility company rebates or programs to offset some but not all of the cost.  Don't go the free route, the free audit will often exempt you from far better utility programs that can seriously offset the cost of your improvements.  The only exception to that may be in a low income situation with a low income program (but buyer beware some companies will make "improvements" but fail to actually improve anything).

Keeping these suggestions in mind, you should have a good experience with your energy audit.

A Provident House

Question: How does living a provident life apply to our homes?

Answer: For most people housing is the biggest money drain on the family finances.  Making an effort to minimize those expenses is important in reducing your overall monthly expenses, which helps to prepare us for the ups and downs of life... and rainy-day emergencies"  Many people spend half a house payment each month on power, gas and water.  There are many simple things we can do to reduce these expenses.

A lot of my time at work is spent helping homeowners save money on their energy bills, very often what I encourage them to do is not what they expect.  And often what they planned on doing was either not needed or had a 40 year payback. I also spend a lot of time with homeowners trying to correct the false information they have read or the misleading ad they heard on the radio.

Thermal image showing missing insulation behind a fireplace.

In the coming weeks I will address many of these issues and how they apply to improving your home's energy use.


Including:

• Energy Audits
• 5 Simple Energy Tips
• Infrared thermography 
• Windows
• CFL and LED lights
•  Solar Panels
• Solar Attic fan
• Tankless Water heaters
• Air Sealing 
• Duct sealing

I would love to answer any questions, please ask anything....