Do It Youself Tips

DIY - Simple Things To Do To Save Energy

Building Owner / Occupant

Tenant / Occupant

Heating	Heating
Hot Water	Hot Water
Electrical
Air Sealing
Problem Areas	Problem Areas

Heating:

Landscape so that the sun enters the south facing windows in the winter, and provides seasonal shade and wind blocks.
Use separate heating zones for different areas where possible.
Seal and insulate ductwork.
Insulate all pipes leading to and from the boiler.
When using insulated flex duct avoid tight turns, sags, and kinks that reduce airflow.
Tighten up — seal drafty areas where outside air enters the home.
Use insulating and air sealing window treatments at night to prevent heat loss. Interior storm windows work well.
Insulate roof, walls and floor to reduce heat loss and heating time.
Use a tight closing damper on fireplace chimneys to prevent conditioned air from going up the chimney.
Do not over size the heating system. Short cycling because the system is too large, or the controls misadjusted, is very wasteful and hard on equipment.
Have the furnace duct system properly balanced.
Add exterior storm windows or plastic window film.
If the heating system is more than 15 years old evaluate the economics of replacing it with an Energy Star rated system.

Hot Water:

Install a insulating jacket designed for use with hot water heaters.
Install low flow showerheads. Talk with your local hardware store manager as there are many heads which produce the feeling of high flow showerheads with dramatically reduced water use.
Repair water leaks, one drip per second equals 1600 gallons per year
Install low flow faucet aerators on all sinks.
Insulate all hot water pipes.
Insulate the pipe supplying cold water to the water heater if in a high summer humidity environment to prevent "sweating" damage and mold.
Back flush the water heater or boilermate once per year.

Electrical:

List and identify every circuit in the structure.
Make a complete inventory of all electrical items, list when they on, and why. Then use a "Kill a Watt" Energy Detector available at most Maine Public Libraries and go down through your list. Measure electrical usage when each device is On to determine your opertating costs for each device, then turn the device Off to find "phantom" loads; phantom loads use electricity when the device is turned Off. For heavy use devices you may want to monitor electrical usage for 24 hour or more in order to learn the real cost.
Eliminate phantom loads by connecting the device through a switched power strip; then use the strip power switch to turn the device On and Off.
Buy only the most efficient appliances and electrical devices that you can afford. The Energy Star web site can be a good source of information but look to Consumer Reports and other independent testing labs for more. Do your homework because appliances are expensive and they can use a LOT of energy.
Switch to all CFL or LED lighting.
Use proximity lights and switches wherever possible. They use a tiny amount of electricity for their infrared & light sensors but turn the lights On and Off automatically as needed. Outside security lights and bathroom lights are but two good examples.
Try to adopt the one person, one light rule. This can be a challenge, but as you become more comfortable with fewer lights and more LED nightlights, you can dramatatically reduce your power consumption.
Avoid electric resistance heat wherever possible.
If you will be out of a room for more than 10 minutes, turn the light off.
Use natural (free) day lighting whenever possible.
Use light colored or white lampshades to distribute the light throughout the room.
Keep lights and shades clean — dirt absorbs light, reducing output.
Avoid halogen torchiere lighting because they use between 250 to 600 watts and can be a fire hazard.
Put lights where you need them. Remove the recessed lights that shine onto the tops of cabinets.
Identify all motors and the times they are running. Must they need to be running?
If you don't absolutely need it, turn it off and unplug it.
Turn it off, or put it on a timer.
Coordinate activities such as laundry with the whole family.
Look for nonelectric ways of doing things — Make human energy use fun

Air Sealing or Saving Heat through Reducing Air Loss:

Seal all ductwork with mastic or foil tape, then cover the duct with insulation.
Tongue and groove wood on walls or ceilings should be installed over a continuous air or vapor barrier.
All chimney chases, plumbing vents or other shafts that run through the house to the outdoors need flashing, air stops or fire stops (depending on code requirements) between conditioned and unconditioned areas.
Fireplace dampers should be in good repair and tightly closed.
Remove recessed lights because they provide direct access to the unconditioned air above the ceiling.
If a recessed light is absolutely needed install an IC (insulation contact) rated recessed light fixture that can be safely covered by or wrapped in insulation without a sheetrock box.
Air seal any place where different shell or framing materials meet using caulk, foam, weatherstrip, or gaskets.
Caulk windows (or foam though not ideal) to the sheathing during installation.
Seal all voids between window or door casing and the wall framing with caulk or foam and top with insulation.
Install door sweeps to stop drafts underneath doors.
Baseboard moldings should use backer rod, caulk or foam to stop air movement between the basement or sill plate area and the living area.
Seal all holes for mechanical, plumbing, electrical, gas, water or oil lines between conditioned and unconditioned areas with caulk or foam.
Install back draft dampers on exhaust fans (bathrooms and range hoods and dryers) where the vent pipe meets the outdoors.
Seal all exhaust fans to the wall or ceiling to which they are mounted so that air is pulled from the home, and not from within the framing cavity.
Inspect all complex framing details to make sure that the thermal barrier (insulation and air barrier) is properly installed and sealed.

Heating:

Use the sun, it is FREE! Open your curtains & shades during the day and close at night.
Close all windows and lock them tight.
Keep doors closed and latched. Lay a rolled up blanket behind outside doors to reduce air infiltration.
Keep baseboards radiators, and duct registers clean and unobstructed.
Close off and turn down the heat in any unused rooms.
Keep the temperature as low as you can comfortably stand it. Every degree below your normal room temperature can save approximately 3% on your heating bill.
Maintain a consistent temperature to avoid inconsistent cycling of the heating system. Your heating system is like a car on the highway. It runs most efficiently when running long, consistent cycles. Lower the thermostat before opening a window.
Keep the thermostat away from heat registers and direct sunlight and make sure it is unobstructed.
Don't move the thermostat above the temperature you want the room to be. The room will not heat up any faster and you can accidently overheat it.
If you have central air conditioning check your thermostats to avoid dueling thermostats. When the heating and air conditioning thermostats are side by side with heat set higher than the A/C, they will fight each other wasting energy. Turn one off.

Hot Water:

Lower the hot water thermostat to 120 F. Most hot water heaters are set to 140 F and a hot shower is 110 F. The extra heating increases the standby losses.
Use less water while brushing your teeth, shaving, washing your face and washing dishes by turning off the water between uses.
Wash clothes in cold water. Wash only full loads and use an efficient washer.
Avoid using the temperature boost setting on the dishwasher unless someone in the house is sick and you need the germ killing heat.
If you go away for more than a week, turn the water heater off at the circuit breaker if it's electric. Confirm that your gas or oil boiler is a "cold-start" design and if so, turn down the thermostat on the coil or boilermate.

Problem Areas: Inspect for air leaks and seal as needed.

Main Living Space:

Window-glass panes for tightness, and around both the window sash and the window casing.
Around the door, including the threshold and around the door frame
Electrical outlets, including those on interior walls
Exhaust fans and vents (make sure they vent to the outside and close properly when not in use).
Corners where two walls meet.
Light fixtures in the ceiling.
Interior trim and baseboards.
Cracks in the wall finish or ceiling.
Joints where wood-frame walls join a masonry wall or chimney.
Doors and hatches into unheated attics.
Fireplace dampers and fireplace bricks.
Behind bathtubs and under sinks.
Above sliding pocket doors.
Around plumbing pipes and ductwork.

Attic:

Around the plumbing stack and any other pipes entering the attic.
Around wires or ceiling light fixtures that penetrate the attic floor.
Around ducting that enters the attic from inside the house.
The junction of the ceiling with interior wall partitions.
Attic access doors.
Around chimneys. Flash according to fire code, use fire proof caulk and metal.
Along shared walls.
The ceiling area over bathrooms and stairwells.

Basement:

Wherever the wood-frame wall (sill plate) meets the masonry (concrete or stone) foundation or where joists penetrate the masonry wall.
Holes or gaps where electrical lines, gas lines or oil-fill pipes go through the wall.
Holes for wiring and plumbing going into external walls.
Leaky ducts or poorly fitted hot-air registers or cold-air intakes.
Around window and door framing.
Cracks in the foundation wall and slab. Consider testing for Radon.
Floor drains.

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