Tips To $ave money

Most of the items below are fairly inexpensive. For major cost saving improvements please contact TCI Contracting, LLC as your contractor or hire a qualified contractor for home improvement or energy savings needs that require a professional, for example insulating your attic - "Call TCI — Total Comfort Installations".

• Insulate, insulate, insulate: While the weather is pleasant and sunny, make sure all your doors and windows are caulked and well-sealed. Consider blowing insulation into your walls or adding attic insulation. Properly insulating your home can save you anywhere from $100-$400/Yr. Save the receipts for a 2009 Energy tax credit. Visit this link to find out the details.
• Adjust your thermostat: Move the thermostat down in the winter, up in summer. Changing your temperature so that it is no more than 68 degrees in the winter and no less 78 degrees in the summer can save you from $300-$500/Yr. Lower your temperature during the night and when you're away with a programmable thermostat. Also, open your blinds in the winter months and keep them closed in the summer months to heat up and cool down, respectively, your house. During the winter months, close your blinds over night and keep them open during the day. If your heating or cooling unit is more than 10 years old then replace it with a new Energy Star unit. That can save you over $100/Yr.
• Install a Programmable Thermostat: These are quite inexpensive and easy to install. If you have central air it will work with that too. You can program the device to stay at a comfortable temperature only when you are actually in it. This can save you enormous money on your utility bills, starting right now.
• Insulate your hot water heater: Cover your hot water heater with a thermal blanket reducing the amount of time to heat the water when it is cold outside.
• Maintain your HVAC Units: Proper maintenance of your heating and cooling units in your home increase the efficiency of those units which reduces energy costs. Replacing filters regularly improves the unit's efficiency as well improving air quality in your home. Check your owner's manual for maintenance schedules or schedule an appointment with your local HVAC vendor for tune-ups. Most maintenance should be done twice per year.
• Reduce the temperature on your hot water heater: Turn down the thermostat on your hot water heater to at least 120°. For each 10° reduction in temperature you can save between 3-5% in energy costs. Additionally it slows mineral buildup and reduces corrosion in the water heater and pipes.
• Turn off Pilot Lights: For any appliances with pilot lights, for example, gas hot water heaters, fireplaces, and gas furnaces all have pilot lights that can be turned off when not in heavy use. Fireplaces and gas furnaces can be turned off in the summertime and gas hot water heaters can be turned off if you leave for an extended period of time. (Please refer to your owner's manual for operation of gas pilot lights.)
• Install a timer on your electric hot water heater:For about $45-$100 you can add a timer to your hot water heater to only heat the water when you need it instead heating it around the clock.
• Take short showers instead of baths: This can save over $100/Yr. Also take 5-minute showers instead of 20-minute showers. In reality you do not need all that water just to wash yourself down. You could save $100/Yr. This saves money as well as water. The less water you use, the better for the environment. Consider taking navy showers. You enter the shower, water yourself down, and then shut off the shower. Lather yourself with soap, and then use the shower to rinse yourself down. Turn off the water while shampooing and conditioning your hair. You can save more than 50 gallons of water per week or 2600 gallons of water per year by washing your hair this way. All these changes can great reduce the amount of water used.
• Use a low flow showerhead:Regular showerheads allow up to 10 gallons a minute, a low-flow showerhead will reduce it to only 2 gallons a minute. Having a 10 minute shower everyday of the year with a low-flow instead of a regular flow will save you approximately $58/Yr. If you shower for 5 minutes instead of 10 with a low flow you'll save approximately $65/Yr.
• Don't run your computer 24/7:Turn off your computer and especially your laser printer when not in use. A printer running for 5 hours a day, each day will cost you around $120/Yr. Keeping your printer on for only when you're about to print, say 1 hour a day can save you $100/Yr.
• Purchase CFL's (Compact Florescent Lights): This is the easiest thing you can do. In 3 years, switching 6 of your 60W incandescent light bulbs to 6 13W CFL's, can save you approximately $221 or $73/Yr. CFL's are a really good and cheap investment to make. Very little is lost in the switch from Incandescent to CFL, as technologies are advancing and now some CFL's look the same as incandescent light bulbs and they emit the same or even more light.
• Turn off Lights:Turn off any lights you are not using or electronics and equipment that have lights on them. Digital clocks, DVD players, battery chargers, coffee makers, even phone chargers all consume small amounts of energy which overtime can cost lots of money.
• Use your washer and dryer only on full loads:Use only full loads in the dish/clothes washer and dryer. This can save anywhere from $40-$110/Yr. If you have an old washer, consider replacing it with a new Energy Star washer. A new version will probably use half as much water and electricity and the savings will definitely grow. Use cold water wash as much as possible to reduce the electricity or gas to heat the water.
• Update your windows:ENERGY STAR-qualified windows can reduce your energy costs by $126-$465 per year when replacing single-pane windows or $27-$111 a year when replacing double-pane, clear glass windows. For a quick fix, add heat control window film to your windows and save up to 50 percent on your cooling costs.
• Install dimmer switches and motion detectors: Dim the lights by 25% and save an average of 15% a year on energy costs, and extend the bulb life by four times. By adding motion-sensitive exterior lighting and adding dimmer switches indoors where appropriate, you can control the wattage, saving on your energy bills.
• Install ceiling fans and learn to correctly rotate:Ceiling fans aren't just for when it's hot outside. Ceiling fans can save you $10 a year on utility bills, plus the additional air conditioning or heating savings gained when a fan is operated properly. ENERGY STAR-qualified ceiling fans use 50 percent less energy than standard fans and circulate 25 percent more air. IN THE WINTER, Set the fan to run counterclockwise (reverse) (this looks clockwise as you are looking up). IN THE SUMMER, in rooms of normal height (8 - 10 ft), you should operate your fan so that it turns clockwise (this looks counterclockwise as you are looking up).
• Install attic ventilator:An attic ventilator can reduce the heat in the attic allowing the house to be cooled more efficiently in the summer.
• Vacation:When leaving your home for extended periods of time (3 days or more), turn the HVAC thermostat to its lowest setting in the winter or highest setting in the summer. For programmable HVAC thermostats set up a vacation mode. Hot water heaters should be turned to the lowest setting or completely turned off. (Consult your owners manual for turning off hot water heaters.)
• Low flow toilets:Toilets older than 15 years should be replaced with ULF (ultra-low-flush) toilets. By using a ULF toilet instead of a standard 5-gpf toilet, a household of four people could save approximately 60 gallons of water per day, or about 22,000 gallons per year.
• Stay out of the refrigerator:Avoid Prolonged Openings. Open refrigerator/freezer doors only when necessary. It takes about 30 minutes for a refrigerator to cool down to its normal temperature after being opened for 30 seconds. Plus you might lose weight.