Measure Your Home's Energy Efficiency

While the Department of Energy recommends having a professional energy audit as the most effective method of accessing your home's energy efficiency, it is possible for DIYers to conduct their own audit to pinpoint some of the troublespots and improve efficiency.

What is Home Energy Efficiency?

Simply put, energy efficiency is the use of less energy to power more things. As a homeowner, the more efficient your home, the less you spend annually in electricity.

Major Problem Areas

Perhaps the greatest problem for most homeowners are the drafts that occur in your home. Air escaping through leaks around door frames, baseboards, and window ledges can reduce home energy efficiency by as much as ten to twenty percent each year. Check for cracks around areas where different materials join together. Simple caulk or weatherstripping will alleviate a majority of these issues.

Insulation

Another common problem is an inadequate amount of insulation. Insulation in the attic and walls helps to prevent energy loss throughout your home. While it is difficult to check and replace insulation in preexisting walls, checking the attic is far less intrusive. Review local building codes to identify the minimum required amount of insulation for your home and measure the amount you currently have. Chances are you can improve your home energy efficiency by simply adding insulation.

Lighting

It may be surprising but lighting your home can account for as much as ten percent of your monthly energy bill. Consider replacing incandescent bulbs with more efficient bulbs like LED or compact fluorescent bulbs. Look for ways to better manage the amount of light you use. Dimmer switches and timers can be a viable option.

Heating and Cooling

Your HVAC system should be inspected annually to ensure proper performance. Change filters on a regular basis to reduce the amount of strain put on your unit. If your unit is older than 15 years, consider replacing it with a more efficient system.

Appliances

Appliances can affect your energy bill whether you use them or not. Unplug all appliances when not in use and always consider energy ratings when purchasing new appliances.

To schedule a professional home evaluation, contact us at Air Assurance. We serve the Broken Arrow area.

Efficient Furnace? Get the Most Out of the System in Your Tulsa Home

Winter can mean high heating bills here in Northeastern Oklahoma. Purchasing an efficient furnace is a great decision, and can result in a lot of energy and money savings over the lifetime of the system. You may find, however, that the efficient furnace isn't enough- it needs an efficient household to operate at peak efficiency. If your efficient furnace isn't at its best, there are a few things you can do to reduce your energy use and give your furnace a boost. These tips can also help to improve the performance of an older, less efficient furnace if you aren't quite ready to replace it.

The first step in boosting your furnace's heating power is making sure to schedule routine maintenance. Even if there doesn't seem to be a problem, have a professional give your furnace a check-up every year. This habit is fairly low-cost, and will catch small problems before they become major issues. You should also be sure to change your furnace's air filter routinely. It's recommended that you change it every three months, but you can replace it monthly if anyone in your home has air quality concerns. Blocked filters can overwork your heater and waste energy.

Once you've done the maintenance on your furnace, it's time to to make sure the house itself is well-sealed. Check around the house for leaks, or hire a professional to do an energy evaluation. Seal any gaps that you find around windows and doors, and fill in any gaps in insulation. It's also important to check your ductwork, as duct leaks are often a major culprit in home heat loss.

To save even more on energy costs, change your heating habits. Turn down the thermostat a couple of degrees, or install a programmable thermostat, which will heat the house based on your schedule and preferences, even when no one is home. Be careful not to change your thermostat settings too often. Frequent temperature adjustments can put undue strain on your furnace.

Contact Air Assurance for more expert advice on using your efficient furnace and increasing household efficiency in Broken Arrow.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). 

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Assess Your Home Insulation and Make Improvements Before Fall

Assess Your Home Insulation and Make Improvements Before Fall

When a homeowner thinks about home insulation, he or she is often concerned with its ability to keep the heat outside during the summer and, to a lesser degree, the fall. The reality, however, is that insulation is always a concern, even during the winter months when it's imperative that you keep the heat inside. Checking during the fall to make sure you have the correct amount and type of insulation in your home will work wonders on your energy usage and, in turn, your utility bills. Where to Check Your InsulationInsulation is located in various places around your home, including your basement, attic, walls, etc. Insulation can even be located in your floor. Its primary objective is to create a barrier within the walls, floor, and ceiling that keeps heat or cold from leaking inside or outside. The problem is that many homes don't use the correct kind of insulation for their needs.Evaluating Your Insulation NeedsIn order to insulate your home properly, you're going to need to evaluate each room. The first thing you need to learn is R-value. This refers to the degree of resistance against heat flow of a certain type of insulation. Knowing the recommended R-value in our area is essential if you're hoping for maximum protection against heat loss. The other part of the equation is the type of insulation involved. There are a number of different types, such as flexible rolls, foam, rigid and reflective.How can you tell which type of insulation to use and its required R-value? You can typically find information online or even by visiting your local hardware store. However, much of that may be too generalized. What you should really do is hire a professional HVAC technician who has been efficiently trained and can perform an energy evaluation to determine how to maximize the insulation's efficiency.For more expert advice on home insulation or other home comfort issues, please contact the experts at Air Assurance. We've been serving the needs of the Greater Tulsa Metropolitan area since 1985.Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Professional Energy Evaluations -- What You Should Expect

It's important to do all you can to save energy, not only for your pocketbook but also for the Earth. A detailed energy evaluation is one important step. Detailed energy evaluations typically require the help of a professional. Thorough energy evaluations will be very detailed and the technician conducting your evaluation will look at several factors, including energy usage, the soundness of the structure, the amount of insulation, and the HVAC system.Hiring a professional is a good choice because professionals have tools you don't. The main diagnostic tools used in an energy audit include a blower door and thermography.

• A blower door is a large fan mounted in a flexible panel that is mounted in an outside door. It will draw air out of the house so that leaks in the house’s structure will be noticeable. Before the test, the windows, dampers, fireplace door and air intakes of wood stoves will be closed.

• Thermography consists of taking infrared scans of your house with still cameras and videos. These images will reveal the effectiveness of your attic insulation. They will also show air leakage both in the walls of the house and in the roof. Typically these scans will be performed during the blower door test as the air leaks will show up as dark streaks.

• A Duct Blaster is a system that pressurizes your duct system to analyze the integrity of your duct system, allowing detailed analysis of how much leakage or how efficient your duct system is delivering the air into the home

Your technician will also want to know your energy costs for the previous year, any problems you have been having (such as rooms that feel too cold), and your typical family routine. Some questions may include:

• Are there people home during the day?

• Where do you normally set your thermostat?

• Are all the rooms being used?

When calling in a professional, make sure you hire a certified home energy auditor. There are two non-profit organizations that train energy auditors: the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET), and the Building Performance Institute (BPI). Auditors certified by these groups will be well-trained and will look at the home as a whole system, rather than just looking at a few components.These audits currently are being supplemented by PSO, and when coupled by improvements made, up to $8250 from PSO is available towards those improvements!!To have an energy evaluation conducted in your home, contact Air Assurance today.Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  Air Assurance services Tulsa, Broken Arrow and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our current promotions and get started today!