Contact: Priscilla Knight, 703-392-1580, pknight@novec.com
NORTHERN VIRGINIA-- The Farmers’ Almanac predicts this winter will be “numbing.” It tells consumers to prepare for the worst. Birds fly south for the winter, but Northern Virginians who don’t have wings should feather their nests now to save energy and stay warm. The Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative recommends the following energy-saving ideas.
Batts in the Belfry
The most cost-effective way to reduce energy bills, eliminate cold drafts is to stop air leaks and insulate.
- Weather-strip around the attic door or opening.
- Caulk gaps around pipes, ducts and chimneys.
- Insulate your attic floor with at least R-38 batts or loose-fill insulation. If you use the attic as living space or have a cathedral ceiling, insulate the walls and ceiling with batts. Do not cover or block soffit vents, wires, motors or recessed lights.
Be a Spy Who Came In From the Cold
You don’t have to be a character in a John le Carré novel to spy on your house to discover and stop air leaks.
- Install switch and outlet seals under switch and outlet covers on exterior walls.
- Caulk cracks in masonry and between the house and the concrete foundation.
- Caulk around pipes and vents that lead to exterior walls and floors.
- Insulate house walls and between the floor joists above a crawl space with R-19 insulation.
- Repair broken roof shingles and house siding.
Gone With the Window
Stop letting 15 to 30 percent of heated air escape from windows.
- Allow more passive solar heat into the house by keeping south-facing windows clean.
- If a lighted candle flickers near a window, add weather-stripping and caulk around its frame.
- If you are like Scarlet O’Hara, make good use of drapes, especially with insulating fabrics. Or install energy-efficient honeycomb-like shades, window quilts, or wood blinds. Keep them open during the day and close them at night to trap the sun’s heat indoors.
- Add storm windows to single-pane windows or install double-gazed, low-emissivity coated windows. New energy-efficient windows with Low-E coatings can reduce energy loss as much as 50 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
- Apply Low-E coatings to existing windows and glass doors.
- Install storm doors on all exterior entrances.
Blanket Protection and Heating Assurance
Almost half of household energy in winter goes to heating. Follow these tips to save some of that energy.
- Set an energy-saving programmable thermostat to 68 degrees during winter days and 55 degrees at night. Get blanket protection from sofa throws, extra bed blankets and down comforters to stay warm at night.
- In old and new units, replace or clean the air filter monthly and vacuum dust from air vents.
- Have systems checked by a licensed service technician yearly.
- You can lose up to 60 percent of your heated air through ducts that travel through unheated areas. Have a qualified professional insulate and seal them with appropriate materials.
- Install an add-on heat pump to an attic room, a bedroom above a garage, or a sunroom. An add-on heat pump saves money because it delivers more than three times the energy it uses.
- When it is time to replace an old heat pump or furnace, purchase a high-efficiency model with an annual fuel utilization efficiency rating of at least 90. For people who have electric heating, a heat pump can trim the amount of electricity needed for heating by 30 to 40 percent.
Stay in Hot Water
Next to heating and cooling, a water heater uses the most energy in a home.
- Lower the thermostat to 120 degrees. (Keep it at 140 degrees if you have a dishwasher that does not have a temperature booster feature.)
- Insulate hot water pipes in unheated area, such as crawl space, garage, or outdoor utility room.
- Purchase an energy-efficient water heater from NOVEC Solutions.
See the Light
Traditional lighting consumes approximately 20 percent of home electricity.
- Turn lights off when leaving a room.
- Replace incandescent indoor and outdoor bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. CFLs use 75 percent less electricity and last 10 times longer.
- Use LED holiday lights. They use 90 percent less energy than incandescent holiday lights and last from 50,000 to 100,000 hours. Because they do not become hot, they are much safer to use.
- Install task lighting under kitchen cabinets and over tool benches and desks to avoid illuminating entire spaces.
- Use light-colored paint on walls and ceilings to reflect light.
Fire Facts
Snuggling up on the sofa before a wood-burning fire may sooth the soul, but not the pocketbook. The draft the fire creates sucks heated room air up the chimney. The fireplace draws cold air down into the house when the damper and glass doors are open after the fire dies. Save energy and still preserve the romance.
- Close the damper and tempered glass doors when a wood-burning fireplace is not in use.
- Install a metal-lined heat exchanger to improve the amount of heat released in the room.
- If you do not have a built-in fireplace, purchase an electric one complete with mantel and remote control. Many home and department stores carry them. An electric fireplace can generate up to 5,000 British Thermal Units of heat.
Garage
- Install insulated door or doors on an attached garage. Keep doors closed as much as possible to prevent cold air from infiltrating the house.
Help from Mother Nature
- Plant an evergreen tree wind-break on the northern and northwestern sides of the house to block cold winter winds.
- Plant deciduous trees on the southern and western sides of the house. When they lose their leaves in autumn, they will allow the sun’s rays to help warm the house.
Hire a professional energy auditor to inspect your home. Names of certified professionals can be found at www.resnet.us. To do an online energy audit or to obtain more energy-efficiency information, visit www.novec.com/useitwisely12.
