Energy Conservation
Energy Conservation
Todays Power Trip - High Power Bill and Where To Save Energy
by Don Ames
When your reviewing your home energy bill and become concerned about a rising power costs and energy conservation, don’t overlook the possibility of a malfunctioning thermostat. Rising home power costs can often times be the result of an older thermostat or a thermostat that is not wired correctly. To save energy, the thermostat needs to be matched to the heating and cooling system and needs to be wired correctly.
Recently, I visited a home where the homeowner was concerned with rising power costs. About 6 years ago, a heat pump was added to his electric furnace and within the last four months the power bill had shown significant increases.
Homeowner complaints included:
- Rising power bill reaching just over $300.
- Furnace that blows cool air from the heating registers.
- Furnace fan that seems to run often and long.
A week before I visited the home, the homeowner became concerned that the thermostat might be the problem. He changed the thermostat, replacing an older style, mercury bulb thermostat, with a new programmable digital model. Proud of himself and increased energy conservation, he showed me the old mercury switch and I reminded him to dispose of it in an appropriate recycle facility. Don’t mess around with mercury.
I am concerned about whether or not the thermostat is wired correctly. Sometimes the older mechanical thermostats didn’t have as many wires connected to them as a newer digital thermostat requires.
Recommendation:
In order to keep your furnace and heat pump working efficiently, have them checked and serviced once a year.
- Have a Heating and Cooling contractor service the heating system.
- Check for efficient operation of both the heat pump and the furnace.
- Check to see that the thermostat is wired correctly.
Heating duct air leakage
To follow up on other causes of high heating costs, I got out the blower door and duct blaster. The blower door will tell us how much air is leaking into and out of the house and the duct blaster will tell us how much air is leaking out of the heating ducts. Stopping air leakage from the heating ducts is one of the most cost effect, power saving measures we can do for a home.
The blower door test indicated 825 CFM house air leakage. Since the home is about 1400 square feet of living space, this amount of air leakage is OK. If the home was air sealed and the air leakage was reduced, the home might begin to feel stuffy or stale. A home needs to breath in order to have fresh air for the household.
The duct blaster registered 520 CFM total leakage with 315 CFM leakage to the outside of the home. The figure of 315 CFM to the outside is the important figure. I would like to see this reading below 100 CFM. It will be beneficial to have a contractor seal the heating system to save energy.
Recommendation – Free heating duct sealing provided
Since this is a manufactured home and since the power company feels sealing heating ducts is a productive, cost effective way to save energy, a contractor can come and seal the heating ducts and the power company will pay for it 100%. Now there is a good deal.
For this home and this power trip, I will recommend that a heating contractor service the furnace and heat pump and check to see that the thermostat is wired and working correctly. I will also help the homeowner schedule a duct sealing contractor that is approved by the power company to test and seal the heating ducts.
I’m looking forward to learning if the work being done to this home will lower the power usage and the power bill. Thanks for checking out Today’s Power Trip, come back to detect energy soon, but I won’t leave the light on for you…