Increasing Energy Efficiency

**monkeywrangler71** · 01-14-2012, 05:16 PM

I have an older all-electric house, and we have very high electric rates here. So, we had an energy audit on the house last month to see what improvements we can make which will actually have an impact. It's basically a home inspection, but it includes a blower test so they can see where your house is leaking. There are retrofit rebates available from the government, but we have to be done & re-inspected by the end of March. Maybe if we are lucky it will get extended again when the federal budget comes out.

Today I (okay, it was really my Dad) installed 8 new thermostats. We still have 5 left to do. Talk about overkill

, I live in a standard 1000ft 70's bungalow. 13 thermostats! Anyway, I got them on sale in Dec. when the province had an in-store rebate, and the price I paid is the same as the retrofit rebate I will get for installing them - so basically free. The funny thing is, most of them I only want so that I can actually turn the heat off! The old ones can't be turned down low enough to keep the heat off when we aren't home.

Dad is coming back tomorrow to 'help'

with the rest of them.

Next, I need to insulate, weatherstrip, and latch down the attic hatch. That seems like a pretty straightforward job.

They also said I should put spray foam behind the trim around the windows, add more insulation to the attic, and either replace or somehow improve the seal on the back door. Does anyone have any experience with any of this?

He also mentioned the insulation thingys for the wall outlet - like a piece of styrofoam you put behind the switchplate. Has anyone bought those? I'm hoping they are super cheap. They sound like they should be.

**ladytoysdream** · 01-14-2012, 05:27 PM

Are you able to heat your house any other way beside electric ?

**RaineyDaye** · 01-14-2012, 05:28 PM

He also mentioned the insulation thingys for the wall outlet - like a piece of styrofoam you put behind the switchplate. Has anyone bought those? I'm hoping they are super cheap. They sound like they should be.

Yes, they are really inexpensive. Also, if any of the outlets are unused, you can buy little plastic covers that fit into the outlet where a plug would go, to keep any air from coming through. Those might be in the baby section of a store since I think they are for baby-proofing a home.

**monkeywrangler71** · 01-14-2012, 05:34 PM

Originally Posted by ladytoysdream

Are you able to heat your house any other way beside electric ?

We have a wood stove that heats most of the house when we are at home. We only intentionally run the heat in the bedrooms, so we don't freeze in our sleep. The problem with the old thermostats was that I couldn't turn them down far enough to keep the heat from coming on all over the house during the day, when no one is home and the wood stove isn't on.

I was so excited today

that I could:

See the current temperature on the thermostat
turn it down below 55 (whatever that is!)
Set it in celsius so I actually know what it means

the old ones were dials that had 55 on one side, 90 on the other and no other numbers in between - total guess work

**ladytoysdream** · 01-14-2012, 05:41 PM

Wood heat is great.
Our house has a propane furnace. It is now shut off because we went to a outside wood boiler a few years ago. It was a smart move on our part. Thermostat is set for 75 on this end of the house. The far end, with the new room added on, is about 70, most of the time. There is no heat register in that room. Just leave the door open to the original part of house. Our winter wood is roughly $ 700. That beats a propane bill that would be about $ 2000 now. We were using 500 gallons a year.

**oheoh's momma** · 01-14-2012, 06:15 PM

we have started using wood heat also and we need to vacuum some of the vents and replace filters. we are so not use to a house.

**bent** · 01-29-2012, 04:12 PM

this is what was done to my mom's house: age maybe 100yrs
blowing insulation in all outside walls
used clear silicone around the crown molding and baseboards and windows to seal up any leaks
used spray insulation around the wall sockets,
rolled insulation put in the floor joist (think that's what the space is called), then 7 mil black plastic on the ground underneath her house- she has a unfinished half basement.
blown insulation in the attic.
energy efficient light bulbs
and a new gas floor heater with a thermostat. it took a little over two weeks to complete with two people working.
before when we visited we would have to wear our jackets because her house was so 'cold' cold in the winter- she had her front door replaced and the man did a half @$$ed job and left a noticeable gap at the bottom of the jam- she's visually impaired and couldn't see it and at the time I was living in another state. anyway now her house is so tight she gets by with using one burner on her gas wall heater.

I live in a duplex and can't modify anything to help me with my heating cooling other than window curtains that draw heat in or keep it out in summer. as I believe there is something in the vents (anytime the ac unit is turned on in summer we get serious sinus infections- and same with the heat in the winter I think there's something in the duct work that makes us sick so we dont use the unit) it's thermostat controlled but a small bump will cause it to turn on. so I keep it set at 60 degree yr round. in winter we bundle up and use lap spreads to keep warm.
but this yr I'm seriously thinking of using spay foam insulation under the baseboards where gaps are to help combat the drafts.

**NikoSan999** · 01-29-2012, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by bent

as I believe there is something in the vents (anytime the ac unit is turned on in summer we get serious sinus infections- and same with the heat in the winter I think there's something in the duct work that makes us sick so we dont use the unit)

Bent, that sounds seriously like mold/mildew. You should have it checked out. If that's what it is it can cause serious health issues.

**bent** · 01-29-2012, 09:20 PM

i've spoken with the manager and he's new so he pretty much blew me off so i'm currently saving up to have someone come look at them... I think that's what it is myself so i'm looking into getting the ducts replaced myself.

**Ceashels** · 01-29-2012, 10:15 PM

You can purchase spray foam in cans that can seal around a window... depending on how large of a gap you find when you remove the trim. I have heard of it expanding and contracting with the changes in temperature so don't over fill the area but still make sure everything is covered. The foam expands once it is out of the can.

Just use a utility knife to break any paint seal between the trim and wall and window before gently prying the trim off (it is held on with small finish nails). I would do one window at a time so the trim doesn't get mixed up. LOL BTDT Once the foam has fully expanded I would trim any excess and then put the trim back in place.

Weather stripping, that you would use to replace around doors comes in different thicknesses. If it is too thick, you will need to pull on the door enough to compress the stripping to get the locks to line up. So you want it to seal any gaps but not be too bulky.

For foam behind the outlets, if the pre-cuts are too price where you are at, Craft stores carry sheets of it that you can cut down your own using the outlet cover plate as a template. You only really need to do the ones on the outer walls... but don't forget your light switches or cable hookups.

**frugalfranny** · 01-30-2012, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by bent

as I believe there is something in the vents (anytime the ac unit is turned on in summer we get serious sinus infections- and same with the heat in the winter I think there's something in the duct work that makes us sick so we dont use the unit)

Try the filters that they have for floor vents........still lets air through but stops lots of dust, dirt, etc. A pack of ten is about $3. (WM, HD and Lowe's have them) I just cut them to fit with scissors. NOT something that would save energy..........but saves sneezing. I use them all the time.........change them about every two to three months. Because I can cut them in half for my vents........ I get two vents done out of each filter.
One pack will last me all winter. (but not a big house here)

Have the duct work cleaned before replacing it............I hope to get mine done this summer.

**bent** · 01-30-2012, 06:52 PM

going to town wed so will look for them and give that a try still waiting on call backs for estimates on cleaning the ducts.

**peanut** · 02-08-2012, 10:16 PM

Buy steel insulated exterior doors rather than wood doors. Much better at keeping cold out and heat in.

We've used the foam outlet insulation and plugs and they really cut back on drafts.

Also, we insulate around the windows as we replace them. Our trim is rather ornate inside so we hesitate to ruin it by taking it off to insulate behind. Instead we caulk around where it meets the wall on the inside, and on the outside of the house around the window.

Be careful not to turn the heat too low here in Canada. Pipes will freeze and burst where they come into the house. DH doesn't let ours go below 50 F.