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BY GERALD J. ROBINSON
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Yes, but it’s neither free nor fast.
The reason is that you generally have to spend money and wait to save money. Most significant steps you take to improve the energy efficiency of your home have costs – from light bulb replacement to installing a new heating system – and the financial return is not instantaneous.
The way to approach figuring the value of energy efficiency improvements is to do a cost-benefit analysis. This is a fancy way of saying you should compare the cost of an energy saving item to the number of months or years it takes to recoup the cost of the item through energy savings.
For example, it’s reported that a switch from incandescent to compact fluorescent lights in a roughly 1500 square foot home at a cost of $35 will produce $87 in annual savings. This provides a payback in five months. Increased attic insulation will cost $722, saving $315 annually, providing a payback in 2.3 years. At the other end of the time line, double pane windows and solar panels cost a bundle and the payback can take a decade or more.
To find out where you’re wasting energy and how the waste can be reduced or eliminated, you should do a home energy efficiency audit. A home energy efficiency audit is designed to pinpoint where your home is losing energy and what you have to do to stop the loss.
An accurate and comprehensive audit can only be performed by a professional energy-auditing firm with the necessary know-how and equipment. You can find a list of these “home energy raters” for your location at resnet.us. Often you also can get useful energy efficiency guidance from your local utility company.
And you actually can perform a simple and basic energy audit yourself.
A simple do-it-yourself audit normally is worthwhile. You can get excellent, concise, common sense guidance on energy savings and what to look for in a do-it-yourself audit from the Department of Energy’s website. Go to energysaver.gov and click on “How to conduct your own assessment.” The site also contains a wealth of other energy saving ideas including pointers on where you are losing energy in your home and how to find and check out professional energy auditors. Additional useful guidance for do-it-yourselfers can be found at energystar.gov.
While it’s true that you generally have to spend money to save money, there are some simple exceptions, like remembering to turn off the lights when not in use and plugging air leaks. And during the heating season, keep the drapes and shades on your south facing windows open during the day to let the sunlight in, and closed at night to reduce the chill from the cold glass.
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