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Hot under the Collar 

by Susan Ives, Alamo PC

Did last month’s gas and electric bill make you hot under the collar? It did me. John and I dropped a bundle about six months ago on a new air conditioner, heater and water heater, hoping that a state-of-the art system would pay off in lower bills. We comfort ourselves with the thought that if we hadn’t made this investment the damage would have been worse. Even with all that extra anger-generated heat, the thermostat in this atypically cold winter was set high enough to double our bill.

According to City Public Service we are typical San Antonians. The average utility bill has doubled over the past few months, caused by a national shortage of natural gas. The current crisis is expected to last until spring. Bills should be lower next winter than this year, but not as low as we’ve paid in the past. We might as well acknowledge that the energy crisis is here to stay and take some steps now to make our homes stop leaking dollar bills. The Internet can help.

CPS offers an online energy audit. I quickly got in over my head. How many east-facing windows do we have? What’s the R-value of the insulation in our walls? Should I rip the paneling out of the living room to find out if we even have wall insulation? How old is the refrigerator? How many light bulbs are in the house? When the form is completed, charts are generated that will show you where your energy is being consumed, how much it costs and where you can save by making a few simple changes.

A less automated but more detailed energy audit is available online from Do-It-Yourself.Com. First, they offer some safety tips for people who decide to take matters into their own hands. Some of them are:

  • Wear gloves whenever working with fiberglass. 
  • Provide for adequate ventilation when sealing your house weather tight to eliminate unhealthy build-up of noxious fumes from materials used in home building. 
  • Do not extend insulation of gas hot water heater to the floor, which will cut off the air supply to the pilot light. 
  • Do not tape or insulate too close to the duct on top of a gas heater.


In addition to providing a thorough audit checklist, the site gives step-by-step illustrated instructions for caulking, window treatments, weather-stripping and energy conservation, which includes information about thermostats and water heaters.

The U.S. Department of Energy also offers an audit through its Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network. I plan on trying their technique for exposing energy leaks by conducting a pressurization test:
 


“First, close all exterior doors, windows, and fireplace flues. Turn off all combustion appliances such as gas burning furnaces and water heaters. Then turn on all exhaust fans (generally located in the kitchen and bathrooms) or use a large window fan to suck the air out of the rooms. This increases infiltration through cracks and leaks, making them easier to detect. You can use incense sticks or your damp hand to locate these leaks. Moving air causes the smoke to waver, and you will feel a draft when it cools your hand.”

Visit this DOE site for hundreds of energy-saving tips involving landscaping, lighting, windows, insulation, heating and cooling, water heating, insulation and weatherization and appliances. 

The Energy Guide offers yet another audit. This site is set up to advise people who live in deregulated areas of the country about deals available in a competitive fuel market. Texas is not yet deregulated, but they explain,
 


“In June 1999, Governor George W. Bush signed into law a restructuring bill that allows retail customer choice by January 1, 2002, with a 6% electricity rate decrease. The bill opens the state's retail electric power market to most of the state investor-owned utilities. However, municipally owned utilities and rural electric cooperatives can choose to open their service territories after retail competition begins. In addition, under this plan, electric utilities can recover stranded costs. Each utility may launch a pilot program expected to begin June 1, 2001.” 

With this looming on the horizon, this could be a good site to bookmark to help you keep abreast about what is sure to be a heated debate in San Antonio.

Their energy audit is a delight – easy to complete and charmingly illustrated. I was tickled to learn that our two computers only cost us about $14 a year to operate. Might have to buy a few more at this bargain price! You can also delve deeper into your energy usage; their Lightcalc, for example, claims that you can save about $27 a year by replacing 25% of the most frequently used light bulbs in your house with more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.

Some people claim that the world is held together by duct tape, but according to scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory duct tape can’t take the heat. they write,
 


“Duct leakage accounts for much of the inefficiency of residential forced air heating and cooling systems--the leakage of hot or cold air through ducts that means a waste of your energy dollars.”

Better solutions are regular plastic reinforced packing tape, and specialized aerosol sealants and mastics.  There are lots of links at <ducts.lbl.gov/ducttape/> leading you to the research results and alternatives.

Your utility bills don’t have to drain your bank account to the point you are writing hot checks to heat your home. Use the Internet to guide you through an energy audit and following its suggestions for easy and inexpensive upgrades and maintenance. The long hot summer is not far away and the steps you take to keep warm will also help you keep your cool.

Susan Ives a past president of Alamo PC, loves saving a buck.