By A Renewable Energy Enthusiast

On my last couple of blog posts, I have been written about the steps you should take before you carry out a DIY solar power project for your home.

Most home owners are not aware how much energy is being wasted every day from their home. By simply fixing these power leaks, you might experienced a drastic reduction in your monthly energy bills. You won’t even need to invest a solar system.

Engaging A Professional Energy Auditor

If you are really serious on making your home more energy efficient, one of the best steps you can take is to employ the service of a professional energy auditor. Some auditors will come to your home to look in your situation in detail and this is the best kind.

Now, when you are getting the service of a professional energy auditor, as a home owner, you should be prudence.

Take his advice with a grain of salt.

Some major inefficiency at home, for example, a faulty heater can be detected quite easily. If you were to take the time to do the audit yourself, I am pretty sure you will find a few major problems that can be fixed with a couple of hundred dollar.

Where can you find a professional energy auditor? You can try:

1) National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO) at www.naesco.org

2) Use the Yellow Pages and look under energy conservation services and products.

3) Phone book under utilities, electric service or utility providers or gas utility companies.

4) The Home Energy Saver at www.hes.lbl.gov.

Get Your Solar Home Questions Ready

Assuming you have engaged the energy auditor, what should you do before he arrives? Here’s some suggestion:

1) Compile all you home electricity bills for the last 3 years – The further back the better.

2) List down your home occupants habits.

How many kids do you have?

How many people at home during the day?

How often do you do your laundry?

The idea is to list down how power is being used at your home on a daily basis.

3) Note down the thermostat settings at home.

4) List down any questions you have.

If you are to install a DIY solar panel, how would that affect the energy audit results?

What kind of financing available for solar homes?

How would a solar power system affects your home insurance?

The energy auditor has a lot of experience. Try picking his brain for some answers.

If possible, come up with a few more questions before the energy auditor arrives. You are paying for his service. You might as well get the most out of it.

Home Solar And Wind Power Videos

Do you want to know how you can use solar modules or wind generator to reduce your home energy consumption? If you do, check out the 30 solar and wind power for home videos e-book we’ve compiled. It’s free to download.

==> Click here to download the free e-book now!

Related web pages:

1) Earth 4 Energy Review – A quick review on the top selling renewable energy guide from Clickbank.

2) Magniwork Reviews – Is Magniwork Generator System A Scam?

3) Green DIY Energy Reviews – Is Green DIY Energy Another Scam?

If you do not know, the heating and air conditioning equipment consume the largest amount of power in your home.

Because of that, any measures taken to improve this area of your home will have a big reduction in your monthly power utility bill.

How much money can you save?

Up to 5 to 30 percent off your bill!

If you were to do this right, you may not even have to invest in a DIY solar power system.

The following is 7 easy steps you can take to find and plug up all the air leaks at home.

1) Sealing off your house.

The first step is to seal off you house by closing all the doors and windows. If there are any ventilation holes, you have to use a plastic sheet to cover them.

Next, turn off the heating and cooling sources. extinguish the fire place and close the damper.

Turn off the air conditioning unit or furnaces.

2) Switch on the exhaust fans.

The next step is to turn on all the exhaust fans. What we are trying to do is to create a negative pressure in your house. The fans are normally located in the kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms.

What if you do not have an existing exhaust fan?

The solution is to get a portable fan and aim it out a single open window and switch it on.

How do you know if there are any air leaks?

If there is a leak from the fire place, you will smell a burning stink. Check for leaks at the fire place. Use a pen or a chalk to mark it. You have to fix it later or get a professional to do it for you.

Your fire place is inefficient. Heat is leaking out!

3) Start hunting for air leaks around the house.

How do you do that?

Get a bucket of water and dip your hand in it. Move your wet hand around window joints, door frames, hatches, vents etc.

If there is an air leak, you will feel a cold sensation on your wet hand.

If you do not feel like getting your hands wet, you can also use a stick of burning incense. Move the incense next to the places mentioned earlier. If the smoke start to fluctuates wildly, air is coming in.

4) Check leaks from overhead lights.

This type of leak is very common but most home owners seldom look into in. It is a pain to reach the lights on the ceiling or climb up the dusty attic.

Nonetheless, if you want to reduce your electricity bill, you have to do it…or pay someone else to do it.

5) Fix the leaks.

Now that you have located all the air leaks, the next step is to seal them up. Use a caulking gun for this. The white caulk can be ugly, you can use a clear caulk instead.

In some area, a few layers of duct tape will do the job just fine.

6) Check the sealed leakages.

After you have sealed all the air leaks, repeat the process with the burning incense or wet hand.

Remember to turn on all the exhaust fans.

7) Do the air leak checks twice a year to locate any new leakages.

Checking for air leaks at your home may sound like a lot of work, and it is. You can do it yourself or hire someone to do it.

The work you’ve done here is one of the most effective measures you can take to reduce your home energy bill.

Home Solar And Wind Power Videos

Do you want to know how you can use solar modules or wind generator to reduce your home energy consumption? If you do, check out the 30 solar and wind power for home videos e-book we’ve compiled. It’s free to download.

==> Click here to download the free e-book now!

Related web pages:
1) Magniwork Reviews – Is Magniwork Generator System A Scam?

2) Green DIY Energy Reviews – Is Green DIY Energy Another Scam?

3) Earth4Energy Scam – Is Michael Harvey’s Earth4Energy A Fraud?

4) Air Seal and Insulate with Energy Star – Sealing and insulating the “envelope” or “shell” of your home is often the most cost effective way to improve energy efficiency and comfort.

As I was reading my copy of Earth 4 Energy, Michael Harvey (the e-book author) wrote about the concept of doing a home energy audit before investing on a residential solar power system.

The idea is to calculate the total amount of energy used in our homes.

That got me thinking. Is electricity from the power utility company the only power source I use at home?

As it turns out, it is more than just that.

The Non Obvious Energy Expense Bills

I sat down and thought about it for a while. What would be included as the cost of power at home?

I managed to come out with a list of 6 “non obvious” items.

I know it is not comprehensive, but it is a good start. If you have any idea, feel free to put in your comments.

Here’s the list of energy expense we pay apart from electricity from the grid in a household.

1) Wood and fuel.

I guess this would include anything that we will use to burn for heating purposes.

Unless you live in a mountain with lots of trees around you, firewood has to be purchased from somewhere. The money that you used is also considered energy cost for your home.

What type of item falls into this category?

Here’s a few example:

2) Collection and transportation of power.

In this category, the energy cost may not be obvious. Nonetheless, money is spent in order for us to consume the power.

The items included are:

3) Rental fees.

Most people may not even be aware of this.

Some homeowners may be renting a generator, the propane gas tank, or any item you don’t own which are associated with the power consumption at home.

4) Equipment purchases.

The costing for this item is easier to derive. This includes any equipment in our home that consume power i.e. barbecue grill, water heater, gas burner, air conditioner, room heater, dehumidifier, power generator etc.

The amount for the equipment purchased can be recorded from the purchase receipts.

5) The equipment repair and maintenance cost.

Any up keeping or servicing costs have to be included in this calculation.

Equipments are prone to break down.

Heating element has to be replaced.

Air conditioning unit has to be serviced.

These have to be included as part of a home energy cost.

6) Household items.

These type of items are usually small and most people would not take into account.

Items such as batteries, candle, glow sticks, flash light, emergency lamp etc.

Small Steps To A More Efficient Home

The list above may not be comprehensive, but it does pull out most of the “non obvious” home energy expense costs.

Are there any ways we can reduce them?

Any cost saving measures here will have a direct effect on the size of the home solar power system you will need later.

If there is anything you want to add onto the list, feel free to put it in the comment section below.

Home Solar And Wind Power Videos

Do you want to know how you can use solar modules or wind generator to reduce your home energy consumption? If you do, check out the 30 solar and wind power for home videos e-book we’ve compiled. It’s free to download.

==> Click here to download the free e-book now!

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Related web pages:
1) Magniwork Reviews – Is Magniwork Generator System A Scam?

2) Green DIY Energy Reviews – Is Green DIY Energy Another Scam?

3) Earth4Energy Scam – Is Michael Harvey’s Earth4Energy A Fraud?

4) Home energy audits – The first step in making your home more efficient. An audit can help you assess how much energy your home uses and evaluate what measures you can take to improve efficiency.