Thermostats and Saving Energy

This is another area where I have direct experience from the contractor's side of the issue. Being an HVAC technician for several years, I have personally seen (and repaired) several disasters for DIYers who failed to do one very important part of the process. They didn't read the instructions. It really is that simple. If you want to know how to wire a thermostat or try to decode the thermostat wiring colors read the instructions that come with the thermostat or go to my site High Performance HVAC Heating and Cooling. Of course, there are other resources out there for you but my site is very thorough and we try very hard to explain everything in layman's terms. It's not really that difficult to upgrade to a state of the art thermostat that will offer enhanced functions and save you money. 

Installation yourself will require attention to detail, some basic tools, and some perseverance especially when you get to the setup of the program. Although, some thermostat manufacturers have made this easier and easier for homeowners or a neophyte. Many have a direct interface to either a smartphone app or even on a desktop or laptop connection. These are typically the easiest to understand and set up the thermostat for your system. Most of the time the problem comes at the wiring of a new thermostat. There is the issue of the C-wire in some cases and in other cases, as noted above, not reading the instructions and miswiring the new thermostat. I always advise people if they are not confident enough or have the basic knowledge of electrical circuits and their HVAC system they are better off calling a professional contractor to install the new thermostat. Of course, this increases the ROI in some cases, depending on the total installation cost, hiring a contractor will double the ROI. 

Insulation and Saving Energy

I know firsthand there are some older homes (over 100 years) that have no insulation in the walls at all. These houses were built back in the day when energy was cheap and they had those whole hog furnaces or boilers to heat the home. Air conditioning did not exist except to open the windows and turn on a fan. Oh, the good old days. No, I'm not that old but do know this first hand because I bought a house like this. We made some changes to a bathroom and upon ripping out the old plaster and slats found no insulation in the walls. After finishing the new bathroom for the master bedroom, the next mission became clear. Insulate the walls of the house. I consulted a professional for this task and he advised blow in insulation. We didn't have to rip all the walls out (my idea), but simply just make a hole in the top near the ceiling and they would blow the insulation in. We got a few bids and selected the contractor who advised me about the blow in insulation.

I cannot stress to you how much warmer and cooler the house felt in the winter and the summer respectively. The electric and the gas bill took a dive too. Especially the gas bill since we had an energy hog gas-fired steam boiler. The average bill, before insulation, was around $400 per month (3800 sq ft including a finished basement). One, especially cold month, the bill was over $900.00. My eyes popped out of my head when I saw that bill. After the insulation and a few other changes and upgrades, the average gas bill in the winter was $150.00 and the average electric bill in the summer was $200.00. The ROI for the insulation and other upgrades would take 2.5 years and I thought that was super fantastic. I could have saved a few thousand dollars doing it myself but the insulation contractor made it practically painless and saved me tons of time. I think if I would have done it myself it would have taken at least six months and killed several weekends. So it was definitely worth it to hire a contractor in this case. BTW, the attic and other ceiling areas were already insulated to the max. 

Doors, Windows, and Saving Energy

Older doors and windows can cost you more in energy if they are leaking air. As with the insulation above, leaky doors and windows can cost you a lot of money on your utility bills. HVAC systems are sized based on several factors. One of the factors is a heat loss/heat gain calculation. Heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer. With poor insulation and leaky doors and windows, this calculation increases the size of the HVAC system(s) you need to keep up with the heat loss/heat gain of the house (or business). That means more energy use because of the bigger system. And no, bigger is not always better. In fact, with HVAC systems it can be detrimental and cause serious issues with the comfort of the house. Other than taking more energy to operate, an oversized air conditioning system can cause humidity problems in the house. This is why it is super-important to hire a contractor that will do a new and accurate Manual J load calculation. 

Anyhow, back to doors and windows and the main subject matter. I have changed windows and doors myself but would not advise doing it unless you are skilled at carpentry. I am semi-skilled at carpentry and it was not easy changing the windows and doors. Plus you need several tools and equipment that can get expensive buying yourself. It is also important to get it right because if you don't, the new windows or doors can be worse than the old windows or doors. In this case, while it is more expensive, I recommend hiring a contractor to take care of this issue. Always go for quality over the lowest bid. A cheap contractor can be frustrating to deal with and possibly not complete the job correctly or on time. That can get into legal issues and the last thing you want is to go to court when all you wanted was quality work and new doors and windows. 

Lastly, there is much more I can write about saving energy by making upgrades to your house. I will cover more in a future article. Thanks and don't forget to visit my site and share us on social media. I can be reached through my website on our Twitter page.