Last week's power
outage
from blown transformers in downtown Chicago led a chorus of doomsayers chanting
about the end of electrical power as we know it.
Indeed, the nation's generating capacity with increasingly old and
unreliable power plants can barely keep up with the demand, especially during
peak periods this year as record heat waves shimmer across the nation.
It's doubtful, however, that you'll have to mothball your electronic life
and return to the caves anytime soon. When demand drains the capacity to
generate power, utility companies routinely turn back the supply for scheduled
"brown outs". The forced conservation technique avoids full-fledged black outs.
Power hungry residents, mainlining the juice for everything from air
conditioners to wall furnaces, can use household conservation techniques to
help the utilities keep everyone out of the dark.
The benefits can be surprising.
Little known energy-efficient mortgages can help you finance energy conservation home
improvements, help
increase your home buying power and help stretch your debt-to-income qualifying
ratios on loans for existing energy efficient homes.
Energy-efficient mortgage lenders will qualify you for more home or adjust
your qualifying ratios because, they say, you've got more money to spend on a
mortgage if you aren't strapped with a big utility bill.
Whether you are vying for a mortgage or budgeting for an affordable utility
bill, your first line of defense is an energy audit.
Your local power company likely offers an audit for free or some nominal
fee to check the efficiency of your heating, cooling and hot water appliances
as well as the condition of storm or thermal windows, doors, caulking,
weather-stripping and insulation. The audit also acquaints you with routine
maintenance techniques for your heating and cooling equipment. It also provides
you with information about thermostat controls, hot water temperatures,
empty-home conservation techniques, plugging air flow leaks, and more.
You don't have to wait for an energy-efficient mortgage or an energy audit
to keep your cool, conserve power and save money.
Here are some summer power conservation techniques utility experts advise:
Keep awnings open and window shades, blinds, or drapes closed to block
the sunlight during the hottest part of the day.
Set your cooling thermostat at 78 degrees or higher when you at home, 85
degrees when you are away. Shade the air conditioner's condenser. Keep your air
conditioner well maintained.
Use exterior shading devices or deciduous plants to shade your home and
windows from the sun.
Move lamps, TVs and other heat sources away from air conditioner
thermostats which can sense the appliances' heat and cause the air conditioner
run longer than necessary. Keep furniture and other obstacles away from the
front of central air conditioning ducts so cooler air can freely circulate.
Close off unused rooms and areas if you don't have individual room
controls.
Insulate attic access and basement trap doors with R-19 or better
insulation.
Replace incandescent bulbs with fluorescent lamps wherever you can and
install dimmer switches or timers where appropriate. Turn off lights not in
use. Halogen lights burn especially hot.
Tighten your home by caulking, weather stripping and installing storm
windows to help seal your home from the heat.
Also See:
If You Build an Energy Efficient Home, Will Agents Know How to Sell It?
Energy Efficiency: Making the Right Choices for Your Home
A Window to the World of Energy Efficient Windows
Solar Power: Letting The Sun Shine In
Published: August 19, 1999
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