Want to use less energy this air conditioning season? The best way to keep your air conditioning bills manageable and keep your house cooler is to take action by following a few simple energy tips that can keep you comfortable and put a little change back in your pocket. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Green’ Category
Use Less Energy This Air Conditioning Season
Wednesday, March 14th, 2012When to Insulate Your Home
Friday, March 9th, 2012You should insulate your home when the following occurs:
>You have an older home and haven’t added insulation. Only 20% of homes built before 1980 are well insulated. (more…)
what are gallons per watt-hour?
Friday, September 16th, 2011when researching sump pumps, you may come across the measurement “gallons per watt-hour” or “g/wh.” but what does that really mean? buisnesses that sell sump pumps often will quote this figure without any real explanation. you just assume that it is a preferred thing to have a sump draw with a formidable measurement. but understanding what this actually means will help you make a more informed purchase when it comes to installing a new sump draw in your house.
benefits of making the switch to a programmable thermostat
Thursday, September 1st, 2011whether you are in the market for a new thermostat, or just looking for a way to reduce your power bills, you should make the switch to a programmable thermostat. they may cost a little more initially, but within a year of owning one, you will start to see a return on your investment. some of the benefits of installing a programmable thermostat include:
bring some light back into your life with four seasons
Monday, August 29th, 2011have you ever experienced a small electrical shock? if you have, then you understand how truly unpleasant it feels. electricity is not something that anyone should mess with unless they are a trained expert. but, many times people will try to save a few bucks here and there by doing handyman application themselves, but when it comes to installing something electrical, don’t take this risk. four seasons house services is here for you with trained electricians who can do anything from installing a dimmer switch to installing track lighting. four seasons can even show you ways that you can be more “green” with the use of electricity in your house.
before you turn down the air, take a look upstairs
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011during the warm seasons months, the hot sun outdoors often forces us indoors to enjoy the cool temperatures provided by air conditioning. however, there are other ways to help stay cool besides dropping the temperature on the thermostat or turning on a fan. most people do not consider the amount of loft isolating they have in their homes. seeing as loft isolating is located in a part of the house that is not often visited, it is understandable that it is overlooked. but, this is something that is worth taking a look at because inadequate loft isolating could be costing you more to run the cooling system every day that it goes unnoticed.
how much power is your house wasting?
Monday, May 23rd, 2011house power assessments are growing in popularity as the need to “go green” becomes more and more necessary. many property owners are tired of spending a great chunk of their hard earned money every month on outrageously formidable power bills and have decided that it is time for a change. there is literally thousands of power efficient house improvement projects that you could undertake, but finding the right ones to fit your budget and give you the biggest bang for your buck seems to involve a lot of guess application unless you have four seasons house services there to help! our expert power assessment services will outline the perfect improvement plan for your house, and spring is the best time of year to get a jump on this service!
the perfect weather for power savings
the fresh spring weather brings a nice balance between cold and hot weather. 60 degree days and plenty of sunshine make assessing your house for power losses very efficient. as part of the power assessment, our craftsperson will determine the power efficiency of the major appliances in the house as well as assess for air cracks in the home’s envelope. this involves running both the heater and the cooling system. if this procedure were to be performed at any other time during the year, the weather would become an issue. the warm seasons heat makes operating the heater uncomfortable, and if we were to run the cooling system during the cold seasons, it could cause severe damage to the compressor. springs pleasant weather makes running both units safe and comfortable for the property owner.
so, take advantage of this beautiful season and start making your house more power efficient with the help of a expert power assessment from four seasons house services!
hot water woes
Thursday, May 19th, 2011the water heater in your house accounts for 18% of the total power costs for your house. the only systems you spend more to use are the heater and cooling system. so, any power that you can save using this system will make a big impact on heating costs in your house. with the help of four seasons house services, you could begin saving big bucks all over the house!
the hot water heater
if the hot water tank in your house is over 10 years old, it is reaching the end of it life. the typical hot water tank only lasts about 12 to 15 years, and if yours is older than that, it is probably horribly inefficient. that old unit needs to go! have the experts at four seasons setup a new formidable efficiency hot water tank, and get your house started on the right foot towards conserving power and water.
after installing your new tank, four seasons will make sure that the temperature on the tank is set correctly. many homes make the mistake of setting the hot water tank too formidable. how formidable is too formidable? 140 degrees is what our servicemen typically find. there are very few homes that would actually need the temperature set this formidable, and if yours doesn’t, you are wasting power overheating the water. also, setting the tank that formidable poses a scalding risk. if you have younger children in the house who are just learning to shower on their own, this could be very dangerous for them.
the tank should be set at 120 degrees. that is usually plenty hot for any house. in order to conserve the heat that your new tank creates, four seasons will also insulate. the tank itself needs an isolating jacket. many property owners try to put this on themselves and end of causing damage to the unit by covering vital components that need to be left exposed. if you have an electric tank, the process is somewhat easier, but even the us department of power counsels you have a expert do this for you especially if you have a gas hot water tank. four seasons will insulate the tank and the surrounding pipes so that your tank doesn’t suffer from heat loss to its surroundings.
appliances that use heated water
dishwashers and clothes washers are the two major appliances that use up our hot water heat. many people have been operating under the misconception that dishwashers waste power. in fact, you could save power by installing a dishwasher rather than washing by hand. how is this possible? well, filling a formidable efficiency dishwasher and washing all the dishes at once uses less power than washing the dishes by hand several times a day.
clothes washers don’t have to operate at a specific water temperature. washing the clothes with cold or warm water will save power over washing them in hot water. also, if you are in the market for a new clothes washer, it is best to get a unit that is front loading because they use less power and less water than top loading machines.
replacing these appliances won’t do you much preferred if you don’t have them installed correctly. have the handymen at four seasons setup your new units for you, and you can rest assured that they will be up and running correctly in no time at all.
faucets and shower heads
another way to save power and save hot water is by having four seasons swap out your old shower heads and faucets with new low flow models. old faucets and shower heads, installed before 1992, put out around 5.5 gallons of water per minute or more! that is a huge waste when you can achieve the same water pressure with much less water. new shower heads have flow rates around 2.5 gallons per minute and faucets have 1 gallon per minute flow rates or less. the change will immediately turn around big savings on your utility bills, and with four seasons, the transition is made easy!
so whether you are a “go green” activist or just a property owner looking to save some money, call four seasons house services right now and learn more about the many ways that we can help you reduce your water consumption and your hot water usage. no matter your budget, four seasons has a service that is right for you and your house.
energy efficient overhaul of your lighting systems
Monday, May 9th, 2011one of the easiest ways to make your house more power efficient and green friendly is to have four seasons house services makeover the light sources in your house. when you consider the cost of electricity and the fact that lighting accounts for about 17% of your electricity bill every month, any improvement will lead to significant savings. indoors and out, small changes to the way that you light your house will be well worth the investment, and the more changes you make the more money you will save. let four seasons house services overhaul the lighting in your house this spring!
- light bulbs: the smallest change is the best place to start. swap out as many incandescent light bulbs in your house as possible with cfl or led bulbs. these alternatives may cost a bit more, but will like 10 times as long and use much less power. when you consider that nearly all of the power used to light a traditional bulb is wasted producing heat, it is easy to understand how these new bulbs are a great alternative. they use the electricity they consume to produce light, not heat.
- dimmer switches: using a dimmer switch is like adjusting the wattage of the bulbs in your house. the lower the light is set, the less electricity it consumes. these switches are also able to extend the life of your bulbs. a decrease of just ten percent can double the life of a light bulb. in the past, cfls and led were not able to be placed on a dimmer switch however, with recent progress in technology, these lights are now available with dimmable qualities.
- motion sensors: motion sensors are preferred for both the outdoors and indoors. inside the house, motion sensors can be places on light switches in seldom used rooms. that way power will not be wasted by lights that are accidentally left on. outdoors, these devices provide two benefits. first, they save power by only providing light when someone is out in the dark, and second, as a security measure. a burglar will defiantly be started by the sudden presence of light on your property and therefore discouraged from proceeding any further into your house.
- timers: some property owners like to take the extra step and place timers on certain lights in the house. these are more standard in bathrooms and other rooms that have exhaust fans. an exhaust fan can remove all of the heated air or cooled air from a house within one hour when left on and unattended. that is a lot of wasted power both running the fan and the heater and cooling system. a timer will automatically shut off the light and fan after a certain period of time, so that no power is wasted.
making power efficient changes to the way that you light your house is a great way to save money, however, handling and working with electricity can be dangerous. let the pros at four seasons help you prevent unwanted accidents by having one of your certified electricians perform all wiring and replacement of your lighting systems. if you are looking for an easy way to save on your power bills, call four seasons house services today!
make your house more passive
Monday, May 9th, 2011passive homes are relatively new to this country, but for those of you that are looking to save big bucks on your power bills, you may want to learn a bit more about these types of homes. passive homes don’t rely on your typical heater and cooling system to heat and cool their environment. instead, they have walls, floors, and ceilings packed with isolating, south facing air-tight windows, and backup heating systems that use little power for use on the extra chilly days in this part of the country. despite having a backup heating system, these homes slash power costs by nearly 90%, and what property owner wouldn’t love to save that much on their power expenses?
the passive predicament
the only problem is that making your house truly passive would involve starting over from scratch from the foundation up. many of us don’t have the time or the money to undertake that type of project, but there are still ways that you can make your house more passive. with the help of four seasons house services you could see a drastic decrease in your house heating and cooling bills, and all it takes is a few power efficient house improvements.
passive inspired improvements:
- channel sealing: leaky channel application could be what is holding back your heating and cooling systems from reaching their full potential. holes or gaps in your channel application system allow heated and cooled air to escape before it ever reaches the rooms in your house. this could reduce your airflow drastically and be the source of comfort issues in your house. however, four seasons has a craftsperson for you! we will plug the ducts, so that you can get the most out of your heater and cooling system for the least amount of money.
- window sealing or replacement: leaky windows cause the same problem that leaky channel application does, but four seasons can still help. if your windows are in preferred shape but the plug is poor, we can skillfully caulk and plug each window to prevent cracks from costing you comfort and power. if you have old single pane windows that really need to be replaced, we can still aid you in making this change. have four seasons out for a full inspection, and figure out what condition your windows are in today.
- isolating improvement: adding to the isolating in your house could be one of the most cost effective improvements that you make in your house. using blown-in isolating allows us to increase the amount of isolating even in finished areas of the house without causing any damage or disturbing your property, and the savings could be beyond anything you could have imagined.
making these improvements in your house will make it easier to use the heater and cooling system less often. the less you have to rely on those systems, the more money you will save, and four seasons house services will get you there.