Reduce Heating & Cooling Costs & Stop Global Warming.

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Heating & cooling your house can be a major source of energy waste.

I have to say that I haven't been the best example of efficiency when it comes to heating or cooling my house. I used to turn my airconditioner on as soon as I started gettingh a bit too warm and then leave it on until I'm so cold I'm starting to think about putting warmer clothes on!

Heating and cooling takes up about 11% (but can be as much as half) of the average homes electricity, produces between one and ten tonnes of greenhouse gas and can cost up to $1000 in energy bills. It's easy to do yourself and the planet a favour by improving the efficiency of your home and reduce heating and cooling costs.

The way to reduce heating & cooling costs in your house is to reduce the amount of energy that is required to maintain your house at a comfortable temperature. If you do this you will easily and naturally reduce your bills and reduce your home's impact on global warming.

General tips for reducing heat transfer

The basic goal is to limit the unwanted transfer of heat in or out of your house. That means keeping out unwanted heat in summer and retaining heat within your house in winter.
Make your room as cool in winter or as warm in summer as is comfortable, but no more - if you have to put a jumper on because your airconditioner is too cold then turn it down! Suggested setting for your thermostat: 19-20°C (68° F) in winter and as high as you feel comfortable with during summer (say 25-26°C; 78° F). Each 1°C above during winter and below during summer will increase energy use by around 10%.
Seal the leaks. Imagine leaving your windows open all winter - it would be impossible to heat your house as any heated air would leak straight out and be replaced by cold outside air. Crazy as it sounds that's pretty much what happens in a lot of houses. You may not have a window open but if you have a fireplace, exhaust fans or airconditioning vents then you might have major leaks where heat can escape.

Apart from these major leaks there are hundreds of little leaks around most houses that all make it difficult to heat or cool a home. You can identify leaks by holding an incense stick near door or window frames and using the diagram below as a guide. The direction the smoke moves from the incense stick or being able to see light through any gaps will give you a good indication whether air is leaking in or out.

Once you've identified any leaks you need to seal them with products like weather strips & caulk available from your local hardware store.
Insulate. Once your house is sealed the next biggest thing you can do is install insulation. Even just insulating your ceiling or roof space will make a dramatic difference in the comfort of your home and you should be able to reduce heating & cooling costs enough to easily offset any costs involved in installation.
Add plants - Trees can be used for shade or they can be used as windbreaks. If you can block direct sunlight from hitting your house in summer then you'll save heaps on your cooling costs. You might want to plant deciduous trees so that you can get the benefit of the sun's warmth in winter. In cold climates a row of thick trees or a hedge can help keep the chill away from your house. Three trees planted in the right place can save you up to $300 per year on your heating & cooling costs.
Other tips- Keep doors to unused rooms closed so you only need to control the temperature of the miminum amount of space.

Keeping your house cool in summer

The first step is to block heat from entering your house. Use insulation, shading and close you blinds or curtains to block direct and radiated heat.
In the afternoon when the outside temperature starts to drop use natural airflow to cool your house. This is one time when you want your house to leak so that excess heat can escape, so make use of open windows and exhaust fans to quickly draw the heat away.
Use the most efficient form of cooling. If you can get away with using a fan then do it. Even if you use other forms of cooling fans can help.
Shading: shade all windows, other than those that face south, with fixed shading devices e.g. awnings and pergolas. An unshaded square metre of glass will let in almost as much heat as a one-bar radiator.
You can't have your house airtight if you use evaporative airconditioning because it woks by cooling air drawn from outside the house, meaning the cold air needs somewhere to escape to. However, if you use refrigerative, reverse-cycle or invertor type airconditioning it cools the air already contained in your house so it's best to keep the house sealed up.

Keeping your house warm in winter

Remember that hot air rises. So any air that you heat in your house will seek an exit - open fireplaces, kitchen exhaust fans & airconditioning vents will allow all the heat in your house to drain out. And when it leaves through these leaks your house will draw in cold air to make up for it. So the best thing you can do to reduce your heating costs is to seal the leaks where heat can escape and block the leaks where air can enter.
Turn kitchen & bathroom exhaust fans off as soon as possible as they can empty an entire house of warm air in just one hour.
Heat lost through windows and doors represents a significant chunk of most heating bills. Some sources estimate that loss through windows alone could account for up to 35 percent of heating bills.
Open your drapes and curtains on sunny days to take advantage of the sun's heating power then close them at night in winter to make use of their insulating properties.
Get a cover for your roof-mounted airconditioner and use it during winter to stop the heat from escaping into the air. Close doors to bathrooms and unused bedrooms to prevent heat loss.

What are the benefits?

Improved comfort, especially during periods of hot or cold weather
Lower energy use, which means lower energy bills
A quieter home due to less noise entering from the outside
Fewer holes where pollen, dust, pollution, and insects can enter your home
Improved durability of the building structure through the reduced movement of moist air

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