In her last LeboLife post, Kathy Hrabovsky listed a couple of tips to reduce home energy consumption. Here are some more simple do it yourself steps to increase your quality of life through home energy conservation.
Simple Steps 3 & 4 involve your HVAC System:
Do your best to turn your thermostats down in the winter and up in the summer while adjusting your clothing to suit the seasons.
By layering clothing in the winter and reducing clothing in the summer, you can increase comfort while decreasing energy cost.
In Simple Step 4, we hope you will consider turning your air conditioning off in the summer and opening your windows to increase fresh air supply, which will then increase indoor air quality and improve your health and productivity.
Keeping your windows closed all year long increases pollutant concentrations in the indoor environment, which can increase allergic reactions and decrease human health and productivity.
[1]Opening windows to increase natural ventilation dilutes concentrations of particulates, VOC’s, radon, ozone, carbon dioxide and mold, which will increase your health and productivity while decreasing energy costs.
Simple Step 5 includes simple air sealing, which can be a DIY project or a project performed by a licensed contractor:
Purchase caulk in tubes or caulking guns and use it to seal the joints around window and door jambs on the exterior of your home.
Purchase and install weather-stripping, or door sweeps, at door jambs and sills.
[2]Consult with an energy assessor or auditor to determine the best way to air seal your attic and/or basement and accessible ductwork. We will talk about air sealing in greater detail in our next blog post.
Insulate accessible hot water supply pipes to a minimum of R2 and accessible heating supply pipes to a minimum of R3 with pipe insulation.
Contact Abby Lawler Morycz or Kathy Hrabovsky, your ReEnergize Mt. Lebanon Ambassadors, at reenergize.mt.lebanon@gmail.com [3]or visit our website at reenergizepgh.org/mtlebanon [4] and we will be happy to provide you with additional information or a presentation for your organization. We will connect you with energy assessors and auditors who will provide you with a personalized evaluation of your home. We would like to collect data on your progress as you implement simple, moderate or advanced energy conservation steps in order to update the Mt. Lebanon Climate Action Plan.