Energy Efficient Remodeling: Part 1 - Kitchen

Are you using this beautiful weather to fix up or remodel some areas of your home? Are you looking to update the cosmetics or perhaps lower your energy bills? There are a number of ways you can make your house work harder for you and spend less on your monthly bills.

The geeks at IDT Energy are always looking for ways to improve their own homes and as total energy geeks we look for ways to lower our energy bills. For the first part of this series we are looking at the kitchen - the heart and hub of many homes.

1. The first and the most obvious way to improve the efficiency in the kitchen is to replace and upgrade the appliances.  Older appliances tend to use a lot of energy, by upgrading to energy star rated appliances you will reduce energy usage and save money.
2. Lighting can account for 15% of your home's energy usage and because your kitchen is one of the busiest rooms in the house, it uses the majority of that 15%. If you are not replacing the lighting fixtures, simply change your light bulbs from the old style to CFL (compact florescent lights). If you are replacing the light fixtures themselves, upgrade to Energy Star light fixtures. These light fixtures can use 75% less energy, generate 75% less heat and last up to 10 times longer.
3. Increase the natural lighting in the room. By removing any unneeded walls, increasing the window or door size and even adding a light tube you can increase the natural light in the room.
4. Add insulation to both the walls and the pipes. Additional insulation around the pipes will prevent the heat escaping from the water. For the outside walls add blown-in insulation if you are not opening the walls and spray foam if you are. Spray foam can be expensive so if you are looking save money, batt and roll works as well. Make sure you have an R value of at least R-30 for outside walls, but the higher the R value the better. 
5. Change out your faucet for a low flow faucet that can reduce water usage by 60%.
6. Check for any air leaks around electrical outlets, windows, doors and recessed lighting An easy way to look for leaks - use a stick of incense, use it around any possible leaks, if the smoke moves or shift there is a leak. Seal or insulate any leaks that you find. 

Stay tuned as we explore different areas of the house!

Beat the Humidity (On a Budget)

Spring is in the air and summer is almost here. Fun in the sun and outdoor activities are upon us. But with the heat comes the humidity.  Not everyone has air conditioning, or wants to spend the money of electric costs to keep it running. Here are a few tips on how to beat the humidity - on a budget.

1. Skip the drying cycle on the dishwasher. Simply open the door and let it air dry.
2. Wear light colored clothing with thinner fabrics - this will help sweat evaporate quickly, keeping you cooler. 
3. Eating spicy food can help cool you. It contains a chemical called capsaicin, which helps us perspire more readily, and when the sweat evaporates we experience a moment of cool. 
4. Drink water. Not only is it just plain good for you, it helps keep you cool. 
5. Turn off the lights!

DIY Energy Audit: Leaky Ductwork

Do you have money blowing out of your ductwork? If your ductwork isn't properly sealed heat could not be getting to the intended location in your house leaving you cold and turning up the heat.

Via

A professional energy audit is helpful, but expensive.  Our multi-part series on how to perform your own energy audit will save you money on the audit and on your monthly energy bills.

Heat generated from your furnace or bolier must travel through the ductwork through your house and to various rooms in your house. If air is escaping in the ductwork in your basement it will never reach the intended destination of say, your bedroom. Overtime the adhesive tape that seals the joints of the ductwork becomes less effective as it dries out or is pulled away. 

How to identify leaky ductwork: While the furnace or AC is on shine a flashlight on the ducts - especially where they connect to the registers. Where you see dust on the ducts that has been blown away, that's a sign of a leak. 

How to correct a leak: Use HVAC tape to seal or re-seal joints between sections. Patch any small holes or misalignment's with a water based mastic sealant and mesh tape.

By reducing the air leakage by 15% you can save 3 to 10% of your heating bill. That, plus the savings with IDT Energy you can really save some money on your annual energy expenses. 

Check out the other posts in our DIY Energy Audit seris: Drafty Window, Fireplace Energy Sucker,  and Cold Water Heater  for more helpful tips. Plus go to the IDT Energy Facebook page for energy saving tips and tricks.

DIY Energy Audit: Drafty Windows

A cool breeze coming through the windows in the summer is refreshing. But a cool breeze coming through your window in the winter? No thank you!

Via

A professional energy audit is helpful, but expensive.  Our multi-part series on how to perform your own energy audit will save you money on the audit and on your monthly energy bills.

If you have leaky windows, not only will the cool air come in, but the warm air will escape.  This can account for 10 to 25% of your heating bill.

How to identify the source of a draft: On a windy, blustery day close all of the windows, doors and chimney flues (if you have a fire place).  With a lite stick of incense, move it around the windows and doors. Look for air the disrupts the smoke coming from the incense stick. If it flutters or changes direction - you know, you have a leak.

How to correct a leak:

1. Check the window from the outside of the house. Pay special attention to the casing where the window meets the house's siding. 
2. Scrape off any dried or cracking calking and apply fresh calk.
3. On the inside of the house, add new weather stripping. 

Each window that you weather proof can shave $20 off your annual energy expenses. 10 windows - $200! That combined with the savings from IDT Energy can really add up!

Stay tuned for our next DIY Energy Audit and watch for more tips on Facebook. 

Vacation Energy Saving Tips

Hitting the road this Labor Day? Here are some ways to save on your energy bill while you are away.

1. Unplug all electronics not in use like your TV and coffee maker. Avoid paying for phantom electricity.
2. Turn your hot water heater to 'vacation mode.' 
3. Turn off your Air Conditioning or set it at 85 degrees.
4. Power down all computers.
5. Refrigerators use less electricity when they are full - fill them with water jugs. 
6. Adjust the thermometer to a slightly warmer setting. 
7. Close all of your blinds to keep the cool air in and the warm air out.
8. Install timers for your security lights and turn off everything else. 
9. Don't for get to read the meter when you leave and when you get home! See the energy you saved and detect if you have any hidden energy wasters.

Have fun on vacation!

Creative Ways to Save l Prancercise

Sometimes we need to be creative in the ways we save energy. And sometimes we just need to have a little fun when talking about saving energy.

You already upgraded to energy efficient light bulbs. You turn off the lights when you leave the room. But now it's time to stop exercising on a treadmill and get outside. Don't like just running up and down the street? Need to change up your exercise a little bit? Have you heard about the newest exercise craze? Or perhaps you have seen a neighbor looking a little silly as they danced/trotted/frolicked around the neighborhood and wondered what they were doing?

Check out these YouTube videos:

Prancercise tutorial

Prancercise to John Mayer

There are many more effective ways to save on energy this summer that we talked about before. But we here at IDT Energy are energy geeks. In a past blog post we also talked about how energy changes from one form to another. Maybe instead of supplying energy one step at a time we can use these devices to turn prancercising into usable energy.

What do you think about prancercising? Are you going to try it?

More Easy and Fast Tips to Save Around the House

Bathroom
Toilet: Use the half-flush feature to save a lot of water with each use.

Instant Water Heater: Turn it on only right before use, and don’t forget to turn it off when you are done.

Sink: Use a tumbler to rinse your mouth after brushing your teeth, or for shaving.

Backyard/Service Porch
Plants: Water plants with the water you already used to wash your vegetables.

Backyard Tap: Keep it turned off when not in use, and be sure it is tight to prevent drips or leakage.

Washing Machine: A machine using 300 watts consumes about 6.86¢ of electricity per hour of use. Run machine for fully loaded runs whenever possible.

Quick Money Saving Tips Around the House

In the Living Room
Fan: A 75 watt fan costs about 1.72¢ per hour of use. Turn if off when you are not in the room.

Television: Your TV consumes about 4.57¢ each hour that it is on. Remember to close down when not watching.

Lamps: Each 40watt lamp uses 0.91¢ every hour. Try the new energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs or halogen bulbs to save energy and money.

Bedroom
Spit Unit Air Conditioner: A 750 watt unit costs about 17.15¢ to use every hour. Keeping the filters clean and turning off when not in use can save a lot of energy.

Kitchen
Refrigerator: A refrigerator with a nominal rating of 200 watts uses electricity at a rate of 4.57¢ per hour. Choose a new fridge carefully so that you get the right size for your family. Check all the gaskets and hinges for leakage, and keep the thermostat set to the right temperature.

Stove top: Boil water or cook food whenever possible with the lid on top of the pot. Water boils faster and food cooks more efficiently with the lid on. Once food has boiled keep on simmer to use minimum amount of energy to cook food.

Sink: Save water by washing veggies and fruit in a sink filled with water instead of continuously running the water.

Countertop: Let frozen foods defrost on the countertop instead of using warm water or the microwave.

Electric Myths Debunked by IDT Energy

For many people the electricity we live and work with constantly is a mystery, and we are constantly hearing what to do and what not to do to stay save and to save money. Here are a few questions which you may have had concerning electricity and its usage.

Are you the kind of person that always turns off lights when not needed? Has anyone ever suggested that it is better to leave on a light than to turn it on, as the power “surges” when you turn on the light? This is absolutely false and you should know that it is always more efficient to turn off a light, even if you are planning on turning it on again soon. This same fact applies to all other devices and consumer electronics, including computers. Most devices don’t have a surge, and even if they do, the amount of electricity from that surge is so small that it is completely insignificant.

How about keeping an air conditioner on all day to keep your house cool, rather than letting the house warm up when you are not there and cooling it down when you arrive? It is certainly better to turn of the ac when not at home, and even cooling down a hot house uses less electricity than keeping the ac on all day. But even better yet would be to install a programmable thermostat which will turn off the ac when you are not there and turn it on again when you are due to return home. A great way to stay comfortable and save money, too.

Winter in New York Savings Ideas from IDT Energy

New York in the winter can be fun and exciting. It can also be cold, and a challenge to stay warm within a budget. IDT Energy has some simple tips to keep you warm and cozy, and your pockets full.

1. Put a layer of shrink wrap, plastic film, over your windows. Fast, cheap and effective, adding this extra thermal layer helps keep the warm air in and the cold air out. The tools and supplies you need to do this yourself are easily available at most hardware stores, and the application can be done yourself. Covering your window in plastic creates an air pocket which insulates but at the same time allows the sun to shine in.

2. Because we feel colder in the winter there is a tendency to use more hot water. Our hot showers are a tad longer; we wash hands more often with hot water just to warm up. To balance out this extra hot water use it is a good idea to adjust the setting on the hot water heater. You might be able to lower the temperature even 20 degrees and maintain a high comfort level. Why not leave the temperature at this level during the summer as well? Expect your bill to heat hot water to go down about 10%.

3. If you have a southern exposure, take advantage of all the free solar energy right outside your windows. Pull open the drapes and let the ultimate heat source warm up your cold bones.

IDT Energy Helps You to Save

IDT Energy is committed to improving awareness of the effects energy use has on the planet. As an ESCO IDT Energy empowers its customers so that they can make informed choices about how much they spend on their energy as well as where their energy comes from: whether it is from traditional sources such as coal or other fossil fuel, or to begin to make the move to renewable energy sources, such as wind or sun.
But people don’t always have to leave this movement to the big guys like public utilities. Each individual can make a difference. Here are some tiny ways each of us can help improve the quality of life here on planet earth.

1. Turn off your car’s engine. When you let your car’s engine idle it emits 6-7 grams of pollutants into the air each minute, and you’re not even getting anywhere! And you’re also wasting precious gasoline. You can drive a full mile on the amount of gas wasted by idling for just two minutes.

2. Eat less meat. Raising livestock, processing, packaging and shipping of meat products has been estimated to cause 18% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. By just eating one less meat meal per week the Environmental Defense Fund estimates that there would be the equivalent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions as if we took off one-half million cars from the roads.

3. Use less electricity. It takes about two cars worth of fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions to power the average house. Reduce your electric bill whenever possible; by turning of lights when not in use, unplugging appliances when not needed such as cell phone chargers and other appliances which continue to use energy even when not in use, as long as they are still plugged in. A power strip lets you turn off and “unplug” several appliances at the same time.

4. Pay bills on-line and save on paper consumption. You’ll also save money on postage and it will be even easier to keep track of your bills and payment history.

More tips next time.

IDT Energy Lights up Your Life!

Tips for saving money and energy when it comes to lighting:

• Use compact fluorescent bulbs, which use only a fourth of the amount of electricity as regular bulbs. You can save 10 dollars or more per bulb in long-term electricity costs.
• Let the light shine through - dirty lights and fixtures can hamper efficiency by as much as 20%.
• Darken your doorstep – say goodbye to outdoor decorative lights. You’ll feel good knowing that by turning off eight gas lamps that had been burning year round, you can save as much natural gas as it takes to heat an average-size home during an entire winter.
• Want to reduce the 11% of your electricity bill that goes towards lighting? Use timers to monitor your lighting use and only use bright lights where and when you need them.

IDT Energy reminds you that every little bit helps when it comes to saving money on utilities in New York!