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SAVE ENERGY & MONEY THROUGH CONSERVATION
Gas Doctor is committed to helping customers through conservation
Increasing global demand puts pressure on energy supplies, and it's critical that we work together to use energy wisely. Gas Doctor routinely help homeowners understand their energy consumption and take positive steps. If you are ready to step up your conservation efforts, give us a call today at (401) 942-5223 or contact us and we'll help you choose a conservation strategy that matches your budget.
Cold Weather Conservation Tips
1. Have an Equipment Tune-Up
No matter how you heat your house, an annual tune-up ensures that everything is working properly and at peak efficiency. During a Natural Gas or Propane tune-up and inspection a certified and licensed technician will thoroughly inspect your furnace or boiler. Cleaning and testing of the burner and water heater as needed; and inspection of the propane tank and fuel line.
2. Ensure Radiators and Registers are Clear
Do a quick sweep of your home to make sure that boxes, furniture, and other items haven't been placed on or near radiators or heat/return air registers over the summer. Blocked radiators and registers prevent the flow of air to your heating system, forcing your system to work harder and use more fuel.
3. Watch Out for Sneaky Hot Water Waste
One drop every minute from your hot water faucet can add up to plenty of baths over the season, so check for dripping faucets everywhere in the house.
4. Add a Programmable Thermostat
Temperature "setback" with a programmable thermostat generally pays for the new thermostat in as little as one year. A programmable thermostat automatically lowers your temperature setting at night and then raises it in the morning - at the times and the temperatures you determine. We recommend that setback ranges not exceed 5 degrees, if larger you will consume more fuel reaching your in-home desired temperature as your heating system will run longer to get back up to the desired temperature.
5. Make Sure Your House Can Breathe
If your system has outside air intake vents installed, be sure that the vents are not blocked. Like all equipment that burns fuel, furnaces and boilers draw in air to ignite the fuel and to keep it burning efficiently. Fresh air vents are essential to a healthy home.
6. Insulation
Insulation for the cold weather can drastically lower your heating bills, heat rises and can easily escape through an uninsulated attic. An easy way to see if your home could benefit from attic insulation, after a snowstorm see how long it takes for the snow to melt off of the roof. If the snow melts quicker than your neighbors, you could benefit from attic insulation. Wall insulation will help cut down on heat loss during the winter months, as much as 35% of the heat in your escapes through the walls. Wall insulation not only keeps the heat in your home but it also keeps the cold out, allowing for your heating system to maintain a temperature more efficiently. Ask about the potential 75% savings on insulating your home after converting from oil to Natural Gas heat.
Warm Weather Conservation Tips
1. Use Insulation and Shade to Block Heat
Two excellent methods to block heat are insulation and shading. Insulation helps keep your home comfortable and saves money on mechanical cooling systems such as air conditioners and electric fans. Shading devices block the sun's rays and absorb or reflect the solar heat.
2. Insulation
Weatherization measures - such as insulating, weather stripping, and caulking - help seal and protect your home or business against the summer heat (in addition to keeping out the winter cold.)
The attic is a good place to start insulating because it is a major source of heat transfer. Adequately insulating the attic protects the upper floors of a building. Wall insulation is not as important for cooling as attic insulation, because outdoor temperatures are not as hot as attic temperatures. Also, floor insulation has little or no effect on cooling. (For space heating, exterior wall and floor insulation is important.)
Outside air also can infiltrate around poorly sealed doors, windows, electrical outlets, and through openings in foundations and exterior walls. Thorough caulking and weather stripping will control most of these air leaks.
3. Shading
Shading your home or business can reduce indoor temperatures by as much as 20° F. Trees and other vegetation, exterior awnings, and exterior or interior shades can provide effective shading.
4. Use Natural Ventilation
Heat accumulates in your building during the day, and the cool night air can flush it out. Natural ventilation relies on the wind and the "chimney effect" to keep a building cool. Depending on the building design and wind direction, a windbreak - like a fence, hedge, or row of trees that blocks the wind - can force air either into or away from nearby windows. Wind moving along a wall creates a low-pressure zone that pulls air out of the windows.
The chimney effect occurs when cool air enters a building on the first floor or basement, absorbs heat in the room, rises, and exits through upstairs windows. This creates lower air pressure, which pulls more air in through lower-level windows.
5. Use Windows and Doors for Cross-Ventilation
You can create natural cross-ventilation by opening your windows and doors, and adjusting the size and location of the openings to ventilate different parts of the building. Inlets and outlets located directly opposite each other cool only those areas in between, in the direct path of the airflow. You'll cool more of your home or business if you force the air to take a longer path between the inlet and outlet.
Experiment with different patterns of window venting to move fresh outside air through all of the rooms in your home or business. This may involve leaving some windows closed if they interfere with air moving along a longer path.
6. Attic Ventilation
Solar heat travels in through the roof and radiates into the attic. Attic ventilation reduces attic temperature 10° to 25° F and slows the transfer of heat into the living space. However, the most effective way to reduce attic heat is to block the heat from entering in the first place with a reflective roof and at least a foot of attic insulation.
The best way to ventilate an attic is with natural ventilation. You need about one square foot of opening for every one hundred square feet of ceiling area. The vents should be split equally between the rooftop and the soffits. A fan is another alternative but requires electricity to operate.
7. Air Conditioners
Air Conditioners account for a large part of summer energy budgets, from central air to ductless to window units. Older systems don't offer the same energy benefits that modern systems can achieve. Systems that are 7 years or older should be upgraded. Air filters are found on all kinds of air conditioners, dirty filters block the flow of air that is necessary to circulate the outside air through the system to the home. Air filters should be replaced every month during heavy usage in the summer or cleaned to prevent overworking the system. Compressors that are stored outside for central air units and mini-split systems should be inspected and cleaned regularly.
