A To-Do List for Winterizing Your Home

Green Design & Building

A To-Do List for Winterizing Your Home:

Stop Energy Leaks While It’s Not Too Cold Outside

By Richard Kujawski



According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the cost to heat an average home is approximately $1,400. Some experts assert that you can cut that amount in half if your home is properly winterized. Savings are greater in cold-winter regions, but anyone living where the temperature dips below freezing can take simple steps to lower their heating bills.Follow this to-do list to cut your heating bills, lower your carbon emissions—and save some greenbacks—whether you own or rent.

Inspect Your Furnace.Check the area around your furnace to make sure that nothing flammable is stored nearby. Make sure that your furnace is working after its summer vacation by turning up the thermostat to 80 degrees to see if it still pumps out the heat.Buy furnace filters and replace the old one right away. Continue replacing once a month during the heating season. If possible, use reusable electrostatic or electronic filters that can be washed.Consider installing a programmable thermostat that can automatically turn down your heat during the night and day, and raise the temperature during the morning and evening hours that people are up and about.It’s a good idea to have an expert inspect your furnace once every year or two. This $100-150 inspection should include an assessment of your thermostat and pilot light, and an inspection of the furnace heat exchanger. If your home is heated by a hot-water radiator, bleed the valves by opening them slightly. When water appears, close them.

Get Your Fireplace or Wood Stove Ready—And the Chimney Too.Chimneys don’t necessarily need to be swept every year, but they should be inspected before each heating season. However, the extensive use of a woodstove does dictate a cleaning for every 1⁄4 inch of creosote buildup. If needed, call a chimney sweep to remove soot and creosote.Inspect the cap and screen on the top of the chimney to make sure it will keep out rodents and birds.Inspect the fireplace damper for proper opening and closing. Keep it closed except when in use to keep out cold air. Install glass doors on your fireplace or stove, and keep them closed when not in use to minimize heat loss and air infiltration.Stock up on firewood. Store it in a dry place away from the exterior of your home.

Block All Air Leaks—Inside and Out. Find and plug the obvious leaks around your house to keep your house cozy and cold air outside, where it belongs. To find leaks, walk around the inside of your house on a windy day and hold a lit incense stick (safer than a candle) up against typical drafty areas, such as outside doors and windows and electrical outlets.

The average home may have leaks that amount to an equivalent of a 9 square-foot hole in the wall.

• Use a caulking gun to apply caulk to any areas—inside and out—where you can see a crack or gap, or feel a draft.

• Around windows and doors, apply weather stripping to eliminate drafty spots.

• Install door sweeps to close gaps under exterior doors.

• Install outlet gaskets in drafty outlets on outside walls.

• Apply caulk around outdoor faucets, other piping, and where wires enter the house.

• Install your storm windows, and replace your screen doors with storm doors.

• If you don’t have storm windows, use window insulation kits to seal windows and patio doors. This is especially important for single-pane glass windows. The plastic sheet is attached to a window’s interior with double-stick tape. (It can easily be removed in the spring.) The kits are very easy to install and costs about $3-5 per window.

• Cover basement window wells with airtight plastic shields.

• Seal foundation cracks and crawlspace entrances.These steps can cost less than $30 but easily save $80 or more in heating costs this winter. Use green materials, such as non-toxic caulk, whenever possible.

Add Insulation.

Since warm air rises, the single most effective way to save on heating is to have adequate attic insulation. Add insulation as needed to ensure a minimum of 12 inches in your attic. If you can see your ceiling joists, your ceiling needs more insulation. (If you're layering insulation atop other insulation, don't use the kind that has a paper backing because it will act as a vapor barrier and may cause moisture problems. The estimated yearly savings from additional insulation could be as much as $150 to $200.

• Insulate any pipes that run through crawlspaces, basements or garages. Wrap them with pre-molded foam rubber sleeves or fiberglass insulation, which is available at hardware stores. If you're really worried about a pipe freezing, you can first wrap it with heating tape, which is basically an electrical cord that emits heat.

• Insulate any duct work running through unheated spaces, such as crawl spaces and attics. Some homes with central heating can lose up to 60% of its heated air if ductwork is not well-connected and insulated, or if it must travel through unheated spaces. Seal gaps and joints with a metal-backed tape (duct tape actually doesn't stand up over time). Ducts should be vacuumed once every few years, to clean out the dust, animal hair, and other gunk that can gather in them and cause respiratory problems.

• Wrap insulation around your water heater, and insulate your hot water pipes. The estimated yearly saving is $30 to $40.

Prepare the Outside of Your Home.

• Check the flashing on the edges of your roof to ensure that water cannot enter the home. Replace worn roof shingles or tiles. Drain all garden hoses. Insulate any exposed plumbing pipes. Drain the air conditioner pipes. If your air conditional has a water shut-off valve, turn it off. Get a new snow shovel if needed. Buy bags of ice-melt or sand to deal with ice buildup. Trim trees as needed to prevent winter injury. Seal driveways, brick patios and wood decks.

• Clean out the gutters. Use a hose to spray water down the downspouts to clear away debris. Consider installing leaf guards on the gutters or extensions on the downspouts to direct water away from the home. Clogged downspouts and drains can form ice dams in gutters, in which water backs up, freezes, and causes water to seep into the house.

Install Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors.Check the operation of your smoke detectors and change the battery. Install a carbon monoxide detector near your furnace and/or wood-burning stove. Buy a fire extinguisher or replace an extinguisher older than 10 years.

Prepare an Emergency Plan.Buy indoor candles and matches or a lighter for use during a power shortage. Find the phone numbers for your utility companies and tape them near your phone or inside the phone book. Store extra bottled water and non-perishable food supplies (including pet food, if you have a pet), blankets, and a first-aid kit in a dry and easy-to-access location. Prepare an evacuation plan in the event of an emergency.

More information is available from the Department of Energy in a publication titled "Energy Savers: Tips on Saving Energy and Money at Home". It can be downloaded at http://www.livinggreenmag.com/Also, check out "http://homerepair.about.com

Upsides of the Bailout for Green Industries

By Ryan Moehring
Regardless of your opinion of the recent bailout/rescue plan recently approved by congress, if you’re an EcoBroker® you’re probably pretty excited about the incentives the bill includes for energy efficiency and renewable energy. Among the big winners are solar, wind, geothermal and alternative fuels. The tax incentives included in the bill are:
An eight-year extension of the investment tax credit (ITC) for solar energy.
A multi-year extension of the production tax credit (PTC) for energy derived from biomass, geothermal, hydropower, waves and tides, landfill gas and solid waste (through September 30, 2011).
A one-year extension of the PTC for energy derived from wind.
Incentives for carbon capture and sequestration demonstration projects.
Incentives for the production of domestically-produced renewable fuels, such as biodiesel and renewable diesel, and for the installation of E-85 pumps for consumers to fill up flex-fuel vehicles.
Tax credits of $3,000 or more toward the purchase of fuel-efficient, plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Incentives for energy conservation in commercial buildings, residential structures and energy-efficient appliances.
The solar industry is particularly rewarded under the legislation, benefitting from substantial incentives for both residential and large-scale solar projects. The existing 30 percent solar investment tax credit has been extended to 2016, bolstering the confidence of utilities, investors and solar startups to make long-term investments in larger projects such as power plants. The $2,000 cap on the federal residential solar tax credit has been removed, which means that after December 31, 2008, homeowners who install a new system can now claim a 30 percent federal tax credit. Couple this federal credit with state incentives, and the cost to install solar is now dramatically slashed in some states.
To learn more, visit the following sites:
http://www.speaker.gov/legislation?id=0260 (Speaker Pelosi’s summary of the bill)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.07060 (the bill in its entirety)

Household Waste Disposal - Eco Broker Newsletter

Talking Trash: Helping Your Clients with Household Hazardous Waste Disposal
What is considered “hazardous” when a seller cleans out trash while readying a home for sale? What if a buyer moves into an existing home and finds old paint in the garage? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that Americans generate approximately 1.6 million tons of hazardous waste each year. The National Marketing Institute, which documents growth of consumer trends, shows an increase since 2006 in the numbers of consumers who participated in household hazardous waste (HHW) disposal.
Realtors have an opportunity to provide local information to buyers and sellers about proper disposal of these materials and products. Many buyers and sellers may not be aware of which common household items are considered harmful to living things and the environment. Even if clients know which materials and products are hazardous and they have separated those items from everyday trash, they may not know where to take them. Enter the Realtor.
John Cafasso, a Certified EcoBroker®, works in the Colorado Springs area of Colorado’s El Paso County. Cafasso provides clients with a flyer listing hazardous household items that are accepted for disposal with the address of a site for homeowners in that area. Cafasso said his local board, the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors, was receptive to his recommendation and even posted the flyer on their website’s homepage. “When you go to a listing appointment, provide the client with a flyer,” Cafasso suggests. “We also put the information in an HOA newsletter to reach even more people.” If an item contains volatile chemicals, it is on the EPA’s list of hazardous household waste. Regulation varies by state. The EPA encourages states to develop and run their own hazardous waste programs. Most states base their programs on federal requirements but some states are more stringent than others.The EPA groups all waste into categories then places items on lists based on the ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity and toxicity of each material. Most people suspect that gasoline, pesticides and herbicides make the list, but what about motor oil? Thermostats? Car batteries? Old prescriptions from the medicine cabinet? The EPA website Household Recycling pages provide lots of disposal information and relevant links. Go to www.epa.gov/Region4/recycle/householdrecycling.htm. A good, user-friendly place to start is earth911.org. At the top of their homepage is a banner to enter what type of trash homeowners/buyers have (or just type “household hazardous waste”), along with their ZIP code or City, State. Press GO and a list appears of all HHW disposal sites within 25 miles of that area. As John Cafasso puts it: “If we educate Realtors and homeowners about the household hazardous waste disposal facilities, it will be good for the environment.”