help! My Heating Bills are killing me

With below zero temperatures before Thanksgiving and no end in sight for the cold temperatures, many homeowners are feeling the higher cost of their energy bills. What can you do to lower these bills?

Simple things like putting on a sweater and lowering your thermostat would help. Installing a programmable thermostat also saves energy over the course of a long winter.

What if you already do those things and your bills seem excessive? You could benefit from a thermal scan. Hire a certified thermographer, and there are numerous home inspectors in Anchorage with that credential, to do a thermal scan of your property. We use a FLIR infra-red camera which gives a clear picture of temperature anomalies in order to pinpoint areas of your home losing significant energy.

Not only can your scan uncover energy loss with the camera, but a qualified professional can point out ways to increase the energy efficiency of your home. Three major areas of heat loss in a typical Southcentral home include the following:

1. Insufficient attic and crawlspace insulation.

2. Poor air sealing.

3. Older, inefficient garage doors.

Current attic insulation requirements can be as high as R-49, and most older homes are lucky to have R-19. It’s the biggest bang for the buck to add additional insulation to an attic area. Don’t forget to insulate attic hatches as well. Air sealing doors and windows is quite simple and inexpensive if you can manage the weatherization yourself. Get a good quality caulk and replace any old deteriorating caulking from around your home. Replacing an older inefficient garage door is typically over $1000, and would pay for itself over time, but sometimes improving the doors’ ability to retain the garage heat is rather simple. Your local box store has door weatherization kits available to make marked improvements.

This image shows a bay of insulation completely missing (dark blue area) in a portion of the attic that was not accessible.

A few final thoughts, kits are available to insulate receptacles and light switches which may be losing heat to the exterior. You’d be surprised how much energy loss is attributed to 30 or more outlets in the home. Replacing all incandescent light bulbs with LED’s can be expensive but they also pay for themselves in due time. Upgrading an older furnace or boiler can definitely help, but again, the payback could be many years.

How come you aren’t mentioning windows? Replacing old single pane drafty windows might make sense if you will be owning the home for years to come, but new windows are not a significant energy savings over decent ones already installed in the home. Since replacement costs are so high, it may be better to add weather stripping and adjust the windows so they seal better.

If you have any questions or would like an energy scan of your home please schedule with us by calling 243-4476.