Some fun with energy saving…
In light of the incredible levels of heat and drought we’ve been experiencing in Texas, I thought I would take some steps to cut our home’s energy and water usage - all kinds of fun, so here’s my list.
- Installed a tankless hot water heater in the attic - did wonders for the gas bill, and fixed the problem I had with the steaming hot attic causing my old tank-based hot water heater shutting down every day in 140 plus degree attic temps
- Installed solar guards on the back, west facing windows. This did WONDERS for the temp in the bedrooms facing west. Awesome stuff, and very affordable for the level of comfort it brought with it.
- Had the A/C serviced (twice a year) - they always find/tweak something and it keeps the largest electricity consumer in the house running efficiently
- Had the city utility provider come do a home energy audit - great stuff, free results!
- Change the air filter monthly - believe it or not, this helps your A/C not work as hard to pull air through a dirty filter, making it work less
- Installing turbines in the attic - those ridge vents just don’t cut it, so good ol’ fashioned turbines do the trick to really lower the temp up there
- Installed a new security system that automatically raises the temp in the house when we leave - that way the house is not cooled down too much while we’re gone
So that’s about it for now, but there’s lots more to do than this. Just gotta take it one step at a time!
