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#1 |
Lurking Renovator
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Indiana
Posts: 10
Thanks: 5
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
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![]() I'm here mostly because I'm interested in learning new creative ways of reducing my NIPSCo bill (electric / natural gas utility) while making my home perform like I want. I'm pretty excited I just slashed my natural gas usage by installing a water heater blanket on my new water heater, not to mention the basement it's located in will remain cooler where I have some food storage. I did this about 5 or 6 weeks ago and just got my first NIPSCo bill since then and it looks like my summer usage dropped from an average of about 1 therm per day down to less than 0.6. It may have helped
![]() Thinking about super-insulating my 2x4 frame house. This probably won't happen for a few years until I can afford to replace the plastic siding with brick. Been lurking here for about a month, looking forward to learning from the wealth of experience and knowledge shared here. |
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#2 | |
Super Moderator
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Posts: 964
Thanks: 189
Thanked 110 Times in 86 Posts
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![]() Welcome to ER
![]() Looks like you're off to a good start, reducing your water heater's energy usage by 40% is quite impressive. You should find lots of ideas here, and if you have any questions just ask ![]() Quote:
Seal up any leaks first. This is much cheaper, helps alot, and you can do it yourself. Have you added insulation to the attic?
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Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog. |
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#3 |
Lurking Renovator
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Indiana
Posts: 10
Thanks: 5
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
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![]() Thanks, Piwoslaw
I've sealed up all the holes in my ceiling but I need to fix some small leaks in the AC handler and ductwork which all starts in the attic. I think I need to box in the air handler and the trunkline with foamboard to isolate from the warm attic. There's about a foot of blown-in cellulose in the attic which I plan to add to after the other issues are resolved. Meanwhile I'm debugging my diy whole house fan I put in the attic access so as to reduce the need for AC. It works but I need to add an electrical switch with maybe a timer or thermostat so it can run a few more hours in the cool of the morning after I've gone to work. The idea of an outdoor clothesline has several problems that the wife will not tolerate, but she does conserve on the dry time for most loads and hangs things up indoors to finish drying them. So far there has never been a moisture problem in the house that I could detect, although I know it's something I'll have to watch as I seal things up more. The house is 24 yrs. old and we've lived here for 5 years. This is our first home ownership experience. AC system was added to the house 9 or 10 years ago. |
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#4 | |
Super Moderator
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Posts: 964
Thanks: 189
Thanked 110 Times in 86 Posts
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![]() Quote:
Using attic heat for the house
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Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog. |
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The Following User Says Thank You to Piwoslaw For This Useful Post: | diyEthic (06-18-12) |
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