If you ’re favourable enough to survive in an oldfarmhouse , you may appreciate the appeal and unique character an old geezer can offer . You also might have discovered that it can be a challenge to keep an old house fond in the winter , and you may be inquire if some of the Energy Department - efficiency options today are applicable to an old house .
My husband and I have discover that , even in our 10 - room , nineteenth - century farmhouse in Massachusetts , where winters can be tenacious and inhuman , it ’s possible to reduce the use of electrical energy through modus vivendi changes , equipment upgrade and even alternative - energy result . Once we decided to become more aggressive in cut off away at the energy - wise improvements we started more than 30 twelvemonth ago , we reduced our annual electrical use by about 2,000 kW 60 minutes .
A good place to start when valuate your vim use is a home energy audited account . Ahome zip auditcan help oneself you name potential chance for reducing your electrical energy pulmonary tuberculosis . Our home energy audit was offered for free by our galvanising companionship .
Rethink lightbulbs.
As part of the audited account , we were grant 24 thick fluorescent lightbulbs ( CFLs ) to replace the stock incandescent bulbs we had in our lamps and lighting fixtures . According to Energy Star , a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy , CFLs use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulb .
A CFL last for about five years and , over its life , can preserve $ 30 in electricity cost . Be cognizant that the bulbs contain a small amount of mercury , so disposed of them properly when they arrive at the close of their useful life .
Kick clunkers to the curb.
Many people have an former , spare icebox in the basement for potable or to buy in up on certain items when they ’re on sale at the grocery store store . If you have one , it might be time to rethink its economic value in your home . Do you really need a spare ? If you do , it could be worth supervene upon , even if it ’s been an “ old faithful . ”
One of the finding of our energy audited account was that the old clunker refrigerator we had in the shed was suckle up about 180 kWh of electrical energy per month , at a time when our median monthly usage was 797 kWh per month .
We argue whether we really needed a spare refrigerator , but ours is always full , whether with summertime vegetable from the garden wait to be processed or with leftovers from home gatherings . We resolve to replace it with a more energy - effective model that used only 40 kWh per month .
Switch up your routine.
There are small , cheap steps you’re able to take to subdue your electrical energy consumption , some involving minor changes to your life style . The first home to start is with the basics — turn off sparkle when you leave a way .
Another spot to look for deliverance is the laundry room . On average , electrical dryer use 3.3 kWh of electricity per load , which can really bestow up over the class of a month . We decided to boil down our use of the electric dryer by tune - drying our clothes whenever potential . We buy a five - line retractable clothesline for our railyard and started hanging the laundry to dry . We purchased a folding wooden dry out wheel for indoor role during inclement weather . ( The add benefit of dry out wearing apparel indoors in winter is that it helps humidify the melodic line . )
Stake a few energy “vampires.”
Just about every home — young or one-time — has “ energy vampires , ” electrical gadgets that eat power even after you ’ve wrench them off . In your kitchen , a digital clock on the cooking stove , the coffeepot and the microwave are all free energy lamia . If the TV and stereo have little cerise indicant lights on , even when they ’re off , they ’re sucking energy . Anything with a “ chunky ” hoopla is also an energy lamia : Think prison cell - speech sound battery charger , laptops and even hair dryers . Any contrivance plug that feel warm to the sense of touch when it ’s off is an energy lamia . The most obvious thing to do is unplug them when they ’re not in use .
Unplugging may not always be practical , especially with entertainment system or estimator system , which have multiple pieces of gear linked together , some of which ca n’t be turn off without painful consequences . One inexpensive gadget that can help is a Smart Strip Power Strip . ( Some electrical caller sell them or offer rebates on them . ) This strip allows you to plug in all your equipment in a related to arrangement , have it controlled by one gimmick in that system , and still allow for the critical small-arm on . We discovered our galvanising party had tested these devices and concluded that one Smart Strip , over the class of a class , would keep launch the equivalent kilowatt hours of two Energy Star - rate refrigerator .
Get the goods that do good.
In 2009 , we came across data about a kV - ampere - reactance ( KVAR ) energy controller , said to aid contract electricity usage in buildings containing a lot of motorized equipment . According to the manufacturer , the KVAR is “ an muscularity - lay aside twist designed to optimise electrical motors and deoxidise amperage and heat propagation , which results in a lower consumption of electricity . ”
We have a swimming pocket billiards with a ticker that runs often during the summertime , two refrigerator , a freezer , an breeze conditioner in the bedchamber during the summer , and a sump heart that runs almost around-the-clock during the rainy season . We thought the KVAR was deserving a flavor .
After getting character from two citizenry who had installed these equipment in their homes with beneficial answer , we decided to purchase one . The twist cost us about $ 400 and required facility by a qualified electrician directly at the electric box and in the first position . The manufacturer guarantee a 6- to 10 - percent decrease in electricity consumption in the first 60 days after installation . In the first 6 months after we had it installed , our electrical energy phthisis drop down by 20 percent compared to the same stop the old year .
Give electricity the slide.
It ’s not as high - tech as some of the substitute energy sources making the word today , but heating with wood is virtual if you have a readily uncommitted supply of comparatively inexpensive woods . There are a few options for how to heat with wood , from the high - end outside woods furnaces and indoor furnaces that utilise a combination of wood and coal or wood and crude oil to the small - end Mrs. Henry Wood stove .
We have two woodwind instrument stoves to help hot up our household . One is a loose - standing unit located in a primal room ; the other is a hearth insert model at the far oddment of the house . The elbow room where the free - standing unit is located ( aka , the “ Mrs. Henry Wood - stove way ” ) is floored with ceramic tile , which helps continue rut from the stove . The elbow room has wide doorways on two walls , one of which has a 3.5 - inch - square buff mounted in the recession to help distribute the oestrus . We use four to five cords of wood each year , about half of which we gather ourselves for gratuitous .
If you ’re ready to take the plunge into something a little more gamey - tech , solar water heating might be the answer . An installer explained how such a organization could be implemented in our household with no disruption to wall and ceilings .
Our house is situate ideally for a scheme like this , with a southwest - facing orientation unobstructed by trees . The solar collector posture on our ceiling , facing south . The conduit pipe carry the water to and from the solar accumulator run across the roof and down the back of the house , on the exterior , connect at the basis to the ease of the organisation in our basement .
None of the modification we ’ve made have negatively impacted the look or good luck charm of our antique home base , but they ’ve serve us carry through money and reduce our electrical energy consumption .
This clause is excerpted from “ Farmhouse Face - lift ” in the September / October 2010 issue ofHobby Farm Home .
