For years home owners
have installed automatic
electric timers as burglary
prevention devices, to turn
lights on an off automatically
to make homes look oc-
cupied when residents are
away. Now timers are being
used as a special way to help
homeowners fight
skvrocketing utility bills.

In this new apphecation,
lamers can be used to help
control some of the
voractous consumers of
energy in the home, the
furnace, air conditioning
systems and electric water
heaters as well as be used
for the famibar function of
turning bghts on and off at
specific times

most

In 1987S an electrons
engineer named James Hall
mn Columbia South
Carolina, expenmented to
find outaf there really was an
energy saving bv using
tuners He found that in one

SPOTLIGHT ON ENGLISH BAY as seen from Folkstone Way in West Vancouver.

year timers helped by cutting
his electricity bill by $800
According to an I[llinots
Timing Device manufac-
turer, a timer designed by his
company used in con-
junction with the electric hot
water heater reduced
homeowner's clectric bills by
about $15 per month He
said a 40-gallon 9 quick-
recovery clecthie wales
heater uses up fo an average
of 750) kilowatt hours of
electneity each month. By
setting a specially designed
timer to turn it on only three
hours a day.
sufficnent hot

enough for
water ws
kilowatt hours a month can
be saved Figured at 4 cents
per kilowatt hour this was a
saving of SES per month or
close to $200 per vear

Other timers can be used
to help reduce heating and
cooling costs on a central
system controlled by a single
thermostat: Designers of this

hew Umer say a homeowner

can reahze a9 to 16 percent
saving in heating costs if itas
used in tandem with a
temperature setback
mechanisim, connected to
the tumer by a length of
flexible plastic tubing and
plugged into a wall outlet
near the thermostat.

When the timer flicks the
selbach mechanism on,
slightly heated air 1s blown
into. the thermostat which
then “thinks” the room has
warmed up and reacts by
turning the furnace down
The same timer can be used
with air conditioning
equipment In summer

If you are in the marke:
for another home right aw
the Real Estate Board of
Csreater Vancouver reminds
potential buyers there are
other ways to minimaze fuel
use by choosing that home
wisely, A two storey design
with a smaller roof area or a

sing energy can save energy

square-shaped home has less
heat loss area.

Look for a house where
the biggest windows face
south, Large expanses of
glass could be double glazed
or should be covered by
imsulated drapes (to cul
winter heat loss) Check the
present tnsulation or ad-
ditional insulation
peossibilives in any
you're considenng

Besides checking with
your electncian to see what
timers can do for you in
energy saving, make energy
conservation an important
part of the investigation of

home

voutre looking oat houses
nyht now .
Additional energy saving

ups are outlined ina free
pamphiet called What can
one family do? available to
householders from any
member of the Real Estate
Board oof (sreater Van
COUCE

O8Or US venvesl ews yabas?d-3T)
C17-Sunday News, January 27, 1980

(Ian Smith photo)

Dave Jenneson

Call me today.

The Real Estate Showcase can put your home
or your listings ‘on view’ across the whole North

Shore When you want to advertise in the Real
Estate Showcase, call me

980-051T

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