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Id 7505-1344 Street, Surrey, B.C. V3W 7B3

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WHEN IT comes to energy costs,
the law of gravity will let you
down. For years, electricity and
other energy costs have been going
up and they'll likely not come
down.

By Pauia Marshall
Contributing Writer

Home-smart economics suc-
ceeds where physics fails: less
energy used equals increased cash
flow. Reduce your home’s energy
use by improving its efficiency.

To improve your home’s effi-
ciency, energy experts recommend
a basic two-pronged approach:
protect your home from the
weather, and look for ways to use
energy wisely.

Keeping the weather out — and
the expensive heated or cooled air
in — is key to reducing home

energy use.

Plugging air leaks, especially by
fixing cracked or leaky windows,
is one of the most important
things a person can do to improve
a home’s energy efficiency, says
specialist Robert Corbett.

To find air leaks, turn off the
furnace or air conditioner, close
the windows and move a short
piece of thread around switches,
electrical. outlets, and door and
window frames on a windy day.
Where the thread flutters, there’s
aleak. .

Lock for hidden air leaks, too.
Air ducts that run through
unheated areas, the spaces around
recessed ceiling lights and holes
for plumbing lines can waste
energy.

“The air loss through one hid-
den leak could equal the air loss
through all of a home’s win-
dows,” says consumer energy-
saving guide author Alex Wilson.

At hardware and home im-
provement stores, you'll find a
stoppers.
Weatherstripping is good for door
and window openings, caulk is
good for sealing small cracks, and
expanding foam.is good for filling
in gaps over one-quarter inch
wide.

The top, bottom and sides of
your home also need protection.
Blown-in cellulose

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with many features

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insulation is.

BY MONITORING your thermostat end lowering the temperatur
when the house is empty, homeowners can cut t energy. costs snd

become more power conscience.

used in walls and attics. Unfaced
fiberglass batting is roiled out be-
tween and across attic joists and
under floors.

Insulation increases the R-value
where it is installed. R-value is, a
measure of a material's ability
to resist heat flow. The higher the
R-value, the harder it is for heat
to pass through.

If your house’ is already in-
sulated, contact B.C. Hydro to
find out if you need more to meet
recommended R-values.

Wilson advises hiring a contrac.

tor for this job. Ask friends to ©

suggest insulating contractors and
fook in the phone book.

One way to reduce home utility
bills is to look at how you use —
and possibly waste — energy.
Then find ways to cut back.

Start by making sure your ma-
jor energy-consuming | appliances
are in
Have a qualified service person
check the furnace-and air condi-
tioner annually before
them on for the season. Year-
round, keep the filter clean and
the venis unobstructed.

Keeping the heating and cooling”
systems in good working order

should be a top energy concern.:
“No matter what else you do to’
improve efficiency, if the air con-

ditioner or furnace isn’t operating .

efficiently, you're. wasting

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‘cooling costs. A ‘set-back: th

top running ~ condition. °

turning ~

energy,’” says Corbett, .

Reducing thie use of. your “fur:
nace or air conditioner when ‘no
one is home and at’ nigh! ;
another way. to save hea g cand:
stat accomplishes this.” with ‘little
effort on your part.

The water: heater is responsible
for about 20% of the. average
household’s ~ total energy:
Have your water héater-
once a year to keep tai
running order...

Also, lower.

air-convection trap:
keep ‘cool _ water:

- back into the tank.

and faucets,
water,‘ normally.”.-witho
Noticing the change.

You are --the ‘mo
variable - in energy:

as the inhabitants of.
lar house “in ‘the sami