By Shomial Ahmad, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-885286.mp3
Dallas, TX –
Electric bills always increase in winter and summer, but there are steps - some of them inexpensive - you can take to keep those costs in line. Shomial Ahmad in today's KERA Economy segment tells how two Tarrant County couples lowered their energy bills.
Diane Bates and her family live in a two-story, 3700-square-foot house. It's near Fort Worth's Alliance Airport. Last summer, their electric bills were huge, around $800. They knew that there wasn't enough insulation in the attic, so the Bates family decided to take on a do-it-yourself project.
Diane Bates: It took lots and lots and pounds and pounds of bags to Home Depot, but it the end it paid off.
They spent $1,200, blowing in their own fiberglass insulation. That might sound like a lot of money. But, guess what? Their next month's bill was $300 less. The Bates knew their savings would pay for the insulation in less than a year. They were excited.
Diane Bates: Wow, we had such a big gain with the insulation. Let's go out there and see what else we can do.
The Bates did some research and found out that they could pay for an energy auditor to identify other ways to save. They contacted Larry Taylor of Fort Worth's AirRite Air Conditioning Company. He performs most audits for a couple hundred dollars.
Larry Taylor: When we first enter a home, we're looking for the easy visual items related to energy loss: looking at windows, weather stripping, base plates.
Taylor says you can save a lot of money if you can keep outside air from getting in, and prevent indoor air from escaping.
Navigate the recession with KERA! Get tips on avoiding foreclosure, access job resources and more at kera.org/economy.
To find the leaks in the Bates' home, Taylor uses the blower door test. He places a fan near a sealed opening in the front door. A gauge, connected to the fan, measures pressure inside the house.
Larry Taylor: So the noise you hear is the fan coming to speed, getting the pressure and you're starting to feel the air coming from outside. We've got enough pressure in the house, we're going to take a smoke pencil around to show you what's happening.
The smoke pencil shows air leaking out of the house-- from the cabinet underneath the kitchen sink, from light switches on outer walls and around the weather stripping of a sliding door.
Taylor suggests three inexpensive, do-it-yourself fixes.
First, use caulk to seal the spaces around doors, cabinet and window trims.
Second, try gasketting. Place a foam liner under an electrical switch or wall plug. The liner prevents air from sliding through plugs and switches.
Third, install weather stripping. Press the adhesive foam strip around door joints and windows.
Taylor says those three steps may cost the Bates around $200, but they'll save five to ten percent on their electric bills.
If you want even bigger savings, and can afford to spend more up front, you can make more extensive changes.
That's what Denine and Henri Beaino of Arlington did. They moved into their home in the fall of 2006.
And they soon hired an auditor to find out why they had an electric bill of $1,000 a month for a 4,100-square-foot house.
Denine Beaino: We got hit pretty hard, pretty quick. We were quite surprised.
The Beainos learned the main culprit was their ancient heating and cooling unit.
They replaced it with a high efficiency unit. They also changed their home's air ducts, placed a radiant foil barrier in their attic and installed 36 solar panels on the roof. Henri was pleased.
Henri Beaino: Denine, here, likes to be very eco-friendly, save the planet, save energy. I'm interested in the other aspect of the green life, meaning, saving my dollars that I'm paying for my bill every month. That's how it worked out for both of us.
The improvements were expensive: $40,000. But the Beaino's electric bill dropped from a $1,000 to $250 a month. At that rate, they expect to pay for the improvements in about eight years, and their investment will keep saving them money forever.
To learn more tips on finding energy savings in your home and tax credits that can help reduce the cost of upgrades, visit KERA.org/economy.