COLUMBUS -- As the days grow shorter and the weather turns cooler, many area residents have begun to think about weatherizing their homes against the onslaught of even colder weather ahead.
“It’s never too late to think about weatherizing your home,” said Loup Power District’s New Business Supervisor Rick Cheloha. “Loup Power District offers a free energy audit to its residential and commercial customers to help them find ways to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and buildings.”
ENERGY STAR, a nationwide energy efficiency program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) offers helpful tips to improve energy efficiency on its Web site at www.energystar.gov.
One of the most economical ways area residents can improve energy efficiency in residential and commercial properties is by properly sealing and insulating the structure.
According to ENERGY STAR, homeowners can potentially save up to 20 percent on heating and cooling costs, or as much as 10 percent on their total annual energy bill, by improving the sealing and insulation of their home.
Easy-to-find air leaks and drafts are those that can be felt around doors and windows. Air leaks in attics, basements and crawl spaces may require more effort to discover.
Sealing as many of these leaks as possible with caulk, spray foam or weather stripping can have a significant impact on improving comfort and reducing utility bills.
The agency encourages property owners to always have a heating and cooling technician check to make sure any gas or oil fueled appliances are venting properly after any home sealing project
Cheloha said Loup’s free energy audit is done with the residential or commercial customer during a walk-through of the home or business.
“We do a walk through energy audit with the customer and offer our verbal recommendations and discuss what we’re seeing with the customer,” Cheloha said.
All the experts agree adequate insulation helps keep the home warm in winter and cold in summer.
Common types of insulation include batt or blown fiberglass, cellulose, rigid foam board and spray foam. When correctly installed along with air sealing, each type of insulation can deliver lower energy bills during the hottest and coldest times of the year. Adding insulation to the attic is often the most effective way to increase energy savings.
A quick way to learn if more insulation is needed is to look across the uncovered attic floor. If the insulation is level with or below the attic floor joists, more insulation may be needed.
Cornhusker Public Power also offers help to residential customers looking to make their home more energy efficient. Energy Saver Tips can be found at the utility’s Web site at www.cornhusker-power.com.
“When you get to Cornhusker’s home page, scroll down the page to the Touchstone Energy icon,” said Judy Trautwein, information and marketing director.”
The link to Touchstone Energy Savers reveals several tools to help the homeowner reduce energy costs including Seal the Deal, a brief do-it-yourself video showing how to seal small cracks and insulate to save on energy costs; Virtual House Tour offers a virtual tour of a typical home for room-by-room steps to take to save energy the Light Bulb Saver, an online home energy audit and other helpful calculators and information.
“The online home energy audit shows customers the best ways to manager their home energy use,” Trautwein said. “It’s designed for every level of user.”
Visit www.touchstoneener
gysavers.com to directly access the tools and information
Trautwein said that in addition to on-line energy efficiency information, Cornhusker offers free booklets detailing actions homeowners can take to help make their homes more energy efficient.
Saving and reducing energy makes it possible to delay the need for the construction of new power plants in Nebraska’s public power system.
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