Energy prices are on the rise across the nation. As a result, heating costs will consume an increasingly larger portion of a household’s energy budget. That’s why it’s important to check your home to insure that your heating dollars aren’t being wasted.
When cold weather approaches, use this checklist of simple ways to make your home more comfortable and keep those escalating energy bills at bay.
Check for Leaks
Weatherstripping and caulking is probably the least expensive, simplest, most effective way to cut down on energy waste in the winter. Improperly sealed homes can waste 10 to 15 percent of the homeowner’s heating dollars. Take these steps:
Check around doors and windows for leaks and drafts. Add weather-stripping and caulk any holes you see that allow heat to escape. Make sure doors seal properly.
If your windows leak really badly, consider replacing them with newer, more efficient ones. Keep in mind, however, that replacing windows can be expensive – it could take you quite awhile to recover your costs from the energy savings alone. But new windows also provide other benefits, such as improved appearance and comfort.
Every duct, wire or pipe that penetrates the wall or ceiling or floor has the potential to waste energy. Plumbing vents can be especially bad, since they begin below the floor and go all the way through the roof. Seal them all with caulking or weather-stripping.
Electric wall plugs and switches can allow cold air in. Purchase simple-to-install, pre-cut foam gaskets that fit behind the switch plate and effectively prevent leaks.
Don’t forget to close the damper on your fireplace. Of course the damper needs to be open if a fire is burning; but if the damper is open when you’re not using the fireplace, your chimney functions as a large open window that draws warm air out of the room and creates a draft. Close that damper – it’s an effective energy-saving tip that costs you nothing!
Examine your house’s heating ducts for leaks. Think of your ductwork as huge hoses, bringing hot air instead of water into your house. Mostly out of sight, ducts can leak for years without you knowing it. They can become torn or crushed and flattened. Old duct tape – the worse thing to use to seal ductwork, by the way – will dry up and fall away over time, allowing junctions and splices to open, spilling heated air into your attic or under the house. It’s wasteful. According to field research performed by the California Energy Commission, you can save roughly 10 percent of your heating bill by preventing leaky ducts.
Here’s an excerpt from the Rockin Rio Nido Column from the October 2011 Sonoma County Gazette. Thanks to Elena Chronis, Kim Link, and local Russian River residents for sharing this info:
As our home prices continue to fall, you might ask yourself what you can do to help retain what equity you may have left, if any. The answer is simple, consider street appeal. Did you know that messy yards can lower your home value, and the homes in your area, as much as 15% pursuant to the Appraisal Institute*? The math is also simple. For example, if you feel your house is worth $200,000 in today’s market, divide by 0.85. You will see that your house could be worth approximately $235,000 if it wasn’t for blight attributed to unkempt yards in your neighborhood, in theory. Now take that $35,000 in lost equity, and multiply it by the 50 or so homes in your immediate area, and you’ll see that you and your neighbors could be losing up to $1,750,000 in equity. Additionally, a cluster of unkempt and cluttered yards can, and likely will, stigmatize an area. There can be long term benefits if a neighborhood presents itself well, and avoids potential home buyers developing a bad first impression that may last for years. In this time of economic hardship, it is imperative that every homeowner makes the most out of their home investment. Remember, $5,000 in equity can easily make or break a refinancing deal that could, in turn, save you tens of thousands of dollars.
Some of you may be happy that you’re paying fewer taxes due to your depressed home value, but did you ever take time to think of how the lost tax revenue to the County affects your life? We all enjoy living in our natural environment; it’sprobable that many of us appreciated County’s prompt attention to picking up roadside trash when the County could afford to pay to keep our roads clean. It’s not to say that this particular issue would be solved if your neighbor cleaned up their messy yard, but it does eventually all tie together. Furthermore, it is likely that the amount of taxes you’re saving is very minor to the amount of equity you could cash in on, should you need to sell your house. If your fence is broken down, consider either repairing it properly, or simply removing it. A broken-down or unprofessionally patched fence implies neglect, another culprit in property devaluation. When the perception of your neighborhood improves, likely so will the equity in your home.
Come join the Friends of Rio Nido this Saturday at 10am in the Rio Nido Home Owners Association park. We’ll keep you up date on what’s going on around our neighborhood and help plan our community activities for the next few months. Need more information? Check us out online here.
Opening August 26, Pegasus Theater Company’s annual festival of northern California’s finest new short plays will run five weekends through September 25.
Here’s a taste of what’s to come–a nature lover’s tears fall into the sea and a mythical Selkie appears, an actress auditions for a new play that seems strangely familiar, a bankrupt son wants to turn his mother’s house into a B&B, and an estranged wife breaks into her rival’s home and demands the furniture.
Come on by the Roadhouse for another music-filled weekend! Friday night features the SoulShine Blues. Listen to soulful renditions of familiar blues standards as well as gritty and infectious original tunes. Music starts at 6pm. Cover charge at the door.
On Saturday you’ll see Levi Lloyd & the 501s Blues. Levi is guitar and vocals blues veteran and has played with B. B. King, John Lee Hooker, and toured worldwide.
Rooted in the fertile musical soil of the Sonoma County Wine Country the Pulsators are a five piece band that plays its own brand of music. With a get-up-and-dance kind of orchestration, their music has been defined as a spicy blend of driving blues, New Orleans-funky R&B, rock steady reggae and rock-and-roll. Don’t miss this performance at the Rio Nido Roadhouse. Dancing starts at 6pm.
C’mon out to the 3rd Annual Western Hoedown BBQ & Dance at the Rio Nido Roadhouse this Saturday, the 20th. Kids’ activities begin at 5 p.m. The place’ll look like an ol’ timey country BBQ and dance.The Two Rock Ramblers will be playing their tasty country, western, and bluegrass music to the delight of all who love it–whether just listening or dancing. Speaking of tasty, enjoy the ribs and chicken, salads, and down-home delicious apple pie or apple something. And once again, we’ll be having the serious, hilarious watermelon eating contest for the kids. Adult tickets are $20 in advance, $22 at the door; $10 for kids, and those under 6, Free.
