Five Simple Ways to Save on Energy

Energy savings are a lot like germs. Theyre everywhere, sometimes hard to
find, and for something seemingly tiny, they can have a very large impact on their
host. In buying an Attic Zipper product, youve taken a step in the right direction by
grasping the energy savings microscope and taking a look at potential energy
saving alternatives. Youre interested in saving money and maybe even helping out
the environment in the process, and who can blame you. These days the polar ice
caps seem to be sweating as much as we are when reviewing our finances. Rest
assured, however, we at Attic Zipper are dedicated to helping your finances through
simple energy saving techniques and, in the process, this big blue marble we call
earth. So sit back and rest your eyes from the microscope, because the scientists at
Attic Zipper are here to present to you five simple ways you can save energy on
your home energy bill.
1. Look Into Ulterior Lighting Options
Unless youre a cat or some sort of vampire hybrid, chances are you use
lightbulbs to see in the dark. As it turns out, youre not alone in this. The U.S.
Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2014 alone 412 billion
kilowatt-hours of electricity lit both residential and commercial sectors, which
amounted to over 11% of total U.S. electricity consumption! 1 Thats a lot of
energy, and if you're using traditional light bulbs it also means a lot of extra
money going from your pocket to a power companys bank account. Other than
flipping off the light when you leave a room (which we highly suggest as a
means to save energy), one thing you can do to reduce the amount of money
you spend in electricity bills is to switch your lightbulbs over to a more energy
efficient lighting option. Currently, there are a few different options to replace

your outdated halogen bulbs. Your first option comes in the form of Compact
Florescent Lamps or CFLs for short. These can be recognized by their twisty
shape, and are a great way to reduce the amount of money you pay in lighting.
As a matter of fact, a study performed by the U.S. Department of Energy found
that these light bulbs will pay for themselves in full in approximately nine
months.2 A further study performed by the U.S. Department of Energy found that
where each traditional light bulb has an estimated annual cost of $4.80, each
CFL has an estimated annual cost of $1.20.

Your second and arguably best

option comes in the form of light emitting diodes or LEDs for short. These are
a bit more expensive than CFLs, but their benefits are twofold: they last up to
twenty-five times longer than traditional light bulbs (around 13.7 years! 4), and
consume less energy than both traditional bulbs and CFLs.

The U.S.

Department of Energy estimates that these bulbs have an estimated annual cost
per bulb of $1!

And, by the way, did we mention LEDs are super bright?

2. Unplug Unused Appliances

Youre running late to work, your kid missed the bus, and your dog just threw up
on the rug. The last thing youre thinking about is unplugging your toaster, coffee
machine, and TV before you leave for a day in the life. But what if we told you that
there are serious savings in taking a minute to unplug those unused appliances? In
fact, experts estimate that if you unplugged the unused appliances in your home
you would save an estimated $100 dollars per year!

We suggest plugging your

appliances into electrical strips. That way, all it takes is turning the strip off to turn a
host of appliances off when not in use. While the savings from this probably wont
be enough to send your kid to Harvard, they do seriously add up. For starters, a new
rug might be nice

3. Replace Your Shower Heads

You know you use a lot of water when showering. Maybe youve tried to calculate
exactly how much once or twice, but deep down you know that you dont want to
know. You figure that if you dont know, you wont feel burdened with the knowledge
of how much water youre using when taking those twenty-five-minute showers.
Were about to ruin that for you, but the good news is that with a shower head
change you might still be able to take those super long showers. The Environmental
Protective Agency (EPA) estimates that the average shower head uses up to 2.5
gallons of water per minute (by the way, that means a twenty-five minute shower
uses 62.5 gallons of water). Given this, the EPA estimates that U.S. water usage
from showers alone measures 1.2 trillion gallons of water per year. One way which
you can reduce the amount of water you use is to install a WaterSense shower
head. This will save you an estimated 2,900 gallons of water, which will in turn save
you some $70 a year! 6
4. Install a Tankless Water heater
Remember that talk we had about those long showers you take? Well, what if we
told you there's still more money to be saved in the act of getting clean? On
average, your tank fed water heater uses about 17% of your homes energy. Let that
number sink in for a minute. 17% of the energy you use in your home comes from
hot water.6 Demand-type water heaters or "tankless water heaters save you
money by only converting the hot water you demand, rather than keeping a bunch
of hot water on standby. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, by installing a
Demand-type water heater, the average home can save 24-34% of the energy it
uses. This means optimally you drop from using up 17% of your energy from

heating your water to 11.22%! For a heavy water using homes (i.e. you taking 25minute showers two times a day), you can save 8-14% of the energy you use in
heating your home. This means that optimally you go from using 17% of your
energy heating water to 14.62%!

5. Make sure your windows and Doors are properly sealed

Okay, okay, so maybe this one doesnt seem simple as the others but stay with
us here. In fact, this is actually a pretty simple fix. Effectively all you need is some
caulk and about an hour or two to spare. Its as simple as going around the frames
of your windows and doors with a caulk gun to seal energy-leaking cracks. What do
you stand to gain? Around 10-15% in energy savings! 8 See, thats not too hard it is?

Works Referenced
1. "How Much Electricity Is Used for Lighting in the United States?" Eia.gov. U.S.
Energy Information Administration, 16 Apr. 2015. Web. 24 May 2015.
2. "Lighting Choices to Save You Money." Energy.gov. N.p., 5 Nov. 2014. Web. 24
May 2015.
3. "How Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs Compare with Traditional
Incandescents." Energy.gov. N.p., 5 Nov. 2014. Web. 24 May 2015.
4. "LED Life Expectancy | Electronics Weekly." Led Luminaries. Electronics Weekly,
04 Feb. 2009. Web. 24 May 2015.
5. Brindle, Beth. "When to Pull the Plug - How Much Can You save by Unplugging
Appliances?" HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2015
6. "Ask Energy Saver: Home Water Heating." Energy.gov. N.p., 24 Mar. 2014. Web.
27 May 2015.
7. "Tankless or Demand-Type Water Heaters." Energy.gov. N.p., 2 May 2012. Web.
26 May 2015.

8. "Savings Project: How to Seal Air Leaks with Caulk." Savings Project: How to Seal
Air Leaks with Caulk. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2015.