Who doesn’t want to make their home smarter and more energy efficient? We all know energy saving basics – turn off the lights when you leave a room, make sure doors and windows are sealed properly and monitor your thermostat. But did you know that your home can energy in other places? Thomas & Betts, an ABB company, offers these four unusual places to save energy and money around the home.
Uncovered windows – Window treatments are an easy and aesthetically pleasing way to conserve energy. Installing window treatments and keeping them closed prevents heat from entering your home through your windows and diminishes the demands on your air conditioning system.
Dirty refrigerator – Cleaning out your refrigerator helps your refrigerator run more efficiently. As you clean, be sure to vacuum and remove residue from refrigerator coils. This ensures that the refrigerator is cooling properly and not wasting energy.
Extension cords in high-traffic rooms – Extension cords are often used to power appliances, lamps, televisions and speakers, but did you know that these cords can lose energy when continuously plugged into appliances? Installing floor boxes can enable easy access points to electrical outlets from anywhere in the room, eliminating the need for extension cords and energy loss.
Cable entry points
As it cools down and you turn your heat
Finally, Thomas & Betts showcased its energy saving products as a part of the New American Home’s Energy-Saving Design. All which headlined the NAHB International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas.
A lot of these suggestions are for things that are right under our noses. Well, how about right over our heads? One place that is often overlooked is the attic access panel – you know, the panel that you push up to get into your attic. Because this access point is so difficult to insulate properly due to the fact that insulation must be pushed down between the rafters to work properly, these are usually not insulated well or not insulated at all. There are a few products on the market that attempt to solve this problem but most are well over $200 and require carpentry skills to install. There is a product called ScuttleBuddy that holds insulation in place and it requires no measuring, cutting or special tools. Best of all, it’s only about 30 bucks so you can recover your expense in a short time and it takes about 15 minutes to install.