You needn’t spend a lot to save a little

By By Kent Mc Dill

Publication:Reprinted from Oct. 30, 2009 Chicago Daily Herald

It turns out that saving energy and protecting the environment also saves you money. It’s really a win-win.

Which is why it is so hard for people like Bill Bailey of Elgin to understand. Bailey is a scuba instructor who also works with the Elgin Climate Change Organization (ecco-foxvalley.net) to teach the public and help promote wiser energy usage among everyone.

“We formed the group three years ago with the intention of trying to educate people about what they can do themselves,” Bailey said.

What you can do first is get some window caulk and eliminate the spaces on your windows and doors that let energy out.”You can go to a big box store and get a tube of caulk for $2.50 or less, and each tube will probably do two windows,” Bailey said. “It is not that big a deal, and I have read figures that it saves three to 10 percent or more in energy usage.”

That was easy, wasn’t it?

The next thing is weather stripping on exterior doors and thresholds at the base of doors. Bailey did his two exterior doors for $11.Everyone encourages purchasing modern windows and doors, but it is costly to update your home in that way. However, if you have wood frame windows, there is something you can do that is again very inexpensive.

“Where the sashes come together in the center, there is a lock that is supposed to pull the jambs together, but older windows don’t pull tight anymore,” Bailey said. “So put clear tape over the line where the two sashes meet in the center of the window, where there is a gap. It is not noticeable but it seals the gap up.”

Another recommended home purchase is a modern heating system, with more efficient gas and electric furnaces and water heaters. But that again is a costly measure, and there is an easy fix that will allow you to put off that purchase.

Spend some money, between $25 and $75, and get a modern thermostat, one that can regulate your heating and cooling patterns with a routine schedule.

“I have one that I can program for four time periods a day,” Bailey said. “When I leave in the morning the heat would kick off, then come back on when I get home, kick off when I go to bed and kick back on when I get up in the morning.”

Another relatively inexpensive way of saving energy and eventually money is to have your furnaces and heaters checked regularly to make sure they are running efficiently.

“You have a furnace guy come in and clean the burners, adjust the burners and the temperature elements,” Bailey said. “You want your energy units to function as efficiently as possible.”

Another inexpensive way to save money on heating your water is to put a fire-resistant blanket around the base of the water heater. While it sounds a bit silly, it works.

“Tank-type heaters keep the tank at a constant temperature, and it runs when it needs to heat the water,” Bailey said. “But with a blanket around it, it will keep the warm temperature much longer.”

Another maintenance need that tank water heaters require is to drain them periodically so that the tank is not warming the sediment that eventually collects at the bottom of the tank.

Bailey can run all this information off quickly, and does so to anyone who wants to listen.

“Most people I run into do care about it and are interested in it once they learn about it,” Bailey said. “With all of this stuff, you are saving money, using less power, and paying less for electric and less for gas. It is saving individuals a lot of money.”

Bailey admits it is easier to sell the money savings than it is to sell the energy conservation.

“Once people learn that they save money, they see the results in a personal way,” Bailey said. “It is much more so than when we are saying ‘We need to reduce the emissions.’?”