Hotangry is The New Hangry, And Energy Savings For Your Home is The Perfect Way to Cool Down

If this image makes you as irrationally angry as it makes me, today’s Upon Closer Inspection is for you. I hate being hot. I enjoy summer, don’t get me wrong. But this is just punishing heat. When you work from home as many do now, and your kids are still home from school, and it’s “not safe” to make them go play outside from dawn to dusk, we’re all just sitting inside, using up energy, racking up those bills. So this week, we’re fighting back. We may not be able to do anything about the weather, but we can make our homes just a little more efficient, and hopefully a little cooler. Because plotting a little aggressive energy savings for your home will make me feel better, dangit, like I’m putting one over on the Texas heat.

So. Here are a few ways you can use our home inspectors’ findings to make your home more efficient this summer, reduce energy costs, and thereby give the finger to the heat.

Lower The Temperature on Your Water Heater

This is a little extreme. In fact, these folks could go ahead and make tea right out of the faucet. But did you know that during the summer months, you should turn down the temperature on your water heater to reduce energy costs? Water heating accounts for about 30 percent of the energy use in a typical household because most water heaters run constantly. Most people never adjust the temperature from the recommended 120-degree setting. We all use less hot water during the summer, and in Texas, a lot of that water is already sitting in unconditioned space in attics and closets getting hot anyway.

You can save an estimated 10 to 20 percent on your bill by doing this. Here’s how. Oh, and staging pro tip: Don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink when your home is on the market. 😳

Replace Broken Window Seals

Heat gain and loss through windows is responsible for 25 to 30 percent of energy cost, so windows make a big difference. If you have single-pane glass, you’re not even in the ballpark. Keep in mind, energy-efficient windows are one of the home upgrades covered under the Inflation Reduction Act. So if you have old windows, or broken window seals, like in the video, and you decide to replace them with anything more efficient than what you currently have, you can claim the expense for a tax credit — not a deduction, a credit.

If you are repairing windows with broken seals, as Christine suggests in the video, check to see if the windows are under warranty first. Many windows carry 3- to 10-year warranties.

Add Ridge Cap Vents

A ridge cap vent will lower your energy costs by allowing moisture and hot air to escape the attic, rather than accumulating like an oven on top of your house. They work better than turbines because they don’t get blocked, and also don’t allow pests access to your home like turbines do. They cost more, but again, they are more efficient, and are therefore eligible for the tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act, not to mention the balance of the savings you’ll receive on your energy bill. We had these installed on my new roof, which was just replaced this week after the hail damage last May, and our insurance covered it.

Replace Old Electrical Systems

Aluminum wiring was widely used in homes in the mid 1960s through the mid 1970s. If you live in a home of this age, or if you’re purchasing a home of this age, you should definitely check to see if you have aluminum wiring.

Why is it bad? Many homes go years without any problems. The trouble is that aluminum has the potential to overheat to the point where it can start fires. When it heats, it also expands, then it cools and contracts, and this causes the metal to degrade — a problem copper wiring doesn’t have. The degradation of the wire causes it to become more unstable, also presenting a fire hazard.

When you are replacing aluminum wiring, you can upgrade to newer, more efficient systems that will save energy across the board.

Now that you have plans to save money on your energy bill, and possibly do some home upgrades in the process, don’t you feel better? I do. If you have questions about ways you can make your home more energy efficient, have a Home Energy Assessment to get a thorough inspection and point-by-point plan for your home.