Energy Audits and Tips for Homes

Here are 101 easy ways to start saving energy and money today! Click here for the full list of these great tips.

The U.S. Department of Energy also offers a Home Energy-Saver Guide with tips on how to save energy (and money on your electric bill!) at home.

Click here to take an interactive tour through a digital home to find ways to save energy and money.

Click here to access our Energy Resource Center. You'll see how much you could save by upgrading windows, insulation, heating systems and more. You can even see how much you can save simply by changing your thermostat setting.

Midwest Electric offers its residential members free walk-thru energy audits. The audit is useful to identify areas of potential savings and to improve a home's energy efficiency. To help you better understand where you are using energy, daily and hourly data is analyzed to help troubleshoot high use issues. Members may also access usage information by creating a SmartHub account and using Usage Explorer after login. Give us a call at 1-800-962-3830 or e-mail info@midwestrec.com to request a walk-thru energy audit.

Download a free home energy walk-through checklist here. Feel free to print it out, check each item, and see how energy efficient your home is!

Printable Energy Savings Sheets

These helpful sheets provide comprehensive, easy-to-understand instructions for improving efficiency in your home. Whether a DIY’er or working with a contractor, these sheets help provide detailed guidance.

Attic

Basement

Living Space

Residential Energy

Systems

Visit our YouTube page for more than 20 different brief videos on energy-saving tips including refrigerators, ceiling fans, air infiltration, landscaping, duct work and more.

Save energy, save money with our appliance energy tips.

Electric meters are very reliable and accurate. Typically, if a meter goes bad it would slow down…not speed up. Sometimes, a problem – such as an electrical short – may occur with your appliances or home wiring. Here is a method to test your circuits:

Do a breaker test as follows, first on your 220 volt items (ie, water heater, AC unit, clothes dryer, etc.). Have someone watching the meter, and have someone at the breaker box to turn off each breaker for each of those larger appliances one at a time. For example, turn off the water heater breaker and if this slows down the meter considerably then there may be a problem with the water heater such as a heating element. Turn that breaker back on and proceed to check additional breakers. If the meter was spinning fast and the breaker test slows it down then this will help determine which appliance may need to be checked.

Alternatively, you could turn off all breakers including the main breaker. Then have someone watch the meter while you turn on each breaker separately until one makes the meter spin fast.

Fuel Cost Comparisons – the “break even” price

What is the break even price for propane vs electricity, or for natural gas vs electricity? In other words, at what price per gallon (or price per mcf) is propane (or natural gas) more economical than electricity for heating or water heating.

To find this magical price, we’ll use the following assumptions:

90% efficiency propane (or natural gas) furnace
60% efficiency propane (or natural gas) water heater (standard)
100% efficiency electric resistance heat (baseboard, ceiling cable)
250% efficiency air-source heat pump (standard)
350% efficiency geothermal heat pump (standard)
92% efficiency electric water heater (standard)
100,000 BTU per ccf of natural gas
3,413 BTU per kilowatt hour of electricity
91,500 BTU per gallon of propane
Midwest Electric standard residential rate, $0.11 per kWh
40,032 BTU per day in water heating energy use
80 million BTU annual home heating

Water Heaters

Electric Cost:
(40,032 / 3,413 / .92 efficiency) x $0.11 = $1.40 per day

Propane Equivalent:
(40,032 / 91,500 / .60 efficiency) x Y = 0.73Y
Solve for Y:
$0.73Y = $1.40
Y = $1.92
So, Propane would have to cost less than $1.92 per gallon in order for it to be more economical than electricity for water heating (based on the assumptions).

Natural Gas Equivalent:
(40,032 / 100,000 / .60 efficiency) x Y = 0.67Y
Solve for Y:
$0.67Y = $1.40
Y = $2.09
So, Natural Gas would have to cost less than $2.09 per ccf (or $20.90 per mcf) for it to be more economical than electricity for water heating (based on the Assumptions).

Heating Comparison

Electric Resistance:
(1,000,000 / 3,413 / 1) x $0.11 = $32.23 per million BTU

Propane Equivalent:
(1,000,000 / 91,500 / .9 efficiency) x Y = 12.14Y
Solve for Y:
$12.14Y = $32.23
Y = $2.65. So, Propane would have to cost less than $2.65 per gallon for it to be more economical than electric resistance heat (ie, baseboard).

Natural Gas Equivalent:
(1,000,000 / 100,000 / .9 efficiency) x Y = 11.11Y
Solve for Y:
$11.11Y = $32.23
Y = $2.90
So, Natural Gas would have to cost less than $2.90 per ccf (or $29.00 per mcf) for it to be more economical than electric resistance heat (ie, baseboard).

Electric Air-Source Heat Pump

(1,000,000 / 3,413 / 2.5 efficiency) x $.11 = $12.89 per million BTU

Propane Equivalent:
(1,000,000 / 91,500 / .9 efficiency) x Y = 12.14Y
$12.14Y = $12.89
Y = $1.06
So, Propane would have to cost less than $1.06 per gallon for it to be more economical than an air-source heat pump.

Natural Gas Equivalent:
(1,000,000 / 100,000 / .9 efficiency) x Y = 11.11Y
Solve for Y:
$11.11Y = $12.89
Y = $1.16
So, Natural Gas would have to cost less than $1.16 per ccf (or $11.60 per mcf) for it to be more economical than an air-source heat pump.

Electric Geothermal

(1,000,000 / 3,413 / 3.5 efficiency) x $.11 = $9.21 per million BTU

Propane Equivalent:
(1,000,000 / 91,500 / .9 efficiency) x Y = 12.14Y
$12.14Y = $9.21
Y = $0.76
So, Propane would have to cost less than $0.76 per gallon for it to be more economical than geothermal.

Natural Gas Equivalent:
(1,000,000 / 100,000 / .9 efficiency) x Y = 11.11Y
Solve for Y:
$11.11Y = $9.21
Y = $0.83
So, Natural Gas would have to cost less than $0.83 per ccf (or $8.30 per mcf) for it to be more economical than geothermal.

Whether building a new home or improving your current one, homeowners are always trying to lower their energy use and costs. The Conservation Pyramid was created as a cheat sheet for consumers who want to become more energy efficient. The pyramid helps prioritize the ten energy savings steps from the simple, low-cost actions to the more complex, larger investments and to develop an action plan right for you. By creating a foundation in energy efficiency and understanding how you use energy, you can more effectively work your way up the pyramid.

Understanding

The first step is acquiring knowledge and understanding your home’s current energy use. You can monitor your energy usage on SmartHub, estimate usage with our online energy calculators, or conduct a virtual energy assessment with our online residential energy advisor tool. You can also call the office for a phone consultation or to schedule a free walk-thru energy audit. These are all easy ways to learn about energy use in your home, and best of all, they’re free!

Low cost/no cost

This part of the process includes low-cost or no-cost actions that mainly involve changing habits, like turning off electronic devices when not in use, turning off lighting when leaving a room, or setting back a thermostat when not home or while sleeping. Remember, the cheapest kWh, is the one not used. You can expect 1-2% energy savings for every 1-degree setback on your thermostat. Setting thermostat temperatures back is the most cost-effective way to save energy. If you have a heat pump, make sure you have an energy recovery thermostat. If not, you can inadvertently use much more energy during recovery times.

Lighting

Lighting upgrades are a great way to save energy. Switching to CFL or LED light bulbs will improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of home lighting.

Air Sealing

Reducing the amount of air that leaks in and out of your home is a cost-effective way to cut heating and cooling costs, increase comfort, and create a healthier indoor environment. Caulking and weatherstripping windows and doors, and sealing bypasses in attics, walls, and foundations are simple and effective air-sealing techniques that offer quick returns on investment.

Appliances

When replacing an appliance, purchase an ENERGY STAR-rated appliance. Energy-efficient appliances are designed to use the minimum amount of energy needed to complete the task at hand.

Attic Insulation and Ventilation

Having adequate insulation in your attic is critical to energy savings. Theoretically, if you do not have any insulation in your attic and you have an average efficiency air source heat pump heating and cooling your home, it will cost you about $2,450 more per year to heat and cool your home. In the same home with an attic that has an R-40 insulation value, the additional cost drops to about $50.00 more a year, or $2,400 in annual savings.

Water Heating

Heating and storing hot water for your home can be an expensive upfront cost. The chart below breaks down the different types of systems and the savings you can see over time by purchasing the right type of water heater.

Heating and Cooling

Once you have done everything to seal and insulate the building structure, it is now time to decide how to heat or cool your home. If you have followed the preceding steps in the pyramid, then you will not need as much heat in the winter and reduced cooling in the summer. Perhaps a small, energy-efficient heat pump system in the winter and a couple of ceiling fans in the summer may be all you need. Use the chart below to see the cost breakdown of the most common types of home heating systems.

Windows

Although we all need good windows, the savings on windows are minimal relative to the cost. For example, if you replace 12, 3’x5’ single pane windows with double pane windows, you will save about $280 a year, with a 22-year simple payback. Replacing the same double pane windows with triple pane windows, you would save about $187 a year, with a 52-year simple payback. Again, everyone needs good windows, but you can find a better investment lower on the conservation pyramid that materializes much more quickly.

Solar

Lastly, in terms of cost, savings, and complexity, solar is one of the very last things you should consider at your home. There are many more investments that you can make to increase the efficiency of your home that will materialize much sooner. If you feel like you have completed all the lower steps of the pyramid, then you should consider solar. Assuming your home uses 15,000 kWh per year, and you install a 10-kW solar system, you could expect to pay about $17,500 after the 30% Federal Tax credit. With these factors, this would be about a 17-year simple payback.

Hopefully, this step-by-step process will help you understand your energy usage and improve your home's energy efficiency. Of course, this may take you years to accomplish, but understanding the conservation pyramid is a great place to begin. As always, please contact the office at 800-962-3830 if you would like to have a phone conversation about energy efficiency or to schedule a walk-thru energy audit of your home.

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