Whether you’re concerned about the size of your carbon footprint or your monthly energy bills, an energy audit of your home or business can help you take the necessary steps to maximize energy efficiency and save up to 50 percent on your energy bill. An audit will:
- Examine your home or office for energy efficiency by performing a series of tests, evaluating appliances and studying energy usage history
- Identify opportunities for improvement, often with estimated costs
- Educate you on new technology and ideas for ongoing energy conservation
Once the audit is performed, you’ll have a baseline evaluation to compare your progress with as well as a blueprint to get you moving in the right direction. Whether it’s replacing leaking windows or just a little more insulation in the attic, you’ll have real ideas that will make a real difference.
How Efficient Are You?
The first step of the audit is a careful look at your home or office, paying close attention to these key areas:
- Windows
- Walls
- Lighting
- Air Conditioner
- Furnace
- Water Heater
- Attic Insulation
- Duct System
- Air Infiltration
- Appliances
The end result of this examination will be a HERS score, a standardized energy efficiency system that compares your home or office to current standards. Along with the HERS score, the report will offer detailed advice about each audit item, describing potential improvements along with related cost and savings information. To learn more, read a sample report. Once you have your report, you can decide what repairs and changes make sense for your budget and lifestyle. The great news is you can usually make several of the improvements on your own.
Get Started
If you’re not a Direct Energy customer, contact your provider to see what audit resources are available in your area. If you are a Direct Energy customer, you can:
- Start the process here
- Send us an email
- Call us at 1-888-411-3690.
Direct Energy customers are eligible for big discount on the price of your audit, so contact us today!
Thanks to Flickr user Matt Wright
Almost everything about moving is stressful: choosing a new place, packing and setting up all over again. Smart planning can ensure that at least moving your Direct Energy service is a snap. That way no matter what happens, at least the lights are on!
Gather Your Information
Before you call to arrange the move, make sure you’re an authorized user of the account (the account might be under your spouse’s name). Only those authorized individuals on the account can make the request.
- Most recent monthly bill
- Personal Identification Number (PIN)
- Mailing address for your new home
- Date for start of new service
Contact Direct Energy
Once you have your information, you can contact Direct Energy to schedule your service move.
Always give as much notice as possible. Making your requests early helps guarantee the power is ready to move when you are.
How Energy Efficient is Your New Home?
Have you seen an Energy Audit report on your new home? It’s a great way to find opportunities to cut your power bill and conserve natural resources. You’ll get a report on your current energy efficiency and a blueprint for making positive changes once you move. It’s a great way to make your move really count.
Thanks to Kaptain Kobold for the photo
Happy Friday, and happy Mother’s Day weekend! Here’s your weekly recap of all the things we brought your way this past week on Facebook, Twitter and our DE blog.
Did you watch The Pitch on AMC on Monday? Our Direct Energy Home Services company was featured in this week’s show! That was a pretty good start to the week. Then we found out that our Volunteer Citizen of the Year award program is a finalist in the Community Relations category of the 2012 American Business Awards! That means we’ll be either a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award winner in the program.
But enough about us! Our DE blog showed you to set up rain barrels and collect rainwater for yard and garden use—lots of great tips for watering your yard with help from Mother Nature! And 7 Tips to Get Your Whole Family Involved in Saving Energy offered lots of fun ideas and resources to get kids excited about recycling projects and saving electricity.
Backyard composting tips, recycled modular furniture, green travel tips and a new solar iPad case all showed up in the Direct Energy Twitter feed this week, as well as these #SaveEnergy quick tips:
- Close your exterior doors and windows tightly when the AC is on. Save even more by turning off kitchen and bath exhaust fans.
- Change or clean your AC’s air filters at least once a month to keep your system running at peak performance.
Be appreciative and extra-kind to your mother this weekend—and to Mother Earth as well!
Collecting rainwater in barrels – even in small amounts – makes a lot of sense.
- A 2,000-square-foot roof can collect 1,240 gallons of water for every inch of rain that falls on your roof. A mere 1/10 of an inch of rain can collect up to 120 gallons of water
- You don’t need treated drinking water for your garden and yard! It’s estimated that 50 percent of the treated drinking water in the U.S. is used for watering lawns
- Rainwater is naturally soft, oxygenated and unchlorinated, which makes it ideal for plants
- When you collect rainwater you’ll save on your water bill, reduce the load on sewage treatment facilities and keep runoff out of storm drains
Large-scale rainwater collection systems use filters, cisterns and pumps to collect and treat water for household use, including drinking water (learn more about these systems here). But it’s easy to set up rain barrels at the end of your downspouts and collect water for non-household use, like:
- Watering your gardens, foundation plantings, lawns and houseplants
- Washing your car and driveway
- Washing your windows
- Filling birdbaths
You can find pre-assembled rain barrels at home improvement and garden stores, buy kits or make your own from recycled materials. Sizes range from 35 to 80 gallons. If you plan to use a lot of water in your yard, it’s easy to link rain barrels to each other. To prevent mosquito breeding and algae buildup, your barrel should have a cover and a tight connection where water enters the container.
Tips for success
- Choose a level spot near a downspout that you can shorten (instructions here).
- Elevate your barrel on cinder blocks or some other kind of stand. This improves water pressure and makes it much easer to attach a hose or fill a watering can
- Your rain barrel will fill very quickly! Make sure you have a hose attached to the overflow on the side of your barrel to divert water from your foundation
- Using a soaker hose is a great way to release water gently and gradually to your plants, with no water lost to evaporation
Important note: Never drink water that’s been stored in rain barrels! It contains bacteria and is not suitable for human consumption.
Image courtesy of Flickr user ohthatheidi
Everything is easier when the whole family pitches in. So why not involve everyone in your household with conserving natural resources – while saving money and having fun? These tips will help you ease the load on the planet as well as your family budget.
- Make it easy. Clearly labeled recycling bins can help even very young children join in. Create weekly “reminders” (that sounds better than “chores list”) and put them on your family calendar. The Energy Action Plan for Kids and Energy Star Kids page are great examples of simple, actionable steps that everyone can take.
- Make it fun. Free coloring books, stickers, games and fun crafts projects from recycled items are easy to find online. KidsBeGreen, Kids for Saving the Earth, Nickelodeon’s The Big Green Help and the Department of Energy’s Kids Saving Energy site are great places to start.
- Tailor projects to everyone’s skills and interests. Start the conversation by asking for everyone’s ideas on how they can help. Science-minded family members can track energy usage, handy types can build compost bins and raised beds for gardens, and the artists in the family can paint posters and get involved in recycling crafts projects.
- Focus on the why. Helping kids understand the environmental issues facing our planet is the best way to encourage participation. Watch nature programs together. Visit a landfill. Help them understand where electricity comes from.
- Get visual. Track energy saving results with stickers, posters and graphs displayed where everyone can see. This Energy Hog Challenge is a very funny, visual way for kids to understand energy issues, find out what they can do and track the results of their efforts.
- Offer incentives. Kids respond best when they see clear benefits, and it doesn’t have to be money. As you chart the energy that your household is saving, be sure to chart how much money your family is saving, as well. Then set fun goals related to the money that’s being saved: family outings, a new video game, pizza parties or whatever your family enjoys most.
- Talk it up. Bring up energy and environmental issues at the family table. Encourage your kids to research conservation and share their thoughts and findings. Have your kids create energy-saving reminder signs to post around the house, like “Please turn off this light!”
How do you get your family involved in conserving energy? Please share your tips in the comments below. And be sure to subscribe to the DE Blog to receive year-round tips on saving energy all around your home!
Thanks to Flickr user Jessica Reeder
Thanks to the DE team in Fayetteville for the photo!
Busy Month Already! Is it really May? The first week of the month is almost over, and there’s already a lot to discuss from our blog, Twitter feed, and Facebook page. If you haven’t been able to stay up to date don’t worry – we’ve got all the highlights.
We started Monday out just right – with bear hugs over on our Facebook page. While it doesn’t have much to do with energy, we figured nobody could pass up a little extra love on a Monday. If that doesn’t put a spring in your step, check our post on human-powered machinery over at the blog.
If you’re a fan of professional soccer or live near Houston, you may have already seen our big news on Tuesday about a new partnership with the Houston Dynamo Major League Soccer club. We’re excited about our new opportunities and our new home town – can’t wait to see you at the game! Tuesday also gave you some great ways to cut your electricity bill courtesy of our Twitter feed.
Our blog on Wednesday shone light on solar technology big and small, while over at Facebook we shared some great decorating ideas that give maximize style for minimum dollars.
The end of the week was all about getting involved. Direct Energy participated in the recent Fayetteville MS 150 Ride, you can check out the photos on Facebook. And give us a Like while you’re there – we’re almost at 15,000!
