GOING GREEN

LET'S GO GREEN

WE HAVE SOME LOW COST IDEAS ON HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY.

THE ANNUAL ENERGY BILL FOR A TYPICAL SINGLE FAMILY HOME IS APPROXIMATELY $ 2,200.00

ACCORDING TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, HOUSEHOLDS CAN SAVE 20% -30% ON ENERGY BILLS BY IMPLEMENTING SIMPLE HOME IMPROVEMENTS. OVER TIME, YOU WILL SAVE MORE MONEY ON YOUR ENERGY BILL THAN IT WILL COST TO HAVE THESE IMPROVEMENTS DONE ON YOUR HOME.

HERE ARE A FEW THING WE AT SHUFFIELD MASONRY & HOME REPAIR CAN DO FOR YOU. WE CAN JUST DO ONE OR TWO THINGS OR WE CAN DO A WHOLE GREEN MAKEOVER OR ANYTHING IN BETWEEN.

1.CAULK AROUND WINDOWS AND DOORS TO STOP DRAFTS. INSTALL WEATHER STRIPPING AND DOOR SWEEPS TO STOP ENERGY LEAKS. AIR SEALING IS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS YOU CAN MAKE TO YOUR HOME.

LET US TAKE CARE OF THIS JOB FOR YOU.

2.INSTALL PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTAT AND IT CAN SAVE YOU UP TO $ 180.00 A YEAR WHEN SET AND MAINTAINED ON A PROPER SETTING. BY LOWERING YOUR THERMOSTAT 10 -15 DEGREES FOR 8 HOURS A DAY WHILE YOUR AWAY, YOU CAN LOWER YOUR HEATING COST 5% -15% A YEAR. FOR MORE SAVINGS, YOU CAN SAVE ABOUT 1% HEATING COST FOR EVERY 1 DEGREE YOU LOWER YOUR THERMOSTAT. WE CAN INSTALL A NEW PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTAT FOR YOU IN NO TIME.

3.CHANGE ALL INCANDESCENT LIGHT BULBS ( OLD FASHION LIGHT BULBS) TO COMPACT FLUORESCENT LAMPS (CFL BULBS). CFL BULBS CAN SAVE UP TO 75% OVER INCANDESCENT BULBS. ALTHOUGH CFI BULBS CAN COST 3 - 4 TIMES MORE THAN INCANDESCENT BULBS, THEY LAST 6 - 15 TIMES LONGER. LED LIGHTING IS ALSO ANOTHER OPTION. LED LIGHTING USES 75% LESS ENERGY AND LAST UP TO 25 TIMES LONGER THAN INCANDESCENT BULBS.

LET US COME REPLACE ALL YOUR BULBS FOR YOU.

4. REPLACE YOUR OLD SHOWER HEAD WITH A NEW LOW FLOW SHOWER HEAD. A QUALITY SHOWER HEAD WILL FELL GOOD AT BOTH HIGH OR LOW PRESSURE. OLD SHOWER HEADS DELIVER ABOUT 5 - 8 GALLONS PER MINUTE ( GPM ) AT 80 PSI. THE NEWER LOW FLOW SHOWER HEADS AVERAGE 2.5 GPM WITH SOME AS LOW AS 1.6 GPM AT 80 PSI. SO A OLD SHOWER HEAD AT 8 GPM CHANGED TO A NEW AT 2.5 GPM CAN SAVE 82.5 GALLON ON ONE 15 MINUTE SHOWER.

CHANGING YOUR OLD SHOWER HEAD WILL ALSO SAVE BETWEEN 10%-16% ON WATER HEATING COST.

WE CAN REPLACE THAT SHOWER HEAD FOR YOU

5. REPLACING YOUR PRE 1992 TOILETS, WHICH USE 3.5 ,5.0 AND UP TO 7.0 GALLONS PER FLUSH ( GPF ) TO A NEW 1.0 -1.6 GPF TOILET CAN GREATLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF FRESH WATER BEING CONSUMED AND IN CORRESPONDING AMOUNT OF BLACK WATER BEING GENERATED. USING A 1.0 - 1.6 GPF TOILET INSTEAD OF A 3.5 GPF CAN CUT WATER USE BY MORE THAN 15%, AND INSTEAD OF A 5.0 OR 7.0 GPF IT WILL CUT WATER USE BY 20% - 25%. A HIGH QUALITY LOW WATER CONSUMING TOILET, WILL WORK VERY WELL. SOME MANUFACTURES EVEN ADVERTISE THAT THEIR TOILETS WILL FLASH 16 GOLF BALL WITH ONE FLUSH. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT THAT'S A LOT OF GOLF BALLS.

WE WORK ON AND REPLACE TOILETS.

6. INSTALLING A INSULATING BLANKET AROUND YOUR HOT WATER TANK, CAN REDUCE ENERGY LOSS BY 25% - 40%, YOU WILL SAVE 4% - 9% IN THE COST OF HEATING YOUR WATER. ANOTHER TIP IS TURNING DOWN THE TEMPERATURE OF YOUR HOT WATER TANK. MOST HOT WATER TANKS ARE SET AT 140 DEGREES. WHEN YOU TAKE A SHOWER YOU ALWAYS USE COLD WATER TO COOL OFF THE TEMPERATURE OF THE HOT WATER. THAT SHOWS THE HOT WATER IS TO HOT. IF YOU LOWER THE TEMPERATURE OF YOUR HOT WATER TANK TO 120 DEGREES IT WILL BE MORE THAN ENOUGH HOT WATER AND IT WILL MAKE YOUR HOT WATER TANK LAST LONGER. FOR EVERY 10 DEGREES YOU YOU LOWER YOU TANK TEMPERATURE IT WILL SAVE YOU BETWEEN 3%- 5% OF YOUR ENERGY COST.

LET US HELP YOU WITH THIS.

7. REPLACING YOUR OLD WOOD ENTRY DOOR WITH A STEEL OR FIBERGLASS CLAD DOOR WILL IN CRESS THE INSULATING VALUE BY MORE THAN 5 TIME.

ADDING OR REPLACING A STORM DOOR MAYBE A GOOD INVESTMENT

WHEN REPLACING A SLIDING GLASS DOOR, KEEP IN MIND THAT A SWINGING DOOR OFFERS MUCH MORE TIGHTER SEAL THAN A SLIDING TYPE.

WE OFFER ALL KINDS OF DOOR REPLACEMENTS FROM FRONT DOORS, STORM DOORS, PATIO DOORS TO SCREEN DOORS

. JUST CONTACT US AND WE WILL BE GLAD TO ASSIST YOU.

8.YOU CAN IMPROVE ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF EXISTING WINDOWS BY ADDING STORM WINDOWS. THIS WILL REDUCE AIR LEAKAGE AND SOME HEAT TRANSFER. ALSO CAULKING AND WEATHER STRIPPING WILL HELP.

THE USE OF WINDOW TREATMENTS OR COVERINGS WILL REDUCE HEAT LOSS AND GAIN.

HOWEVER IF YOUR HOME HAS VERY OLD WINDOWS AND / OR INEFFICIENT WINDOWS, IT MAY BE MORE COST EFFECTIVE TO REPLACE THEM THAN TO MAKE THESE IMPROVEMENTS. NEW ENERGY EFFICIENT WINDOWS EVENTUALLY PAY FOR THEM SELF THOUGH LOWERING HEATING AND COOLING COST AND SOMETIMES EVEN LIGHTING COST.

FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US FOR ALL YOUR WINDOW NEEDS,FROM INSTALLING STROM WINDOWS, REPLACING OLD WINDOWS, INSTALL / REPLACE BLINDS / CURTAINS, OR FOR JUST CLEANING WINDOWS

9.INSTALL AND USE CEILING FANS TO EFFECTIVELY CIRCULATE AIR IN A ROOM. WHEN USING A CEILING FAN IT CAN MAKE THE ROOM FEEL 4 - 6 DEGREES COOLER BY CREATING A WIND CHILL, ALLOWING YOU TO RAISE YOU THERMOSTAT WITH NO REDUCTION IN COMFORT. IN THE WINTER REVERSE THE MOTOR AND OPERATE THE FAN ON LOW SPEED. THIS PRODUCES A GENTLE UPDRAFT, WHICH FORCES THE WARM AIR NEAR THE CEILING DOWN INTO OCCUPIED SPACE.

WE INSTALL OR REPLACE AND EVEN JUST CLEAN CEILING FANS

10. CHANGE YOUR AIR FILTERS REGULARLY. CHECK YOUR FILTERS EVERY MONTH, ESPECIALLY DURING HEAVY USE MONTHS ( WINTER & SUMMER ). IF IT LOOKS DIRTY AFTER A MONTH, CHANGE IT. AT A MINIMUM, CHANGE THE FILER EVERY 3 MONTHS. A DIRTY FILTER WILL SLOW DOWN AIR FLOW AND MAKE YOUR SYSTEM WORK HARD TO KEEP YOU WARM OR COOL. FAILURE TO DO SO NOT ONLY WASTE ENERGY, BUT CAN CAUSE DAMAGE TO YOUR EQUIPMENT AND LEAD TO EARLY FAILURE.

WE CAN SET UP A MONTHLY OR QUARTERLY SERVICE PLAN FOR YOU AND OUR FAMILIES NEEDS.

11. WHEN BUYING NEW APPLIANCES THINK OF TWO PRICES. THE FIRST ONE IS THE COST OF PURCHASE. THE SECOND PRICE IS THE COST OF OPERATING THE APPLIANCE. YOU WILL BE PAYING THE SECOND PRICE EVERY MONTH ON YOUR UTILITY BILLS, FOR AS LONG AS YOU OWN THE APPLIANCE

SO WHEN SHOPPING LOOK FOR THE ENERGY STAR LABEL AND STUDY THE ENERGY GUIDE LABEL WHICH IS A BRIGHT YELLOW. ALTHOUGH THESE LABELS WILL NOT TELL YOU WHICH APPLIANCE IS MOST EFFICIENT, THEY WILL TELL YOU THE ANNUAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND OPERATION COST FOR EACH.

WHEN PURCHASING, THICK OF US FOR YOUR INSTALLATION NEEDS

THINK OF SHUFFIELD MASONRY & HOME REPAIR FOR ALL YOUR GO GREEN IMPROVEMENTS.