It’s that time of year again. Leaves falling, days getting shorter — and temperatures dropping. Both at home and in the office, these lower temps offer a great opportunity to re-visit the efficiency measures you have in place to keep your energy use down and money in your pocket.
Here are some of our favorites:
- Seal the envelope. Can you see daylight around your doors or windows? Do you feel a draft as you walk by your electrical outlets? Door sweeps, weather stripping, insulation and caulk are all tools you can use to keep the cold air out and your energy bills up to 20% lower.
- Mind the thermostat. According to ACEEE, for every degree you turn down the thermostat during the winter, you can save 2% on heating costs. Programmable thermostats are easy to install and can help you maintain comfort for your your family and colleagues while minimizing wasteful heating. Keep your filters clean to keep your heating equipment running smoothly.
- Check your ducts. It’s not uncommon to lose 15-20% of your heated air through gaps or holes in the duct work. To minimize that number, locate and follow your duct work, sealing openings with foil tape and insulating the duct work as you go.
- Control electronics at the plug. Electronics and computers in standby mode continue to run the power meter even when they’re not in use. At home, plugging into a power strip and turning it off when you head to work or bed can substantially reduce what you pay to power turned-off appliances. At work, consider installing “intelligent” power strips that will maintain power to some devices (phone, CPU) while cutting it to others (computer monitor) when people are away.
- Turn the water heater down, if possible. Most residences and businesses are served well with a water heater set at 120-130 degrees. If you can’t afford to replace the unit with a new, high efficiency one, insulate the water heater and connectors they better maintain the high temperatures of the water within.
- Replace shower heads with low-flow models. Reducing the flow of shower heads can reduce associated water heating costs by up to 60%. This can add up to substantial savings at home or in apartment buildings.
Still not satisfied? Get an energy audit to help you identify missed opportunities to save on energy costs. Energy audits are provided free for both residential and commercial customers in many areas, so contact your utility to learn what’s available.
In the end, efficiency is not about sacrifice. It’s about doing the same or more, with less. A few small changes are all it takes to make that happen for your home and business.
It’s been a while – too long, in fact – since we last discussed some of the positive treatment the folks in the Federal Government give to encourage building improvements that are kind to both the environment and your wallet. Back in February, we explored some of the initiatives coming out of the White House. One of these was an amendment to EPAct’s Section 179(d), which allows businesses who implement efficient building practices to deduct much of the cost of doing so from their tax returns.
This Forbes article is one of the best we’ve seen in terms of simplifying what can otherwise be a complicated explanation of 179(d) and its machinations. I particularly liked the author’s brief highlight of “Three Things to Know About the Law”:
First, for an energy efficient building to qualify, or partially qualify, it does not have to have grass growing on the roof or a windmill powering its electrical systems. The reality is… the vast majority of new construction (and many energy efficient redos) will qualify or partially qualify for 179D just by meeting today’s stricter building code requirements.
Second, there are a number of ways that a building or improvement can qualify or partially qualify. The three subsystems that are potentially eligible for this lucrative incentive are the building envelope; HVAC/hot water systems; and interior lighting systems. It is common that a building or improvement can qualify for one subsystem and not qualify for the other two.
Finally, the definition of a building is very broad. It would include basically all commercial buildings, warehouses, factories, parking garages, and family housing that is four stories or greater. For local, state, and federal government it would include new schools, dormitories, airport terminals, jails – – you name it. The one rule of thumb I have learned from my colleague David Ji who lives and breathes all this is that for the economics of 179D to make sense the building (or collection of buildings for example in an office park) should be greater than 50,000 square ft.
Sounds pretty good, right? And even better when you consider the wide range of companies who can benefit from a 179(d) break. Private companies, government (who can assign their deduction to architects and engineers), and of course the architects and engineers themselves.
Section 179(d) is currently slated to be in effect through the 2013 tax year. So if you’re thinking about making efficiency improvements to your building in the near future, think about running them through 179(d) to maximize your return on investment.
