Dear Dave,
I have been reading your blog at utility bill busters for a long time now, and I wanted to ask you a question. I live in a small ranch style house in illinois in the south and as you may know the weather has been absolutely scorching! We have a window air conditioner in the bedroom and one in the living room, since those rooms are the most occupied. Recently I have noticed they seem to be running all the time but not making a difference! Should I replace …

The easiest way to save money on your energy bills is to do a simple energy audit. And the best way to do a complete, professional energy audit is with one of the energy audit kits available from http://www.energyaudits.net. There are two kits available, the professional kit and the starter kit – both of which are priced within any homeowners budget

Are your energy bills too high? Did you know the most common causes for high energy bills are poor insulation, outdated equipment or fixtures, and poor energy conservation habits?
Unless you have experience with building or major home repairs (i.e. you are a contractor, or know one personally), there isn’t a whole lot you can do about the first one.
You can certainly update your appliances or “fixtures” which in this case includes lighting fixtures, small appliances and electronics, windows and doors…although this approach can be rather expensive and time consuming. Plus …

This question is important to many homeowners and renters because we believe that placing plastic over our windows will halep us save energy on cold winter days and nights. Some plastic makers claim that plastic adds at least 1R value to the window.
I doubt this to be true. But using the information presented in the home energy audit kit, we can easily see heat loss with and without the plastic to see how much of a difference it makes.

An energy audit is the best possible way to save money on your energy bills. An energy audit works 100% when done correctly – no matter where you live.
The Home Energy Audit kit is the first download-able, do it yourself kit available online today. It walks you through the basics of an energy audit, and even teaches you how to replicate professional results with very little effort, and next to no money. Talk about a good value.
And now you can download the Home Energy Audit Kit for 50% off the …

In a recent post, I talked about the Energy Efficient Mortgage, or EEM for short. In order to qualify, a certified energy rater must come to the home and look in specific areas to determine the home’s efficiency.
What exactly are they looking for?

An energy envelope that is efficient and free of leaks. A building energy envelope is the area surrounding the home or building that affects its energy usage. Typically, this includes the actual frame and construction of the home, the ducts inside the home, windows, doors, insulation, building materials, …

Q: I was walking around my neighborhood today and saw that my roof barely had any snow on it, but my neighbor’s houses did. I think we have the same roofs. Is this a problem?
Probably. If you don’t have snow on your roof, this points to an energy leak through your attic to the roof. What’s probably happening is the warmed or heated air in your home rises, and the last place it gathers is the attic. Typically, there are attic vents or ventilation fans to disperse the additional heat. …

The holidays are over, and hopefully they have been good to you. Chances are you received some new gadgets, maybe bought a new one or two, or are planning on improvements with your tax refund.
Now is the time to take stock of your energy usage in your home. Yes, today is time for another energy audit.
Once you have everything settled in place, take a few hours to walk through, measure energy usage, and make some estimations as to how much you will use it. Most people’s energy bills spike after …

An energy audit is the single best way for you to realistically save money every month on all your energy bills. Energy efficiency experts and contractors and energy companies have known this for a long time. That is why they offer them, often at a premium price or bundled with another service or installation.
But the truth is an energy audit isn’t all that difficult. In fact, you can do a basic, rudimentary energy audit yourself right now. It only takes an hour or so, tops, to do a simple top …