Ceiling Fan For Winter Warmth

Are you using your ceiling fan in the winter months? There is a spin on why you should. During the winter, set your ceiling fan to turn clockwise to move rising warm air, down into your room. When the weather heats up, set the fan to turn counter-clockwise for a cooling breeze.

Dryer Safety

Plastic is great for most things around the house - but NOT when it comes to your dryer vent hose.  Plastic exhaust hoses used by older dryers can collect lint and become a serious fire hazard.  Check your dryer hose today - if it's white and plastic, replace it immediately with a flexible metal vent.

Insulate Your Attic Stairs

Prevent Leaks to Keep House Warm

Imagine leaving a window open all winter long – the heat loss, the cold drafts, the wasted energy! If your home has a folding attic stair -- that may be just what is happening every single day.  But there is something you can do about it.  Products like PINKCap® Attic Stair Insulator from Owens Corning are designed to reduce heat loss from an attic ladder access opening. They are fully assembled and easy to install without any tools.  These lightweight products fit through the attic opening from below and slide into place to cover the opening and encase the retractable ladder.

 

Clearly Posted Home Address

If called for help, could the right people find your house?  By placing large numbers on your home or mailbox, police and other emergency vehicles can locate your house quickly. If you have a long driveway or obscured entranceway, be sure your address is in plain view and well lit. 

Pumpkins and Plumbing Don't Mix

Every Halloween season, American plumbers get the call to repair garbage disposers and kitchen sink drains clogged with sticky pumpkin pulp and seeds.  The goopy by-product of jack-o-lantern enthusiasts is, unfortunately, ideal for clogging household drains.  The pulp dries and hardens inside pipes and disposers causing all sorts of problems.  Never put pumpkin guts down the kitchen sink or worse, attempt to flush them down your toilet!  To guard against Halloween drain disasters, carve pumpkins on a bed of newspapers, then wrap up the mess and throw all pumpkin-related materials into the garbage can.

Childproof Window Guards

 

Keep your children safe around windows in your home

Leaving windows open in warm weather lets air circulate while screens help keeps bugs out, but without childproof window guards this can pose a potential danger of a fatal fall. Modern screens are not strong enough to protect kids because today's window screens are not made of the tough aluminum used years ago; instead these window screens are fabricated from a much weaker vinyl that will not stop someone from falling out. Therefore, it is more important than ever to use childproof window guards that keep kids away from windows but are easy to open by an adult.

Don't Take Bath On Hot Water Bills

Are you taking a bath on your hot water bills?  Here’s a tip to help you use less and spend less.  Simply lower the temperature!  With electric water heaters, drop the thermostat from the average setting of 140 degrees to just 110 degrees.  With gas units, lower the temperature dial incrementally, and then use a thermometer to check the water temperature at the faucet nearest the heater itself until it reads 120.  Doing this will provide plenty of hot water for showers, save energy costs and protect children from accidental scalding as well.

Water Heater Timers

By adding a water heater timer, you can lower your water heating costs.  While using an electric water heater can be the most expensive way to produce hot water, adding a simple water heater timer will program your water heater so water is heated only when you need it -- like early in the morning. For the rest of the day, the water heater timer turns the water heater off and saves you lots of energy dollars in the process.      

Programming Your Thermostat

The EPA's research has shown that most consumers with programmable thermostats do not know how to use them to maximize energy savings. When programmed properly, these products can save about $180 a year on energy bills - but the majority of consumers have not achieved their full energy and dollar savings potential.   The goal of a new Energy Star campaign is to help homeowners take full advantage of their programmable thermostats.  For example:
In the summer, raise the temperature setting by 7 degrees when you're away and 4 degrees when you're asleep.
Save even more by using the Vacation and Hold features to manage temperatures while you're away from home for an extended period.
Lower the temperature setting by 8 degrees when you're away or asleep in the winter
Learn more at www.energystar.gov/programmablethermostats.

Great Burglar Deterrent

Dark homes invite burglars, but keeping lights on all the time gets expensive. The answer? Motion detectors. These lights surprise unwanted visitors by coming on when anyone gets within 50 feet of your house.   It's a great deterrent for burglars and with most units you can select how long the lights stay on once tripped by the motions sensor.  

Leaky Outlets

Drafty windows aren't the only way air leaks into your home.  Your outside walls may have some even bigger holes to worry about.  Outlets on the exterior walls of your home can be big energy wasters. But air leaking through these holes can be easily sealed.  To do that, turn the power off at the breaker, remove the outlet or light cover plates and install inexpensive foam gaskets.  This will seal out drafts and stop energy dollars from leaking right out of your wallet.

Don't Launder Money in Dishwasher

Want to cut your dishwasher energy costs by one-third?  It’s easy with a simple flick of a switch.  Most automatic dishwashers have a “power dry” switch to speed up the drying process.  If you’re not going to run another load, turn the switch off.  The dishes will still dry spotless, and you’ll save about one-third of the energy costs..

Wasp Season..

According to the National Pest Management Association wasp populations peak when summer ends. Right now they are reaching their highest numbers, having had the entire summer to reproduce. I found this nest blocking a vent hood exhaust flap during an inspection of a new build yesterday. Right now is a good time to walk around your home to check for wasp activity. Pay particular attention to the areas under your eaves...

Corroded Gas Line Plumbing..

The gas line for this home built in 1994 (top picture) has developed significant corrosion. This is a common problem found on many inspections. Corrosion prevention is easy and inexpensive. Products such as ZeroRust spray and 3M Scotchrap All-Weather Corrosion Protection Tape are great for controlling gas line rust issues.  

One more example to illustrate the great axiom:   "An ounce of inspection, can save you a pound of repair!"

12 IDEAS TO CUT ENERGY USAGE

For those who did not get a chance to read the Dallas Morning News article on energy conservation tips here  is a summery of the highlights:
AT A GLANCE Ideas to cut usage

1. Clean or replace air conditioner filters monthly.
2. Use drapes, blinds and shutters to slow energy loss.
3. Don't block vents with drapes or other obstacles.
4. Seal windows with caulk and use weatherstripping on doors to keep cool air in.
5. Replace incandescent lights with florescent bulbs, which are often subsidized.  They use substantially less power than traditional bulbs.
6. Unplug cellphone charging cables when not in use.  They draw power even when they're not charging.
7. Set thermostats to 78 degrees. 
8. Use ceiling fans to push cool air down.
9. Turn off computers and electronics when not using them - try their "sleep" mode to save energy.
10. Fill dishwashers, cloths washers and dryers to capacity.
11. Use your microwave to cook food.
12. Make sure your refrigerator has at least 1 inch of space around it for proper ventilation; it will use 10 percent more energy if it has poor ventilation.

SOURCES: Oncor; TXU Energy
I hope everyone finds these tips to be helpful.  Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas if you have any other energy saving tips that aren't listed above.

Until next time.

Sustainably yours,
Scott Medlin

Clean-up and disposal of broken florescent lighting

We all know the compact florescent (CFL) replacement bulbs have become a popular energy saving alternative to the older, conventional incandescent bulbs.  They last longer, deliver equal brightness and consume much less energy.  Sounds perfect right?  Well, almost.  There is one important draw-back to CFL's and other florescent bulbs.  They have been proven to release toxic levels of mercury into the air if they are broken.  With this post I wanted to provide some tips on how to safely clean up and dispose of broken florescent bulbs.  Follow these safety tips anytime you find yourself dealing with broken florescents.

1.  Ventilate the room, open windows and let the room air out.  Avoid breathing in the air after the bulb breaks.
2.  Don't re-enter for 30 minutes if possible.  Let the room completely air out before re-entering.
3.  Pick up the large pieces of broken glass first.  The smaller pieces can be lifted with tape later.
4.  Place glass in a sealable container before throwing away.
5.  Do NOT use a vacuum cleaner as this worsens the problem by blowing the toxins back into the air
6.  Do NOT use a broom and dustpan.  As with the vacuum cleaner this also exacerbates the issue by putting the toxins back in the air.

I hope everyone finds this information to be helpful.  Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas if you have any other tips that aren't listed above.

Until next time.

Sustainably yours,
Scott Medlin

Interesting find during roof inspection..

I took this picture yesterday at a home in Frisco.  I was inspecting the roof and found this.  As you can see,  the tops of these sewer vent boots are installed OVER the roof shingle.  The top half of the flashing should be UNDER the shingles... for obvious reasons.  When it rains, water runs right under these flashings and into the attic and down to the ceiling and walls below.  In many cases the leaks go undetected as the sewer vents are in the wall cavity, the water simply collects inside the wall cavity and floor below which can lead to mold problems.

Properly reinstalling the flashing is a fairly inexpensive and easy repair.  The home buyers were very thankful this issue was brought to light in the inspection report and they are addressing the matter now that they understand its importance.

I love it when simple fixes save major $$ in repairs!

Seriously Hot Attic!

I took this infrared thermal imaging picture during an attic inspection of a home in Oak Cliff last week.  Yellow/white represents heat and black/purple represents the cooler end of the spectrum.  This particular attic was equipped with soffit vents only (vents under the eaves).  There was absolutely NO other ventilation.  As you might imagine, with the ambient temperature hovering around 94°, the heat building in the attic was unbearable.  The attic temperature had soared above 150°.  It was recorded at 151.5°F to be precise.  That is CRAZY HOT!  The air conditioner was also unable to overcome the heat because most of the A/C ducts were routed through this insanely hot attic.

Needless to say the home buyer was very grateful to be informed about this issue...