There are a lot of websites giving the information about energy saving tips, but most of the tips are taken from the government website www.eere.energy.gov. Some of these tips are very useful. But some of them very difficult or expensive to do for your house.

Here I want to give some information what is really working and what did I use for my house.

Also I've discovered a few more energy saving tips – see them below.

· Unless your home was specially constructed for energy efficiency, you can usually reduce your energy bills by adding more insulation. Many older homes have less insulation than homes built today, but adding insulation to a newer home may also pay for itself within a few years.

I added another layer of insulation in my attic maximum R-value available and it is make a big difference.

· Adequately insulating and air sealing the access to an attic— especially to unconditioned attics—will help lower your heating and cooling bills.

A home's attic access, which could be an attic hatch, pull-down stairs, or a knee-wall door, often, goes uninsulated. This gap in the attic insulation increases heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer.

These accesses also often aren't sealed properly. A 1/4-inch gap around the perimeter of an attic access can potentially leak the same amount of air supplied by a typical bedroom heating duct.

I also used this tip for my house.

· Air leakage, or infiltration, occurs when outside air enters a house uncontrollably through cracks and openings. Properly air sealing such cracks and openings in your home can significantly reduce heating and cooling costs, improve building durability, and create a healthier indoor environment.

· Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ducting, or electrical wiring penetrates through exterior walls.

You should use silicon to implement this recommendation.

· Check for open fireplace dampers.

I don’t use fireplace at all, so I just sealed a damper and blocked the inlet pipe.

· Check your ducts for air leaks. First, look for sections that should be joined, but have separated and then look for obvious holes.

It is very important to do because otherwise air just moving from the supply duct to the return duct in the basement without conditioning your living aria.

There are some more energy saving tips, but almost all of them designed to increase time between cycles when furnace or AC actually working. Because less energy the house is loosing to the outside, less often the furnace or AC starts up to work.

Meanwile I have discovered a few more energy saving tips which do not only increases time between cycles, but reduce the cycles itself!!!

When temperature outside was 29’F I reduced actual working cycle of my furnace from 18 to 15 minutes what gave me another 20% energy saving to my bill on top of what I already have been saving by using all the tips above and some I discovered myself.

This website already exists for more then a year and so far only the item I never sold is on this page: it is my energy saving tips!
So, I've decided to take a closer look at this one and find out what is wrong. People are smart and they probable don’t want to spend money on something they do not completely understend. Below you can see a list of the items from my energy saving tips and I give you some hints what it’s all about:

• Heat runs. A hint: some websites give you an advice how save energy on this one but nobody presents the right way how to put it in practice. R.F.C.*
• Cold air returns. A hint: some websites give you an advice how save energy on this one but nobody presents the right way how to put it in practice. R.F.C.
• Electronic thermostat. A hint: it is not about that you can lower a temperature when you out of the house. I.I.C.**
• Fresh air intake. A hint: it is about right, energy saving way of using this one. R.F.C.
• Combustion air intake. A hint: why it is necessary to have and how to install it. I.I.C.
• Bath fans. A hint: it is about right, energy saving way of using them. R.F.C. & I.I.C.
• Humidifier. A hint: it is about right, energy saving way of using this one. R.F.C.
• Garage door. A hint: it is about right, energy saving way of using this one. I.I.C.
• High efficiency water heater. A hint: it is not about lowering the water temperature to 120 degrees. I.I.C.
• Duct seal. Everybody talking about this one but nobody explains what actually should be done and right way of doing that. R.F.C.

* – this item Reduce Furnace Cycle.
** – this item Increase Idle Cycle.

So, as you see here are 10 items which all together helped me to save 20% of my energy bill on a top of what I am saving by using well known energy saving tips (see above). 

Now all the energy saving tips are available for free!

Recently I decided to take a look on other websites what they offering “for free” and if any one thinking that they offer anything for free – think again!

Let’s take a look on airconditioning-and-heating.com website, this website designed to redirect you to the local HVAC contractors:

Get a tune-up on your air conditioning and heating system(s)
A tune-up for an A/C and heating system consists of an on-site visit to check and adjust the components for optimum performance. Most companies have a multi-point checklist they use which includes items like: checking (or changing) the filters, cleaning the coils, checking the refrigerant levels, operation of the fan, cleaning the drain lines, temperature checks, and more. On the heating side, checking furnace and heat exchanger for leaks would be a primary feature. Tune-ups can be a one time event or, better, part of a yearly maintenance schedule.

Cost: Varies depending on labor costs. Less than $100 dollars in many parts of the country. Note: A tune-up price usually does not include parts, refrigerant, or repairs other than minor ones normally done during HVAC tune-ups.
Impact to lower monthly bills: Modest to moderate savings year round on both heating and cooling. Tune-ups and maintenance also help prevent unexpected major repairs.
Arrange for yearly maintenance on your heating and air conditioning.
A maintenance agreement essentially plans a certain number of tune-ups in a year. A good starting point is a spring visit on the A/C side and a fall visit to get ready for heating season. These will save you money monthly on utility bills and will likely prevent expensive emergency repairs later.
Cost: Usually moderate, but depends on the number of zones, type of system, and more. Yearly agreements sometimes qualify you for discounts on parts and or labor if they become necessary.
Impact to lower monthly bills: Moderate savings year around potentially on both heating and cooling, plus savings on future unexpected repairs.

What this website is offering may save you money on unexpected replacement of your HVAC system, but it’s designed to suck big money out of your pocket. And believe me if you have a new system installed you definitely don’t need to do the recommended tune ups that often, at most once in two years. I didn’t do my tune up for eight years and everything working just perfect!

Have air ducts checked for leaks and sealed. This one simple action affects heating and cooling, providing you more comfort and lower utility bills the year around.
Cost: Usually moderate, but depends on the number of leaks, the size of the system, and access to duct work.
Impact to lower monthly bills: Substantial potential –average over 20% savings on both heating and cooling every month. Savings monthly will depend on the condition of your ducts—they could be higher or lower.

Well, this one is what I would recommend you to do, but come on, 20% of savings – it is a complete bullshit! Let’s take a closer look at what actually happens if the ductwork isn’t sealed: let say that a system of ductwork in your house is in a good condition. There weren’t any asshole electricians who ran the wires thru cold air returns, or any plumbers who broke your pipes or fittings when they made a minor repair of the leaking water pipes. Than the ductworks have some little holes thru which air is leaking out in the basement and come back by the cold air return duct. Of cause this warm air doesn’t heat your first and second floors, but at the same time it’s heat your basement and if it’s get right away in the return duct it rise the temperature of the return air and the furnace is able to rise the temperature even more. So, to say that you can save 20% is a very, very stupid thing to do.

Get additional insulation, caulking, weather stripping around doors, and solar screens.

These conservation improvements help keep more of the cool or warm air you want inside your house. Often, these improvements can be coordinated with a local utility sponsored program that starts with an energy audit.
Cost: Moderate to substantial, based on the size of your home and the work that is needed. You may be able to offset some of the costs through rebates, low interest loans, and other financial incentives for these through your local utility provider or third parties.
Impact to lower monthly bills: Moderate to substantial savings year around on both heating and cooling bills. This will vary depending on your situation. Ask during your energy audit.

It’s also a good advice, but almost any of you able to do this without some kind of stupid energy audit, which indeed so cheap so you would need “low interest loans”.
For example this month I spend $154 on my gas bill and of course I would like to reduce my bill even more, but in order to achieve that I have to spend $20000 to replace the siding on my house with the dryvit. Will I save on my heating bill – yes, will I ever come even with my spending – no!

Another website offering you:

Install high efficiency windows, which are 40% more efficient than standard windows. Consider replacing single-pane windows with double-pane windows that are gas-filled with high performance glass (e.g., low emissive or "low-e" glass). ENERGY STAR windows may help reduce your heating and cooling costs by up to 15%. The windows must be sized and installed properly.

Of course if you got to the point that it is necessary to remodel your house it would be a good idea, but just wake up in the morning and replace all the good windows in a house only Al Gore capable of!

Replace heating equipment more than 15 years old with new ENERGY STAR qualified models. Equipment must be sized and installed properly.
Old furnaces cost more to operate per year than new, ENERGY STAR qualified models that are 15% more efficient than standard models.
An ENERGY STAR qualified geothermal heat pump is 30% more efficient than comparable new equipment and can save you as much as $200 annually. A qualified electric heat pump is 20% more efficient and can save you about $130 annually.

Well, these guys recommending you to replace 15 years old furnace, others 10 years old furnace, refrigerator, and so on and save huge amount of money: $200 annually, and of course you have to do it every 10 – 15 years. I think it’s not very reasonable: spend $3000 on replacement and in 15 years get the money back. I probably would do it, but at first I have to become green to the point I will glow in darkness, so I could find my way in the bathroom at night without even turning the light on!

Now, if I come back to my energy tips you have to understand: I use it in my house and I checked them out with the stopwatch and I found the best balance of them to reduce my energy bill. Now I offered two of them for free, so use it opportunity and if you don’t like it you can just forget name of my website forever!

Someone may ask a question: “But how much would cost me your energy saving tips?”

Well, let’s take a look:
• Heat runs: $0.
• Cold air returns: from $14 to $22.
• Electronic thermostat: if you already have one but it doesn’t work the right way $0, if you don’t have it - $30.
• Fresh air intake: if you have one - $20, if don’t $0
• Combustion air intake: $30
• Bath fans: $0.
• Humidifier: $0.
• Garage door: $100.
• High efficiency water heater: $60.
• Duct seal: $20.
And you should take it into consideration: it's only one time for lifetime spending!

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