Comments on: 18 Things a New Homeowner Should Do Immediately to Save Money

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:31:31 +0000

Great post even for those of us in our houses for a long time, there’s always something which could be improved! I swear by air drying clothes. Check the weather report the night before, and if next day will be sunny, put on a load of laundry before you go to bed, next morning you get up a few minutes early, and hang the clothing. We don’t even bother with a line because we’re not a big family. Laundry’s draped over the terrace furniture on the south side of the house, it’s screened from the street by a hedge, and from the neighbors by a barn. Whoever passes the laundry turns the heavy stuff over to insure equal exposure to sun and a quick dry. We have old fashioned cast iron radiators so at the end of the day any heavy towels or jeans which aren’t quite dry because days are now shorter and cooloer are popped on the radiators for a bit. The heat disapates wht moisture into the atmosphere and finishes drying so the items may be folded and put away. The clothes dryer uses an enormous amount of expensive energy, and it beats up the clothing and shortens its life. Dryer “fluff” is the outer surface of your clothese being worn away during the drying cycle, so you lose money paying to have your clothing’s life shortened. Better for the environment is generally cheaper, not always, but most times! In the news recently there’s some information about certain communities which banned clothes lines now rethinking those bans due to environmental concerns. Line drying clothes = money and environmental savings, not poverty!

By: TomK

TomK — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:55:08 +0000

Every new homeowner should read this article. Without a good educational foundation, new homeowners can easily run into costly but preventative problems.
Here is a source that can help one keep track of doing many of these things. Lets you know exactly when you did it last and when it’s due again. Good educational and motivational tool. http://www.myhomechannel.org

By: Jennifer Crawford

Jennifer Crawford — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:50:16 +0000

We just purchased our first home and needed help with home insurance. We found the Safeco website and it was very informative and purchasing the policy was easy. Here is some more information.

http://www.safeco.com/personal/home-insurance

By: Homemaker

Homemaker — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:05:28 +0000

Checking any leaks on the toilet will sure save a lot of money…i have one for a year and the savings I got on my water bill was tremendous.. less than 50% off my previous bill..

By: victor

victor — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:54:14 +0000

the tip about the water heater blanket is a bad idea. it will cause most water heaters to sweat and ruin the insulation inside the heater lessening the life of the water heater in the long run. let alone your floor bubbling up from being wet.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:59:27 +0000

I totally agree with the ceiling fans and shade trees. Living in Texas, these are 2 things to live by in the spring and summer!

To expand on 13 and 18: Another idea for home appliances…especially if you can’t afford to purchase new ones yet…check out some of the warranty plans that allow you to bundle appliances under one plan for a low monthly fee. This can help reduce repair costs in the future and if one of your major appliances goes out, like your dryer, you can get a replacement! I’m an advocate for http://www.allsixwarranty.com, you can bundle six appliances no matter how old or new they are. You can also get maintenance tips on this website too that will help with those pre-emptive maintenance measures!

By: Michael Thomas

Michael Thomas — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:47:56 +0000

Re: Retro-fit insulation blankets for water heaters, perhaps not a good idea, they may *increase* energy use see:

http://www.inspectorsjournal.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3143

By: Stephen Bird

Stephen Bird — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 12:20:11 +0000

Don’t seal up your home entirely as earlier advised! If your home is like the interior of a sealed glass jar, you’ll have problems with ventilation and condensation not to mention the resulting mould. 20% of the air inside should be recirculated with fresh air every hour. To accomplish this without causing draughts and cold spots requires some planning and expert advice.

By: Anjanette

Anjanette — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:16:56 +0000

bookmarking this for later!

By: Ryan G

Ryan G — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:08:10 +0000

An equivalent for the UK would be great.

By: Quinn

Quinn — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:56:30 +0000

Get a thankless water heater

By: michael

michael — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:43:28 +0000

@cv:
I have a workout room in my house with its own AC, so it is permanently sealed off from the rest of the house’s heating/AC. I only need it a few hours per week. It also doubles as a storage area (it’s an old house — not much closet space), including a large freezer which saves me a fortune because I can buy in bulk.

Also, guest rooms are not uncommon for folks with large families or social networks.

By: femmeknitzi

femmeknitzi — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:48:16 +0000

Great tips! I just bought in April so I will definitely go through this list. I’m ashamed to say that I have NOT yet learned to use my programmable thermostat.

I would point out that if you’re going to plant shade trees around your house, be purposeful about it. If you have a small property like mine, you may have to choose between shading your home and keeping a sunny spot for growing vegetables. I save a ton of money growing my own veggies and I’d rather not give up my sunny yard.

They ain’t trendy but awnings or heavy curtains can accomplish the same goal and still leave you with plenty of growing space.

By: jpb

jpb — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:13:59 +0000

Get into the habit of checking your smoke detectors every time daylight savings starts/stops. You have to wander around the house resetting the clocks anyway, and it’s a good idea to check on the batteries every six months.

By: Dave Farquhar

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:44:27 +0000

@Hunyhare: Replacing the air filter still applies in an apartment (something I never did).

Also, putting up insulating window film in the winter helps, and it’s not permanent, so it’s perfectly safe to do. It’ll cost less than $10 to do. Savings varies depending on how good or bad your windows are, but at the very least, your apartment will be more comfortable. I’m pretty confident the $10 investment will save you about $30.

Programmable thermostats are easy to change back out, so I would suggest asking your landlord’s permission to install one because they make a huge difference, especially in combination with these other tips.

Regarding CFLs: I have some that have lasted 5+ years and I had others fail very quickly. Now when I buy them, I save the packaging and the receipt and write the date of purchase in pencil on the plastic base of the bulb. In the future, if bulbs fail, I can quickly learn if it was premature, and if it is, file a warranty claim since I still have proof of purchase and the address.

By: J

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:21:38 +0000

One of the suggestions is to fix leaking faucets immediately. I recently sent my husband out to get a replacement part for a leaking faucet. The part cost approximately $17. My monthly water bill averages half that. So, while I hate to waste water and the dripping was driving me crazy, I find it hard to believe that it was a significant money savings. It will take months of saved water usage to pay for the replacement part.

By: drdrew

drdrew — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:15:02 +0000

I think this should be right there with CFLs…

Low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators. Less water used mean less energy used to heat it; hence, money saved. And this doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice pressure or cut your shower time in half! The newer heads *may* actually increase your pressure a bit. And since you’re reducing your usage from say: 4 gpm to 2 gmp you just saved 50% regardless of your time.

Bonus: Those of us with wells will not have our pump coming on nearly as often either! More savings!

By: Brent

Brent — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:27:04 +0000

Very good list! Its important to remember every house has a different priority payback list. Generally weather sealing the thermal envelope is a good payback cause it works during the most expensive times of the year, heating and cooling. We started a small business here in Cincinnati, Ohio that provides thermal imaging to homeowners. We keep it very simple to help people see where their envelope is leaking. You can see some of the images we’ve found in homes on our site at energyque.com

By: Jim @ Getting Ahead in Life

Jim @ Getting Ahead in Life — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:49:38 +0000

Be careful of #3. Wrapping some hot water heaters may void your warranty. I have a high efficiency hot water heater and when I asked the factory rep (A cousin) about it. He said it already was insulated. The additional insulation would be of minimal help and if the factory found out they would void the warranty.

With that said, if your hot water heater is not a high efficiency model and is more than a few years old this is a great energy saving idea. If it is more than 10 years old consider replacing it with a high efficiency model on your time schedule., not when it blows a hole at 3 am and you have to make a rush decision.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:20:24 +0000

In Rhode Island you can get an energy audit at no cost. It’s paid for with a tax on energy. You’ll get some free CFLs and have an expert opinion on what options will save you the most money. Also, you can have your fridge tested to see if you qualify for a rebate on an Energy Star model. Customers of National Grid, Natural Gas, can save 50% on certain services, such as air sealing, and insulation. Call RISE Engineering, the firm which does the Energy Audits.

Please note, I am not affiliated with RISE Engineering. They are the company which has been contracted to perform the audits.