7 Things You Can Do to Maximize Your Home's Energy Efficiency When You Use Solar Power

When you’re trying to help the environment, converting to solar power is a great first step that a growing number of homeowners have taken. However, you can go further by being more careful about how your home uses power. By conserving energy, you can stretch the power your solar panels produce. You may even be able to turn around and sell excess power back to your utility company. This is usually applied as a credit on your monthly bill. However, in order to be as energy efficient as possible, you need to be smart about how you use power in your home.

Seal Cracks

A large portion of the energy that solar power creates for your home goes to heating or cooling. If you have exterior cracks though, you’ll be putting even more power into these utilities. To prevent unnecessarily wasted power, seal any cracks you find where air might be escaping your home. You’ll usually find cracks around window or door frames, on the exterior of your home where different building materials meet, and around outlets. You can also look out for drafty areas in your home to find these leaks. One method of doing this is by using a thermal leak detector: point this hand-held device at suspected areas of heat loss to find out where the temperature drops significantly in your home.

You can also use weather stripping around doors and windows. This will patch larger cracks and also help prevent further cracks from growing. For smaller cracks, you can use caulk. If you have older single-pane windows, you can upgrade them to double-pane glass or use plastic insulation kits to cover them.

Insulate the Attic

A lot of hot air can escape through the attic since hot air rises. This means that you need to put more energy into heating your home during the cold months. Adding insulation will help to keep warmth inside your home where it belongs. Additionally, during warmer times of the year, insulation can keep your home at a comfortable, cool temperature, meaning that you don’t have to run fans or the AC as much. If your attic’s insulation is more than about 20 years old, it may be time to replace it.

Invest in Solar Batteries

Having a solar battery lets you live more solidly off-grid. Without solar batteries, the power grid is your backup system when the solar panels are not producing much power. When you have solar batteries, they become your backup instead.

When you use batteries along with your home’s solar panels, your home will have off-grid power during times when the sun isn’t shining. For example, you don’t have to worry about your solar panels falling behind your power needs at night or on cloudy days. The batteries could also power your home during blackouts while most of your neighborhood is in the dark.

You can talk to a solar power company like Harmon Solar, about adding battery storage to your existing solar system. The process can be complicated, so you need to have professionals on your side to install it.

Upgrade your HVAC System

In addition to keeping the air inside your home, you need to ensure that your HVAC system is running efficiently. Yearly preventative maintenance on your home’s HVAC system will keep it running at peak efficiency. Spring and fall are good times of the year to schedule your maintenance. Because the HVAC system is under less stress these times of the year, any potential problems can be found before they become emergencies.

If your furnace or AC unit is more than 10 years old or not working properly, you should consider having it replaced. Continuing to use an old unit will likely lead to further and more expensive problems, and it will be more of a drain on your power.

Change Air Filters

Filters for your furnace and AC units get clogged with dirt and pet hair. A clogged filter can drastically lower the energy efficiency of your HVAC system. Clogged filters will cause the furnace or AC to run longer to do the same job. It is estimated that replacing a clogged filter can improve energy efficiency by as much as 15 percent.

How often you replace your filter will depend on the type of filter you use. However, in general, you should replace your filter at least every three months. If you have furry pets, you’ll want to replace the filter more often. This will keep your filter from getting too clogged.

Install a Smart Thermostat

When you have a smart thermostat, you can set it for the exact times you want your heating or cooling systems to run. For example, you may not need it to run during the day while you and your family are at work or school. You may only need certain areas of the home cooled at different times of the day. A smart thermostat allows you to program it for when to warm or cool your home and what areas of the home to focus on at different times. This is one of the best ways to maximize energy efficiency and make your home more comfortable.

Check the Air Ducts

The air ducts in your home are out of sight and likely out of mind. However, leaks in the heating and cooling ducts can lose as much as 20 to 30 percent of the air that moves through them. Because of that, they can be a massive drain on your home’s power. Check for any leaks in the ducts of your home. While you could do this on your own, you can also have a professional take care of this maintenance for you. If there are any leaks or loose seals, your HVAC system will have a hard time heating or cooling your home, so make this part of your regular maintenance.

Maximizing your home’s energy efficiency will help your solar power system run easier and longer. These steps can help you reduce the amount of power you use in your home so that you can stretch the amount of power you get from your solar panels. Additionally, if you add solar batteries to your current system, you will be able to store more power for the times you need it, like a power outage or when the sun isn’t shining.

About the Author:

Anita Ginsburg is a freelance writer from Denver, CO. She studied at Colorado State University, and now writes articles about health, business, family and finance. A mother of two, she enjoys traveling with her family whenever she isn't writing. You can follow her on Twitter @anitaginsburg.