Homes tend to hemorrhage energy through poorly-sealed windows and doors because of lost heated or cooled air. This not only wastes energy, it raises energy bills because the thermostat must be turned up or down even more to compensate.
If the windows and doors are over-sealed, it can lead to poor indoor air quality in the home that can make a family sick. There are also a few other ways that your home can be losing energy without you even knowing it.
According to the International Energy Agency, 10 per cent of your annual energy bill is due to various appliances and electronics using power while remaining in standby mode. This can include coffee makers, refrigerators, flat screen televisions, laptop computers, LCD monitors, microwaves and even power bars.
This standby power is necessary for some devices to work properly, such as a coffee maker’s clock, a remote control’s ability to send signals, internal appliance clocks or devices monitoring the internal temperature of a refrigerator.
Homeowners can lower their energy bills on their own by unplugging appliances such as the coffee machine, stove and microwave when they’re not in use. Using Energy Star appliances, which also maintain extremely low standby power usage already, can help lower energy bills and greatly appeal to homebuyers.
