ARE YOU REACHING FOR ENERGY SAVINGS?

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1 LOGAN LOGAN COUNTY COUNTY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE LOCAL LOCAL PAGES PAGES- SPECIAL ENERGY SAVING EDITION ARE YOU REACHING FOR ENERGY SAVINGS? Stop wasting money. Make changes today. Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Thomas Edison

2 LOGAN COUNTY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE LOCAL PAGES WHERE TO BEGIN? Stop wasting money on your electric bill Start with no-cost to low-cost changes In our homes, we rely on electricity to power our lights, appliances, and electronics. Many of us also use electricity to produce hot water, heat, and air conditioning. However, as we use more electricity in our homes, our electric bills surge. As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, Logan County Electric Cooperative s (LCEC) purpose is to empower members to improve the quality of their lives. While electricity greatly improves the quality of life, so does saving money. Our desire is to advise our members on their electric use and help them lower their electric bill. This conversation can be overwhelming for some members, and the idea of saving money on your electric bill may seem unrealistic because the initial investment is too expensive. Whether temperatures begin to climb like they are this summer, or drop like they will again this fall, we encourage LCEC members to focus some of their energy on increasing energy efficiency and increasing awareness of how electricity is used in your home. Armed with some basic knowledge and a little time, you can conduct an energy audit of your home to identify where you are not energy efficient and are wasting money. Use a checklist (see Page 20D) and take notes on problems you find as you walk through your home. But remember, an audit itself will not save you money unless you act on your findings. Continue reading to learn more. If you need help conducting a home energy audit, contact LCEC at and ask to speak to our energy advisor.

3 CHANGE IS POSSIBLE Using SMARTHUB, you can analyze your home s past and current electric use In 1597, Sir Francis Bacon wrote in his book on sacred reflections, Knowledge itself is power. LCEC members need to somehow increase their knowledge about their homes energy use, thus empowering them to take steps to save energy. To accomplish that, members need convenient account access and detailed information about their use. LCEC offers to put the power of knowledge in the hands of our members with a mobile and web app that offers daily data about their account. The online tool is called SmartHub. SmartHub lets you manage all aspects of your electric account online or on your mobile device. Creating a SmartHub account takes just a few minutes. Enter your account information and your address, and you are ready to begin. Using SmartHub, LCEC members will have the tools they need to interact and manage their accounts 24/7. Additionally, the two-way communication available with SmartHub allows members to notify LCEC of account changes and service issues. SmartHub also provides LCEC the ability to send outage text messages directly to the members who sign up to receive them. Among the many advantages of SmartHub: Payments made via SmartHub will be posted to your account in real time. Pay by Visa, Mastercard, Discover or checking or savings account with no convenience fee. Sign up or update information for recurring payments. Manage your account 24/7 from personal computers, smartphones, and tablets. Report outages directly from your phone or tablet. Set markers to monitor changes in your usage over periods of time. Sign up for outage text messages. Includes a free user-friendly app for both Apple and Android users. Sign up today by going to LCEC s website, www. logancounty.coop, and clicking on the SmartHub logo. After creating an account, download the app on your mobile device or tablet and enjoy 24/7 access to your account. If you have any question about getting started with SmartHub, please call the office at

4 LOGAN COUNTY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE LOCAL PAGES Perform Your Own Audit Identify and improve your home s energy efficiency After analyzing your energy use on SmartHub, perform your own energy audit. You can conduct your own simple but diligent walk-through and spot many problems in any type of house. This do-ityourself home energy audit will not be as thorough as a professional home energy assessment, but it can help you pinpoint some of the areas to address. When walking through your home, keep a checklist of areas you have inspected and problems you found. (Find a checklist on Page 20D.) Find and fix air leaks The first place to focus your attention is on places where air is leaking into and out of your home. Therefore, as you walk around, make a list of all the places where such leaks could occur. The potential energy savings from reducing air leaks, also known as drafts, can be as high as 30 percent per year, and the home is usually more comfortable afterward. That s why it s recommended as the first place to begin your audit. On the outside of your house, inspect all areas where two different building materials meet. Pay particular attention to possible gaps at the place the foundation meets the walls. Studies have shown that this can be one of the largest offenders in allowing air to flow in and out of homes practically unobstructed. Also inspect all exterior corners; where siding and chimneys meet; and areas where the foundation and the bottom of exterior brick or siding meet. Plug and caulk holes or penetrations for faucets, pipes, electric outlets, and wiring. Look for cracks and holes in the mortar, foundation, and siding, and seal them with the appropriate material. Check the exterior caulking around doors and windows, and see whether exterior storm doors and primary doors seal tightly. Inside, look for gaps along the baseboard or edge of the flooring, and where the walls meet the ceiling. Check to see if air can flow through electrical outlets, switch plates, window frames, baseboards, weather-stripping around doors, fireplace dampers, attic hatches, and wallor window-mounted air conditioners. Look for gaps around pipes and wires, electrical outlets, and mail slots. Check to see if the caulking and weather-stripping are in place with no gaps or cracks and are in good condition. Inspect windows and doors for air leaks. See if you can rattle them, since movement means possible air leaks. If you can see daylight around door and window frames, then the door or window leaks. You can usually seal these leaks by caulking or weather-stripping them. Check the storm windows to see if they fit and are not broken. You may also wish to consider replacing your old windows and doors with newer, high-performance ones. If new factory-made doors or windows are too costly, you can install low-cost plastic sheets over the windows. One creative way of finding leaks is to slightly depressurize your home. You can use a large window fan to blow air out of a window of the house. This increases infiltration through cracks and leaks, making them easier to detect. Then walk around and feel for air leaks. They ll identify themselves to you if you place your hand over areas where you suspect a leak. Placing a little moisture on your hand intensifies the effect, making it even easier to find leaks. Before you begin, close all exterior doors, windows (excluding the one with the fan in it), and fireplace flues. For unheated basements, determine if there is insulation under the flooring of the living area. In Ohio, R-25 is the recommended minimum level of insulation. The insulation at the top of the foundation wall and firstfloor perimeter should have an R-value of 19 or greater. For heated basements, the foundation walls should be insulated to at least R-13. Heating and cooling equipment Now take a look at the systems that keep your home comfortable. Your home s heating and cooling equipment is probably its largest energy consumers. Begin by locating them and giving them a visual inspection. Many homes have a split system, which means you have equipment inside and outside the house. If you have a forced air furnace, check your filters and replace them as needed. Generally they should be changed about every couple of months. Some people use the season change to remind themselves to change filters. If the unit is more than 15 years old, consider replacing it with one of the newer, energy-efficient units. As part of your equipment check, inspect ductwork for dirt streaks, especially near seams. These indicate air leaks, and

5 they should be sealed. Make a note to insulate any ducts or pipes that travel through unconditioned spaces. An insulation R-value of 6 is the recommended minimum. Water heating Your audit should include locating and evaluating your water heater. In many homes, the water heater is the second-largest energy user, so it s worth taking some time to investigate. Check its temperature setting. Keeping it as low as possible (120 degrees Fahrenheit) will save energy and money. Place your hand on the tank to see if is warm to the touch. If it is, an insulating blanket will help hold heat, especially if it is located in unconditioned space. Cooking, laundry, appliances and lighting Energy for all of these other end-uses can add up to a quarter of your total energy expenditures, so do take a look at what you have, but recognize that changes made to a system that only uses a small percentage of the home s total energy use won t save as much as changes made to one of the larger users like the heating and cooling system or the water heater. Start with the refrigerator and freezer if you have one. Check the door seals and temperature settings, and check for good airflow across the coils. If you have an extra old refrigerator as many people do stored in the garage or basement, consider getting rid of it. Old units are potentially huge energy wasters. LCEC has watt meters you can borrow to test your appliances and know exactly how much energy they are consuming. As for lighting, which can be 6 or 7 percent of the electric bill, your best bet is looking for places where you can substitute LEDs for incandescent bulbs. And remember to keep lights off when they are not needed. With outdoor lights, controls like timers or photocells have quick paybacks. One of the fastest-growing categories of appliances in homes these days is electronics such as TVs, home entertainment equipment, and computers. The Department of Energy reports 2 percent of a typical home s energy is for TVs and related systems, and 2 percent goes for computers, monitors, and peripherals. On these, there isn t much you can do with your current ones except keeping them off when not in use. But when purchasing new equipment, look for the most efficient models. The Energy Star label, which identifies higherefficiency equipment, can be helpful. LCEC energy advisor Did you know Logan County Electric Cooperative offers home energy audits to find ways you can save energy and money? Would you be interested in having the co-op conduct an energy audit in your home? What if the audit was done at no charge? At LCEC, we believe energy audits are key to increasing efficiency. To reduce energy consumption, members first need to know how much energy they use and why. In this case, knowledge is literally power. Our energy auditors will meet with you at the co-op to discuss your concerns and then will come to your home. They will use equipment, including an infrared camera, amp meter, or blower door, to find the places where air is escaping, and they will identify inefficient appliances. Energy audits are effective because they lead to specific recommendations suitable to the member s individual circumstances. While the recommendations vary, every audit shares the same goal: finding cost-effective ways to help members save energy.

6 LOGAN COUNTY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE LOCAL PAGES

7 HOME ENERGY AUDIT

8 LOGAN COUNTY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE LOCAL PAGES If you need help conducting a home energy audit contact Logan County Electric Cooperative by calling BOARD OF TRUSTEES MANAGEMENT TEAM Doug Comer Rick Petty Chair President/General Manager Jerry Fry Ryan Smith First Vice Chair Vice President of Operations SECURE AUTOMATED PAYMENT Jim Rice Kristen McDonald Second Vice Chair Director of Member Services OUTAGE HOTLINE Lanny Davis Tiffany Stoner Secretary-Treasurer Director of Finance and Accounting OFFICE Warren Taylor 1587 County Road 32 North Bellefontaine, OH Michael Wilson OREC Representative Director of Communications Larry Park Scott Hall HAVE A STORY SUGGESTION? LOGAN COUNTY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE CONTACT OFFICE HOURS 8 a.m. 5 p.m. Trustees your ideas to: mwilson@logancounty.coop