OtherHome TipsAlthough energy-efficient products may cost moreinitially, they are actually a better investment in the longrun. When deciding on installing energy saving items inyour home, remember that there are two price tags. The firstis the purchase price. The second is the lifetime cost of usingthose newly installed items. You pay this second cost in the formof your energy bill each month. Over time, the money you save in energycosts each month will more than make up the difference in purchase price.

Skip the screensaver. Instead, let your computer “sleep” or turn the monitor off when you areaway.

Use bath and kitchen vents to exhaust heat and moisture, but run them just long enough to ridthe house of unwanted water vapor and odors.

MidAmerican Energy Company’s energy-saving calculators can help residential and smallbusiness customers estimate energy costs. Find out how much you could save with newenergy-efficient appliances.

Keep draperies, shades and blinds open on sunny winter days, especially with windows on thesouth side of your home to take advantage of the sun’s heat. Keep them closed on hot andsunny summer days. This helps reduce the amount of solar heat coming through the windows.

Awnings can affect thermal performance in two ways—reducing unwanted solar heat gain duringperiods when cooling is needed and enabling desirable solar heat gain during periods whenheating is needed. Retractable awnings give you the option of allowing sunlight in on winter daysand blocking it out on summer days for year-round energy savings.

Compare your energy use to similar homes in your area and see where your home uses the mostenergy. Complete a home energy assessment. Scheduling a free home energy assessment canlead to significant savings for years to come. MidAmerican Energy’s HomeCheck® energyassessments are performed at no charge by an energy specialist, and several energy-savingimprovements may be implemented at the time of the HomeCheck. Click here for moreinformation www.midamericanenergy.com/iowa-homecheck

When plugged in, many appliances and chargers use electricity whether they’re on or not. Thiswasted power is called phantom load. Save some green by turning off and unplugging what youcan, possibly reducing your home’s phantom load by as much as one third. For convenience, plugmultiple devices into a power strip and turn the strip off when they’re not in use.

Make sure your air registers and radiators aren’t being blocked by furniture, rugs, drapes or otherobjects in your home. In addition, be sure to dust or vacuum registers or radiators on a regularbasis.

A cost-effective and eye-pleasing way to lower energy bills is to strategically plant trees aroundyour home. Planting trees promotes energy efficiency by providing shade, improving air qualityand helping to protect and nourish the soil.

Consider using portable, ceiling or whole house fans as a supplement, or substitute, for airconditioning equipment. Fans cost much less to operate than air conditioners. By using a fan,you can run your air conditioner at a higher setting.

On warm days, dialing up the thermostat by just 2 degrees and using your ceiling fan can lowerair-conditioning costs by up to 14 percent over the course of the cooling season. However, besure to turn the fan off when you’re not in the room to save energy—ceiling fans cool people, notrooms. When shopping for a new ceiling fan be sure to look for an ENERGY STAR® certified model.

Change the direction of your ceiling fan in the winter. Ceiling fans aren’t just for cooling. Mostmodels have a button on the base that changes the direction of the blades. In winter, set theblades to rotate clockwise and produce a gentle updraft, which moves warm air from the ceilingand distributes it evenly through the room.

Use the ventilation fan. Run your fan for 15 minutes after showering to control mold and mildew.When shopping for a new ventilation fan, look for a properly-sized ENERGY STAR certified model.

If you’ve ever spent a little time in your attic in the summer, you know it’s hot up there – as muchas 150 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s that trapped, super-heated air that contributes to your airconditioner running harder and more frequently than you’d like. By installing a whole-house fan,hot attic air is expelled, keeping your home cooler. In fact, a whole-house fan can pull heat fromyour entire home and draw in cooler outside air.

InsulationMake sure your home has adequate insulation. This includes the attic, exterior walls, floors,basement and crawl spaces. In unheated areas, be sure to insulate around furnace ducts orboiler pipes.

Those icicles hanging from the roof may be a warning sign. If you have large icicles hanging fromthe eaves along your roof then your attic may lack enough insulation and air sealing – whichcould lead to roof damage and other serious problems. Work with a professional to identify theroot cause and make the right home improvements that could not only save your roof, but savemoney on your utility bills as well.

Proper insulation is a cost-effective way to save energy all year round. Insulation keeps your homewarm in winter and cool in summer by slowing heat transfer. It also helps to suppress noise andprevent water pipes from freezing. To find out if your attic is properly insulated, call 800-545-0762and ask about a home energy assessment.

The effectiveness of insulation is stated in R-values. R stands for resistance. The higher theR-value, the more effective the insulation is in your home. When you buy insulation you shouldbuy it not by inches, but by R-value. The recommended R-value in attics for the majority of Iowais R-49, a high-resistance level meaning improved insulation should be at or around this level.Adding new insulation can bring dramatic savings, especially in homes built before 1970.

In the winter, insulation substantially reduces the quantity of heat passing through the ceiling,walls and floors to the outside or to adjacent unheated spaces. In the summer, insulation reducesthe flow of outdoor heat to the inside. By reducing this flow, you consume less energy and savemoney.

Loose-fill or batt insulation is typically installed in an attic. Although installation costs may vary,blowing loose-fill attic insulation—fiberglass, rock wool or cellulose—is usually less expensive thaninstalling batts and provides better coverage.

Home SealingUse weather stripping and caulk to seal air leaks and block drafts, even in the basement andattic, around doors, windows, chimneys, gaps in plumbing, wiring bypasses, in dropped ceilingsand in soffits above cabinets, electrical outlets and other potential areas for air leakage. Pluggingleaks will help lower winter heating costs, too.

Be sure to choose a type of weather stripping that will withstand the friction, weather,temperature changes and wear and tear associated with its location. The weather strippingyou choose should seal well when the door or window is closed while allowing it to open freely.Weather strip and insulate your attic hatch or door to prevent warm air from escaping out thetop of your house.

Put clear plastic sheets over the inside or outside of your windows to reduce heat loss andincrease comfort. Window wrap kits, available at your hardware or home store, are an idealchoice for the job. Close storm windows tightly to make sure no air leaks in or out.

Choose a home sealing product for each specific location. Felt and open-cell foams tend to beinexpensive, susceptible to weather, visible and inefficient at blocking airflow. However, the easeof applying these materials may make them valuable in low-traffic areas. Vinyl, which is slightlymore expensive, holds up well and resists moisture. Metals (bronze, copper, stainless steel andaluminum) last for years and are affordable. Metal weather stripping also can provide a nicetouch to older homes where vinyl might seem out of place.

Caulking is easy and one of the most cost-effective energy efficiency improvements you canmake. Caulk window frames and door frames inside the home with clear or color-matched caulkto reduce drafts. Use long-lasting exterior caulk outside the home where a window or door framemeets brick, wood or siding. To assure proper adherence and curing, the ideal condition forcaulking outside would be the second or third dry day in a row with a temperature between50 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Any hole that leads from a basement or crawlspace to an attic is a big energy waster. Heated airrises and can escape into the attic through attic doors, pull-down stairways, ceiling openings,plumbing vents or pipes, air ducts, open wall tops or electrical runs. Seal holes with caulk orspray foam where pipes, wires and vents enter or exit your home through walls. Be sure to checkbehind and under sinks.