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Making your house energy efficient


Rustlestiltskin

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I made my own interior dryer vent last winter. I bought a cheap plastic storage bin and a reasonable quality furnace filter. I used duct tape to seal them together and cut a hole in the plastic bin for the round ducting. It works great, and adds a noticeable amount of heat and moisture to the air.
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I made my own interior dryer vent last winter. I bought a cheap plastic storage bin and a reasonable quality furnace filter. I used duct tape to seal them together and cut a hole in the plastic bin for the round ducting. It works great, and adds a noticeable amount of heat and moisture to the air.

 

....or, you could have just spent $7, ha!

 

I am going to pick one of those beasts up this weekend. Looks great.

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I didn't think there would be this much interest. Here is how it looks. On the right side the ducting was the same six as the input to link them, so I used insulation tape to secure to two items together.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l284/dsnowgod/EEBD4181-7031-47EE-BC1B-C061A780FC34_zpsvxrqumww.jpg

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Just a quick story that's kinda relative:

 

When we first moved in, our dryer exhaust popped off where it exits to the outside, (I hadn't secured it as well as I thought I had), and was venting into the basement. It actually set the fire alarm off down there. Thought the dryer had started a damn fire or something at first until I ran down there.

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Just a quick story that's kinda relative:

 

When we first moved in, our dryer exhaust popped off where it exits to the outside, (I hadn't secured it as well as I thought I had), and was venting into the basement. It actually set the fire alarm off down there. Thought the dryer had started a damn fire or something at first until I ran down there.

 

Do you have a gas dryer?

 

side note, nothing being suggested in the past few pages should be done if you have a gas dryer.

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Do you have a gas dryer?

 

side note, nothing being suggested in the past few pages should be done if you have a gas dryer.

 

No, sorry. Let me clarify that this is an electric dryer. However, the dryer vent hose fell from the exit near the basement ceiling and was aiming towards the fire detector's corner by the staircase. The very fine particles being created that aren't caught by the lint filter are enough to disrupt the current within the detector causing the alarm to go off. I was still pretty damn surprised, though.

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....or, you could have just spent $7, ha!

 

I am going to pick one of those beasts up this weekend. Looks great.

 

Lola, how much do you think a generic bin and air filter cost? Also mine uses a real filter, so zero lint or dust makes it into the air I breathe. And I enjoy DIY projects.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So, I was finally able to get around to blowing in the insulation on Saturday. 66 bails, covering about 10" throughout the attic. I went through Manard's and got the 11% they do. I'm not thinking I will be able to do any other rebate from and energey provider. I'm still looking into that though.

 

Over all, we had a mix of R13 and R19 already in the attic. In some places it was layered, and in other areas there were small patches not covered. I evened out what I could. Prior to adding the insulation, I was advised to follow any wiring in the attic to any light fixtures or other items. These are areas where you have heat lose. On almost oll of them, I could see light around the edges. I used spray foam to seal around the edges, and recover it with the exsisting insulation. I then rolled out sections of relective shield. This looks like bubble wrap with tinfoil over it. I wedged it all the way to the bottom of the rafters, stapling it to the rafters. This is done so the spray insulation does not cover the sofets and still allows air flow. See my write up on staple guns in the consumer reports. This was an easy job that was made hard with tools that didn't work. Once that was done, I staple rulers we made to the ceiling joist's all around the attic. This allowed me to maintain the correct depth while blowing in the insulation.

Once all the prep work was done, adding the insulation was kind of fun. I had two people opening and feeding bails into the hopper. It's a messy job, so just accept it. I was covered in the stuff. I wore a face mask and I was fine. It took about an hour to blow in 1500sqft of attic @ 10". Clean up was very quick and easy. In total, I spent $400 on insulation and $45 on renting the Hopper. Home depot will rent you the hopper for free if you buy 20 bails or more. But, I liked the Manards deal.

 

Now to see the coming months energy bill.

 

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l284/dsnowgod/77FF3F8E-6CDB-447B-A0E4-38125FE791AE_zpsi59e0tsf.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l284/dsnowgod/6BC02587-6D17-479D-9E20-442CFA6B2BC6_zpsjl5ba1dx.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l284/dsnowgod/1F69BAAE-2C88-4152-875A-B2DB5EA96199_zps1en8ufan.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l284/dsnowgod/3C1AC552-A12C-4909-861A-F9858207A643_zpsjc7k1rn0.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l284/dsnowgod/F96C1B38-EA94-4CD2-8A38-A8372F494C90_zpspihbkkna.jpg

Edited by Mojoe
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Miller was.

Yus, that was me. I worked with AEP on implementing the program for almost two years, then when our contract was nixed I ran a small audit operation for about 1 1/2 years. The new contract holders make the whole thing such a headache it wasn't worth it anymore.

 

Does Columbia Gas do similar for gas water heaters or a furnace?

From AEP's website a lot of it seems to need to be electric heated homes?

https://www.aepohio.com/save/programs/In-homeEnergySavings/In-homeEnergyRebatePrograms.aspx

Columbia Gas does, they even launched a Pilot Program with AEP at one point. They just don't advertise as strongly as Gridsmart. I don't know that they are currently. AEP will still pay gas customers.

 

It is very easy. Remove old from wall, remove color coded wires, install new one in reverse order.

 

Unless they have a heat pump, which isn't easily backward-engineered. Then the unit is blown. At least verify you don't have a heat pump before taking 87gt advice.

 

Not to thread jack, but are you typically allowed to put a programmable thermostat in a rental? Seems like a pretty sound investment.

I did in all of my apartments and condos. It saves them money if you don't mess it up. They would have to be some ungrateful boners...

 

 

 

 

 

We're also facing one of the better tax incentive years we've had to date: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Energy-Efficient-Home-Improvements-Can-Lower-Your-Taxes

 

Cliffs: Up to $500 back on insulation, windows and heating/cooling. EXPIRED

30% uncapped on alternative energy. Still need to check if Geothermal could pass this, if so, big win for Joe. You did a new unit right?

Edited by Miller
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That 30% on alternative energy is not looking like it will be there in the future. I did a new heat pump unit it. My Geo issue was likely in the ground. On top of the unit itself going bad. Replacing the unit would be $15-$20K. Having a problem with what was in the ground, because it was so old, another $10-$20k. I went with a 19.6 seer communicating unit. Still spent a chunk of $$. But it is very low energy use, and that is all we really wanted.

 

 

Found the rebate form. Looks like $250 for weatherization.

 

Rebate page:

https://www.aepohiorebates.com/Home/Toolkit

 

Weatherization

https://www.aepohiorebates.com/Content/downloads/Weatherization%20Rebate%20Claim%20Form.pdf

Edited by Mojoe
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In the last 6 months I've done:

 

New gas water heater (energy efficient)

New A/c & Furnace (80%, but still brand new)

Insulated Garage

Insulated Attic (actually doing that this weekend)

 

Getting new window's in the spring.

 

I haven't gotten shit back from a reimbursement standpoint. I don't know what the statute of limitations is on something like this, but I'd love to get something back.

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You have to have receipts for work done. If you did it your self, you can still submit it. You will probably be inspected, as they did with me. But, the guy was cool. and told me about the insulation deal and a few other things. When the money comes in, it's just a bonus. New furnace went in in April, we still have not been paid. Got paid for the hot water heater three weeks after turning it in.
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I actually paid to have both installed. One was by a side job friend (who does it for a living), and the other (water heater) was by a legit contractor.

 

I don't mind the inspection, ha! Are the links for these anywhere above? I'll click every damn one.

 

On a side note, these are all gas. Not sure if that will matter.

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I got a deal on a bunch of 60W incandescent and replaced all the CFLs that were in my house. Donated them to Goodwill. Fuck efficiency over having quality lighting. I would like LEDs but I got a crate of incandescents for the cost of 2 or 3 LED bulbs.
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The term "quality lighting" make me realize I don't have the lights on much. And if I do, I don't really care or notice about good or bad lighting.

This. I'm like a bear in a cave.

 

As a matter of fact, if you want to save on energy, I'm available for hire. Nobody will be more adamant about running behind you turning off lights, shutting doors, micro managing the hvac, and forcing you to live in the cold, dank, darkness.

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