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As gas and energy prices are rising again, that means Americans must tighten up their belts even further. In the winter you don’t need to dread the drop in the temps, ceilings fans can help you adjust your thermostats to save you dollars. You don’t need to dread hot summer temps and high air conditioning bills either when you have ceiling fans, your AC’s best friend!

If you already have ceiling fans in place, check to see whether they are Energy Star qualified. Ceiling fan/light combinations that have earned Energy Star accreditation are about 50 percent more efficient than non-conforming units. The difference lies in improved motors and blade designs. A model with an Energy Star light kit included provides even greater energy savings, and the bulbs don’t need to be changed as often.

Consumer demand for more energy-efficient ceiling fans and lighting products has driven the ceiling fan industry to integrate new ceiling fan lighting, ceiling fan blade and ceiling fan motor technologies that save operating costs. New products integrating the latest technologies are up to 75 percent more efficient than previous ceiling fan models.

Put your ceiling fans on when you are in the room during the day and when sleeping and turn your ceiling fans off when you leave. Ceiling fans cool people, not air. Using ceiling fans wisely while turning down the AC can save a lot of money visa a versa in the winter for your heater. Ceiling fans do such an efficient job of circulating air, they probably should be everywhere in your home. Any type of room can benefit, bedrooms, family rooms, and exterior living spaces are the most common applications, but we are seeing them used more in larger bathrooms, walk-in closets, home offices and garages.

Size Matters, consumers are installing ceiling fans throughout their homes, for example, fans with blade spans of 54, 60, and 72 inches are increasingly popular for living rooms and great rooms, while those with 24-inch spans are being installed in hallways and walk-in closets. How do you estimate the best size of ceiling fans for your needs? A good rule of thumb is a 36- to 52-inch diameter blade sweep for rooms measuring 200 square feet or less, are recommended by the ceiling fan experts, For rooms 200 to 400 square feet, we recommend ceiling fans have a diameter of 52 inches or greater; if the space is more than 400 square feet, two or more ceiling fans will be needed.

The number of blades makes some but little difference in airflow, however, whether to choose a four-, five-, or six-blade version is really a matter of aesthetics. You hear a lot about ceiling fans blade pitch, diameter and motor size. These are factors that will affect airflow, the greater the pitch of the blades on your ceiling fans the greater the airflow.

It’s important not to underestimate your ceiling fans. The most common size of ceiling fans sold in the U.S. is a 52-inch diameter. This size ceiling fans provides excellent results in rooms up to 150 square feet, but can also be appropriate for smaller rooms since the 52″ size ceiling fans can be adjusted with multiple speeds and the direction of the blades can be reversed, unlike some of the other smaller blade span ceiling fans. “It’s better to choose a slightly larger fan for a room than to choose a diameter that might prove to be too small to adequately provide air movement.

Many ceiling fans now come with integrated lighting or light kits, these all in one ceiling fans, offer a coordinating light kit available as an option. These lights do not offer enough illumination on their own, but they are useful in a room that already has some form of ambient lighting. Ceiling fans with lights should be considered as accent and mood lighting.

Should a Ceiling Fan Blend In or Stand Out?

The next step to consider is whether you’d like your ceiling fans to serve as a focal point or be more understated. The question is should your ceiling fans blend in or stand out? Is the room contemporary, traditional, tropical or transitional? Ceiling fans can serve as a design feature. The primary trend in ceiling fan design has been for styles that create aesthetic statements as bold as a chandelier. This follows the overall trend in residential design for more varied and more sophisticated concepts. Today a consumer can find a ceiling fan that matches any interior design.

In the summer, ceiling fans offer a comfortable alternative and accompaniment to air conditioning, but in the winter employing the reversible blade option provides a means of circulating the hotter air that rises to the ceiling. This helps save on heating bills when the weather gets cold. Ceiling fans do help in the winter months too.

 

The past few years have found all of us looking at rising energy costs which seem to have been multiplied by the slow economy.  Whether you are thinking about ways to “go green” or you simply want to lower your monthly out of pocket energy costs, we’ve compiled some tips to help you out.  This is the third in a series of articles on lowering your monthly energy costs.

In our first two articles we discussed several tips to reduce your energy costs specifically during either the winter or summer months.  In this article we will discuss tips you can use year round to help lower your energy costs and save on your monthly bills.

First let’s recap some of the tips we suggested using in winter:

-          Lower your thermostat.  Stay warmer by wearing more clothes, using space heaters, using electric blankets at night, etc.

-          Check for drafts entering the home through doors or windows and seal them off.

-          Reduce your outdoor pool’s running time to a minimum

Next let’s look at some of the tips we suggested for summer:

-          Raise your thermostat.  Stay cool by using fans, drinking plenty of water,  wearing fewer clothes, etc.

-          Pull shades to block out the sun’s heat.

-           Insure your A/C unit is running optimally

Using our summer and winter tips will help you save on energy costs year round.  Many items work to help cool and heat your home both, helping your unit work less, and use less energy.

-Changing the A/C filter regularly helps your unit run at its optimum level in both heat and cool modes.

-Space heaters and fans help create air flow within your home which in turn helps your unit not work as hard to circulate the air.

-Pulling the shades on windows can help both in winter and summer.  In summer the shades block out the sun’s direct heat.   In the winter shades help to block out drafts and block the cold temperatures on the window surfaces from entering the room.

-Increasing your attic insulation helps year round as well by retaining both the heat and cool into your home instead of letting it escape thru the ceiling.

- Decreasing the amount of time that your outdoor pool’s filter system runs during the day will dramatically help to reduce your energy consumption.  Work with your pool professional to find the optimal amount of time that the system should run each day to keep the pool clean while at the same time using as little energy as possible.  You may want to consider building your own solar panel or wind turbine to power your pool pump.  There are several websites that can teach you how to do this.  See the links at the bottom of this article.

- Replacing your old windows with energy efficient models can easily pay for itself in a very short period of time.  Today’s windows with Low E film are many times over more efficient than older models.  The best advantage is that they work in both summer and winter.  In summer energy efficient windows block out the sun’s direct heat as well as the ambient heat outside, all while directing the A/C unit’s cool air back into the room.  In the winter they work the same by deflecting the heat in the room back into the room and by blocking out the cold air and wind.  If you haven’t looked into replacing your windows and your home is more than 30 years old, you should really do so.  The amount you could save could be huge.  Not to mention that fact that your home will feel much better as well.

-Replacing your old, worn out central system will save you money year round as well.  Depending on how old your unit is, how large your home is and how well it’s insulated, the savings you could see from replacing the unit could easily pay for the new unit in just a couple of years time.

-Caulking cracks around your home’s exterior will help to increase the home’s insulation factor which will obviously help year round by blocking out the cold and hot wind.

-Unplugging your unused electrical items will save energy year round. 

- Don’t leave rechargeable items plugged in all the time.  Once the unit is charged, unplug it completely from the wall. 

- Don’t leave your toaster plugged in.  It only takes a second to plug it in when you are ready to use it.

- Why leave your computer running all day while you are at work?  Not only turn it off, but if you have it on a surge protector, which you should, turn the switch off so that all your computer items are off including your printer, copier, modem, monitor, etc.

- Unplug your jam box.  It probably has a few lights and maybe a read out screen that stay lit even when the unit switch is off.

- Battery chargers.  Once your drill or screwdriver battery is charged in the garage, unplug it.

So, as you can see over this series of articles we have listed numerous tips that can help you save on your energy costs not just in the summer or winter, but year round as well.  Most of the items we have discussed are items that you could do yourself without having to pay anyone else and in many cases without having to spend any money at all.   If you are the do-it-yourself (DIY) type you will find most of these tips very easy to follow and implement.   If not, you can still accomplish them with just a little research.  There are plenty of websites on the net you can use for resources.

Another great way of reducing your energy costs is by producing your own energy through the use of either a solar panel or wind turbine.  You DIY enabled homeowners will find that building a solar panel or wind turbine is actually must easier than it may sound at first.  Several websites offer guides to building your own and take you through the steps one by one. 

As we are all aware the days of cheap fuel are well and truly over. As oil reserves are being depleted the only definite outcome is more and more price increases. “It’s no secret anymore that for every nine barrels of oil we consume, we are only discovering one.”

–The BP Statistical Review of World Energy.

Solar hot water systems cater for up to 70% of an average household’s year round hot water usage, that’s a huge saving of approximately 25-35% of an average household’s annual fuel bill! The best part about solar systems is that the fuel (sunlight) is free!

Solar hot water systems are nothing new, they have been around for a long time but only recently have they become more affordable to everybody. Recent technology also means the systems work all year round, even without direct sunlight.

Estate agents all over the country are finding that buyers are willing to pay more for an environmentally sound property. Running costs are an important consideration when choosing a future home. Reduce your energy costs substantionately and increase the value of your property – it just keeps getting better.

A Solar hot water system can be fitted to most houses. No planning permission is usually needed. Solar water heating works using the sun’s radiation, not sunshine. So it keeps on pumping free renewable, eco friendly energy into your home even on rainy days. By using this clean, renewable and eco-friendly source of energy, you will not only reduce your fuel bills but also help reduce the emission of harmful pollutants into the atmosphere, creating a safer environment for all our future generations.

Arun Solar, a leading solar supplier in Sussex reports that along with the Government, they are looking to make solar a major source of energy in Sussex. A spokesman, for Arun Solar, told us “Because Solar Hot Water Systems are designed to work in the British climate more and more people are investing in this new technology to cut down on ever increasing energy costs. Fitting a Solar hot water system is a fantastic investment, better than leaving money in a bank or building society account. With the rate of interest on our savings at an all time low the return you can get with a solar system is huge, in fact the savings increase year on year!

He goes on to say “We have seen huge growth this year in the demand for solar hot water systems in Sussex and the forecast looks as though this will keep growing year on year. Other solar suppliers in Sussex are, like us, flat out at the moment trying to keep up with demand. So solar energy in Sussex is definitely on the up and I am sure this will sweep the Nation before long.”

 

For further Information visit: www.arunsolar.co.uk

Editor’s Note: Arun Solar is represented by online advertising consultancy, Media Solutions Marketing.  Please direct all media enquiries to Simon Stephens:

Email: simonstephens@mediasolutionsmarketing.com or call 0845 6809802