My Energy Screening
Posted April 2nd, 2010 by Josh
By Joe LaFollette – Boston, MA.
I am a renter. On Wednesday, March 24th, Mike from Next Step Living came and screened my apartment. It was free to me (paid for through the MassSAVE program) and it only took two hours of my time.
There are several low-cost solutions that can cumulatively save energy. Mike recommended replacing our shower head. The current one runs 2.5 gallons of water/minute. They now make low-flow shower heads that run 1.7 gallons/minute. While checking our insulation, his infrared scanner showed that my roommate’s AC unit leaks a lot of heat around the edges; a problem easily solved by using a makeshift cover. We can also save a lot of energy through good habits, like turning off the surge protector that connects our TV and the gaming consoles, and keeping the thermostat at 60 when we’re gone for several hours.
He checked the boiler in the basement of the building and found that it’s running at 78% efficiency and recommended that our landlord get it serviced. Knowing this, our landlord can save money on utilities and make the building safer to live in by lowering the carbon monoxide emissions of the boiler.
Our primary costs are the fridge and lighting. Our fridge, though not the latest Energy Star model, is costing us $15/month, which Mike said was a reasonable cost. Having done the screening, we’re qualified to have MassSAVE provide and install free CFL light bulbs for the apartment. Compared to regular light bulbs, these energy efficient bulbs use 75% less energy. The energy screening was a good first step toward making our apartment more energy efficient.
See all the photos from my screening.