Petri Plumbing & Heating, Inc., a leading plumbing and heating company serving Brooklyn and Manhattan since 1906, provides homeowners tips to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
The 115 million households in the U.S. today collectively account for nearly a quarter of the country’s energy usage, according to Energy.gov, with the average family spending upwards of $2,300 per person a year on their utility bills. In New York, electricity costs are some of the highest in the nation, meaning higher than average utility bills for area homeowners.
“There are dozens of ways homeowners can make their homes more energy efficient,” said Michael Petri, owner of Petri Plumbing & Heating. “From retrofitting an old hot water heating system with a tankless system to simply swapping out a water guzzling toilet, even a few small changes can have a significant impact on energy consumption. You’re helping the Earth and helping to lower energy bills at the same time.”
The experts at Petri Plumbing & Heating offer Brooklyn homeowners these five home upgrades to make their homes more energy efficient:
- On-demand hot water heater – On-demand or “tankless” hot water systems heat water as needed, which saves energy and money. New ENERGY STAR® tankless water heaters can reduce your annual water costs by up to 30 percent and last nearly 20 years, double the lifespan of an average, traditional hot water heater.
- Low flow toilets – An excellent way to save money and water is to install new toilets. Many of the toilets in NYC use up to 5 gallons of water per flush. A low flow toilet is required to flush at 1.28 gallons per flush.
- Smart thermostat – An easy and inexpensive way to instantly make your heating and cooling system more efficient is with a programmable thermostat. New programmable thermostats allow you to set your home at different temperatures for different times of day, so you aren’t paying to heat or cool your home when no one is there. An added benefit of smart thermostats is you can control them remotely using a simple application on your smartphone.
- LED lights – Swap out your old incandescent lights for ENERGY STAR qualified LED lighting and you’ll consume 75 percent less energy. In addition to being more energy efficient, LED lights last up to 50 times longer than incandescent lights and up to five times longer than fluorescent ones, saving you time replacing burnt out bulbs.
- Ceiling fans – Adding ceiling fans to your home is a low-cost way to reduce energy consumption. During hot summer days, ceiling fans can reduce cooling costs by up to 40 percent. Even in the winter, a ceiling fan helps circulate air and can save you up to ten percent on your heating bill.
