How to Create a Low-Cost, High-Efficiency Electrical System For Your Home

Introduction

Making your home's electrical system more efficient can save you money on your energy bills while also being better for the environment. With some planning and strategic upgrades, you can create an electrical system that operates smoothly and cost-effectively without breaking the bank. In this guide, I will walk through the key steps I took to rework the electrical system in my home to make it low-cost and highly efficient.

Audit Your Current Electrical Usage

The first step is to understand how electricity is currently used in your home. Here are some tips on how I conducted an electrical audit:

• Track your monthly electric bills - Review bills for the past year to see your average monthly usage and costs. This provides a baseline.

• Take an inventory of appliances and devices - Make a list of all electric appliances, devices, and systems in your home. Note the wattage of each if possible.

• Identify high load appliances - The largest electricity hogs are often the HVAC system, water heater, refrigerator, washer/dryer, and any pumps or motors. Focus on these.

• Check for phantom loads - Devices that draw power even when switched "off" contribute to waste. Use a Kill A Watt meter to measure.

• Understand your usage patterns - Note when and how each appliance/device is used. This allows you to identify waste.

Upgrade Inefficient Appliances and Devices

Once I understood where and how electricity was used, I was able to pinpoint the biggest offenders to upgrade first.

• HVAC system - I invested in a new Energy Star certified system with a high SEER rating. This dramatically reduced my heating and cooling costs.

• Water heater - Swapping out my old water heater for an energy efficient model saved around $200 per year.

• Lighting - I replaced all light bulbs with LEDs and added motion sensors. The LED bulbs use at least 75% less energy.

• Appliances - When old appliances died, I replaced them with Energy Star models. These use 15-30% less energy.

Improve Insulation and Air Sealing

Ensuring your home's insulation and air sealing is up to date is one of the most cost effective ways to boost efficiency. Here's what I did:

• Attic - I added R-38 fiberglass batt insulation to attain the recommended levels for my climate zone.

• Walls - Since I couldn't access the wall cavity, I used rigid foam boards to add insulation externally.

• Air sealing - I caulked and sealed all penetrations to stop drafts. Key areas were edges of wall outlets, windows, and doors.

• Vents - Installing high quality vent seals on HVAC ducts prevented conditioned air leaks.

Install a Programmable Thermostat

Replacing my old thermostat with a programmable smart thermostat allowed me to set customized heating and cooling schedules to match my family's patterns and minimize energy waste. I chose the Ecobee SmartThermostat with voice control. The efficiency gains paid for the thermostat cost in under a year.

Audit and Improve Your Electric Panel

Having an electrician conduct an audit of your home's electric panel and wiring can identify safety issues and efficiency gaps. Here are key things I did:

• Service capacity - I verified my panel had adequate capacity to handle all connected loads and any future expansions I had planned.

• Efficiency report - The audit identified high resistance points causing energy loss. I fixed all of these.

• Organize circuits - The auditor consolidated and labeled circuits to optimize the electrical layout.

Install Solar Panels (If Cost Effective)

I ran the numbers and determined a solar PV system could save me over $1,000 annually on electric bills. With federal and state incentives, the system will pay for itself in 9 years. Over the 25+ year lifespan, I will generate over $30,000 in energy value. And I'm using clean, renewable energy!

Monitor Usage and Make Continual Improvements

I installed the Sense home energy monitor. This shows me real-time data on how much energy all my home systems and appliances are using. I can quickly spot any anomalies and determine additional areas to target for efficiency upgrades. Continuous improvement over time will ensure my home's electrical system stays optimized.

Conclusion

With some research, planning, and strategic upgrades, I successfully created a low-cost, highly efficient electrical system for my home. Key steps were auditing usage, replacing inefficient appliances and devices, improving insulation and air sealing, installing a smart thermostat, upgrading the electric panel, and adding solar panels. This extended guide details the full process I followed. Let me know if you have any other questions!