Making Your Home More Energy Efficient

During President Obama's visit to Savannah, he announced a new program... Home Star.
With a price tag of six billion dollars, it's a multi-pronged approach to the economy and the environment.
Not just helping homeowners make their houses more energy efficient through a rebate program...it's also supposed to create more jobs.
In turn, it would help lower our carbon footprint and energy bills.
"We'll just have to see how the program works and how long it takes to get the money back, that's the biggest thing that's going to make people move and to make it work," says Chuck Norris an area contractor.
Of course, congressional approval is necessary and that will take a while.
In the meantime News Three’s Alice Massimi headed over to home depot to find some low cost and easy ways to make your home energy efficient.

Teddy Wells is an energy efficiency guru...in fact most of what he's about to show us...he has in his home already.
“You know how you turn water on and it usually takes forever to get hot this right here its instantly hot water,” says Wells pointing to a hot water disperser.
Coming in around three hundred dollars Teddy says it’s not difficult to install and is the perfect size to fit underneath your kitchen sink.
For your shower there's something else....and you may need a little bit of help with this one...
“When you are taking a shower and you are in the bathroom waiting for that hot water to get hot instead of waiting you attach this to get your water heated,” Wells explains it takes half the time. Now for something a little easier, something even I can do....
“Insulate the pipes. These are pieces of pipe insulation your wrap it around your pipes. Its already got the groves cut into it peel it open and lay it over the pipe.”
“This right here is a water heater blanket...It basically does what these pipe covers do. When you wrap your hot water heater with this it keeps the water inside your water heater hot a lot longer.”
Most of these not just cut down on your electric bill but also your water bill.... a win, win situation...
Of course there are some big ticket improvements you can make...buying Energy Star appliances especially washers, dryers and refrigerators can save you a lot of money.