All Toilets Are Not Created Equal!

You probably don’t realize it, but your toilet uses more water than any other appliance in your house. The average toilet in the US is responsible for about 30 percent of a household’s total water consumption each year. A high efficiency toilet is a great way to cut down on water consumption, using less water per flush and chopping your home’s water use in half.

Over the last five decades, American water consumption has increased a whopping 209 percent, and the average American uses more than 100 gallons of water every day. That’s the equivalent of 584,000 glasses of water per person each year! When you consider that toilets comprise at least 30 percent of that annual usage, it makes sense to look for alternatives like high efficiency toilets to help reduce consumption.

In order to understand how high efficiency toilets can make a difference, it helps to review a bit of toilet history. Before 1980, toilets used about five gallons of water per flush. Between 1980 and 1994, improvements in technology pushed the industry standard back to about 3.5 gallons per flush, where it remains today. A high efficiency toilet, however, uses just 1.5 gallons or less per flush than your typical toilet in use today.

If you were to replace just one toilet in your home with a high efficiency toilet, you could save nearly 4000 gallons of water per person every year. If your bathroom fixtures are older or you have a toilet that leaks, you can save even more with a high efficiency toilet. If every home in America replaced one toilet with a high efficiency toilet, we could save an astounding 900 billion gallons of water each year!

So, high efficiency toilets are clearly a smart choice for the environment. But what about your pocketbook?

It’s no secret that eco-friendly choices in home improvement often help you save money on utility costs; high efficiency toilets are no exception. Installing a high efficiency toilet in your home can save you about $90 on your water bill annually, and as much as $2000 over the life of the toilet. Your high efficiency toilet will pay for itself several times over before it wears out—a very smart investment. What’s more, because you’ll be using less water by using a high efficiency toilet, you’ll be doing your part to reduce strain on your municipal water supply. Waste treatment, water purification, maintenance of city pipes and sewers, and everything else that has to happen every time you flush your toilet all cost money. So cutting back on your home’s water use is good for everyone.

Before you purchase a high efficiency toilet, talk to a representative at your local water supplier for information about rebates or discounts that may be offered in your area. In most cases, these rebates range anywhere from $25 to $175 or more. Whether you want to replace an old, inefficient toilet, are concerned about water conservation, or are in the market for a new toilet, consult a toilet retailer for more information about high efficiency toilets. And, of course, the plumbing professionals from Horizon Services are always available to help you install your new high efficiency toilet and provide reliable plumbing service 24/7/365!



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Special Financing Can Help Make Your Home More Energy Friendly and Cheaper to Own and Operate!

Most of us want to reduce our impact on the environment and are interested in ways that we can lower our monthly utility costs by making our homes more energy efficient. The one thing holding us back is the high initial cost of many of these greener alternatives.

Thankfully, there are several emerging options to help first-time buyers and established homeowners finance energy efficient initiatives.

Some government-sponsored loans and private lenders now offer special financing packages for energy efficient new construction or existing structure improvements. Many states also have special programs for qualified residents. It’s a good idea to check with the U.S. Department of Energy or your state’s energy office for more information about available programs and eligibility standards.

Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEMs) are among the most popular home financing options available today to consumers. EEMs are divided into two categories: new home construction and improvements or upgrades to an existing home. An EEM allows you to buy or refinance a newly-built home that already adheres to certain energy efficiency criteria, or to buy or refinance an older home that will be in compliance with energy efficiency guidelines following renovations and upgrades.

The amount of financing offered for energy efficient homes depends on the home’s energy rating. The higher the rating, the more money you may qualify for. Energy ratings generally involve extensive inspection by a certified professional who is accredited on the state or national level in home energy rating systems (HERS). HERS depends on where the home is located and may be affected by other factors.

When it comes time for en energy ratings inspection, the examiner will look at all of the energy-related attributes of the home: insulation, windows, HVAC systems, air leakage, drafts, and more. Following a comprehensive inspection the rater will provide you with a detailed report that clearly states your home’s energy rating, as well as information regarding your family’s average annual energy consumption and costs. The report could also include recommendations for improving energy efficiency, estimated costs of these improvements, and a breakdown of potential savings or return on the initial investment.

Once the energy rating report has been submitted by the inspector, it must show that the structure is already sufficiently energy efficient or that any suggested improvements are cost effective—that is, any improvements will eventually save you more money that you have to borrow to implement them. The energy rating will determine how much a lender is willing to extend in financing. A favorable rating will incline the lender to add the cost of improvements into the mortgage or may extend your debt to income ratio, helping you qualify for a better interest rate.

Energy efficiency is having an increasingly strong impact on the real estate market. For sellers, energy efficiency financing lets you make improvements that add value to your home and will make it more attractive to potential buyers. If you’re in the market for a new home, choosing energy efficient amenities can help you get more for your money, as lower utility bills mean you can afford to expand your mortgage budget.



Related Information from Horizon Services...

• 101 Ways to Save Energy and Money in Your Home
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We all want to save money during these challenging economic times, and making green plumbing improvements is one of the best money-saving changes you can make. But in addition to saving you a lot of green in your wallet, green plumbing solutions around the home are some of the most effective and easy things you can do to reduce energy consumption, to improve your health and to help the environment.


Green Plumbing and Energy Reduction
When it comes to your energy bills, most people focus on their furnaces or air conditioners. But your plumbing system also has a big impact on how much energy you consume.

• Unprotected pipes, especially ones in exterior walls, are responsible for a huge amount of heat loss as water flows from your hot water tank to a faucet. Insulating pipes keeps more of this heat in, significantly cutting into your energy usage and saving you money on your utility bill.

• If you are considering a plumbing remodel, upgrade or new home construction, keeping pipes out of exterior walls altogether will eliminate unnecessary heat loss. Instead, run pipes through insulated and interior spaces where temperature is more regulated.

• Invest in an on-demand hot water pump. These devices send hot water to fixtures in seconds, eliminating costs that arise when hot water is left to sit unused in your pipes and reducing water usage overall.

• Hot water heaters constitute up to 15 percent of your home’s total energy usage. A new, energy-efficient water heater can cut a big chunk out of high utility bills.

Green Plumbing and Your Health
It’s true-—improving the efficiency of your home’s plumbing can have a positive impact on the health of everyone in your household.

• Request a copy of your town’s most recent water report or hire an independent tester to analyze your water. Before you can do anything, you need to know what kinds of substances may be in your water.

• Install a chlorine filter on your showerheads. Eliminating chlorine from your water can ease symptoms of chlorine sensitivity, which include dry skin, itchiness, flaking, rashes and tightness.

• Look into a whole house filtration system that will get rid of chemicals, heavy metals and micro organisms that may be present in the water you use for cooking, bathing, cleaning and drinking. A comprehensive filtration system will also prevent staining and corrosion caused by hard water, and will extend the life of appliances that use water.

• If you live in an area with particularly poor water quality, install an activated charcoal filter or reverse osmosis system. These water purifiers filter out contaminants and make water safer to use.

Green Plumbing and the Environment
Many of us are looking for ways to reduce our impact on the environment. Green plumbing solutions help you do just that. Coincidentally, many of these initiatives can save you money, too.

• Install low-flow fixtures, which can reduce your water consumption by about 60 percent.

• Low-flush toilets are also a great way to restrict unnecessary water usage, saving about 28 gallons of water per person every day.

• Purchase a leak monitoring device that will notify you of leaky faucets, pipes and toilets so you can have the problem taken care of before too much water is wasted.

• Faucet flow reducers are easy to install and can cut water usage by more than 40 percent.

• Replace old appliances with energy efficient models. Dishwashers and washing machines with an Energy Star rating can reduce water use by more than 50 percent.

• Energy-Efficient, Green Plumbing Services for the 21st Century and Today’s Economy

Now that October's here, you've probably started using your furnace at least for a few hours each day. Pretty soon, though, you know you're going to be running it much longer, maybe even all day. And if you're not careful, your heating bills can go through the roof.

Nearly half of all the energy used in American homes goes to powering heating and cooling systems; the annual cost of maintaining these systems is more than just about any other home utility. Residential HVAC units also emit millions of tons pollutants into the air, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. With so much at stake, both economically and environmentally, it makes sense to reconsider your home’s HVAC efficiency as the cold weather approaches.

Putting just a handful of these tips to work can save you hundreds in utility costs each year and will help reduce your carbon footprint.

• Clean or replace furnace and air filters regularly. Most filter manufacturers print a replacement schedule right on the packaging. It’s also a good idea to invest in a professional cleaning and tune-up once a year just to make sure everything is functioning as it should.



• Keep air registers, baseboard heaters, radiators and vents clean. Check for excessive dust or debris, and make sure heat outlets and returns aren’t blocked by carpeting, furniture or draperies.



• Use ventilation fans in kitchens and bathrooms only when absolutely necessary and just long enough to clear the air. It may seem like a small thing, but in just 60 minutes these fans can draw out an entire houseful of warmed air—along with your money.



• Close doors and turn the heat down—never off—in unoccupied rooms. This will lessen the load on the rest of the system significantly and can make a noticeable difference on your heating bill.



• Set your thermostat two or three degrees lower than normal. It may take some getting used to at first, but you can keep warm in the cozy new sweater you’ll be able to buy with the money you’ll save.



• Invest in a programmable thermostat and customize a heating schedule for your home. Set the thermostat lower when you know you’ll be out of the house for long periods of time, and then program it to kick on just before you return. The hour or two of chill you’ll have to put up with when you get home will be a minor nuisance when you see the eight hours’ worth of savings on your utility bill.



• Seal gaps under doors and in ductwork. Check ducts in attics, crawlspaces, unheated basements and garages for leaks or tears. Repair them using sealant or foil tape, then insulate. Use door stops to plug gaps under doors where drafts can sneak in. These simple steps can improve your heating system efficiency by more than 20%.



• Run heat-producing appliances during the warmest time of day. Dishwashers, dryers and ovens all give off heat. Using these devices at the right time can actually help heat your home and take the load off your heating system, saving you money.



• Consider purchasing an EnergyStar rated space heater. These units are great for supplementing the heat in a small area of your home, or to help keep infants, small children and the elderly comfortable without having to overheat your entire house.

Visit Horizon's Tips and Articles Library for More Useful Energy Efficiency Info!

This is the question we at Horizon Services hear more than any other around this time of year. As the temperatures begin to get cooler, you know you need to be prepared with a furnace that will get you through the winter ahead. Should you invest in a new furnace...or do you still have a few more years left in that existing furnace? Here are some important factors to consider:

Most HVAC experts will tell you that a good quality heating system should last at least 10-15 years. With proper maintenance, many systems will continue to work for 20 years or more, but energy efficiency becomes an important factor with units that old. If your furnace is more than 15 years old, you could be throwing money away on high utility costs.If you have an older furnace you should have it inspected by a licensed HVAC professional who can determine if there are any urgent issues that could lead to a system malfunction. Beyond that, think about the following if your furnace falls into the 15-25 year old range.

Could you increase your home’s fuel efficiency—and save money—by replacing the unit? The annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) is a measurement of how energy efficient appliances are over the course of a typical year of use. A higher AFUE percentage means a product is more fuel efficient and cheaper to operate over time. AFUE was first used in 1992, but you can still get a general sense of your furnace’s AFUE percentage if it is older than that. Low-efficiency furnaces have an AFUE between 68-72%. They use natural drafts to move combustion gases, have a continuously lit pilot and a heavy heat exchanger. Mid-efficiency furnaces have an AFUE of 80-83%. They use exhaust fans to control gas flow, have electronic ignition instead of a pilot light and are lighter and more compact. High efficiency units register an AFUE of 90-97% and use condensation to move heat more economically.

Could retrofitting your older furnace take care of major issues? Many systems can be upgraded with things like programmable thermostats, new ductwork or temperature zone controls. These improvements will spare you the expense of replacing the unit while increasing efficiency and lowering your utility bill.

Was your furnace converted from coal-burning to oil or gas? Ancient coal-burning furnaces that were switched to gas or oil burners are prime candidates for replacement as they are notoriously inefficient, and the cost of a new system will pay for itself in a relatively short period of time thanks to the increased fuel efficiency and lower operating expense. If you have a gas furnace with a pilot light—not an electric ignition—you could also save significantly by replacing the unit.

Is your unit an oil-burning furnace that is more than 22 years old? While most oil furnaces can be perfectly reliable and surprisingly efficient for many years, once these systems hit the 20 year mark their efficiency and dependability begin to decline. If total replacement is not in the cards, consider upgrading your unit with a newer standard efficiency flame retention head burner. This is a special fixture that mixes a fuel oil spray with the air needed to cause combustion and can increase your furnace’s AFUE to around 80%. The flame retention head provides a more controlled fuel/air mix and makes the burning process much more efficient.

If you're on the fence about replacing your furnace, Horizon Services recommends that you do at least one of the following:

• Schedule a Precision Tune-Up for Your Existing Furnace: A Horizon heating technician can perform this 21-point check in less than an hour. It's your best guarantee that your existing furnace will start the winter season in the best condition possible and get you through the cold months ahead. While performing your Precision Tune-Up, your Horizon heating technician can check to see if there are any broken or damaged parts and give you an accurate assessment of how much useful life your furnace still has.

• Schedule an In-Home Energy Analysis: Horizon Services can do this for you for FREE. One of our Comfort Consultants can come to your home to examine your existing furnace, measure your home and understand your family's heating needs and budget. Your Horizon Comfort Consultant will give you an honest appraisal of your existing heating system and show you multiple options for heating your home more efficiently and affordably.