We are not out of the woods yet when it comes to the inversion season, and that has big impacts on air quality and our health.
When we think of air quality we usually think of pollution from vehicles or industry. But in fact, around 40 percent of the emissions on a red air quality day come from "area source" emissions, which include restaurants, dry cleaner, landscaping equipment, commercial buildings and our homes.
Kevin Emerson from Utah Clean Energy, a UCAIR partner, joined us with some simple and fast smart home energy improvements anyone can make to improve their energy efficiency and help improve the quality of our air inside and out.
- Furnace Filters - New furnace filters help your furnace run more efficiently and can help protect indoor air quality. Look for high performance filters with pleats to catch more junk from the air and change them every three months.
- Sealing air leaks - An often-overlooked place to save energy and money is by sealing air leaks. Sources of possible air leaks can be around windows and doors, and plumbing, ducting or wiring that runs through the exterior walls of your home. These can be inexpensively sealed with weather striping, expanding sealing foam, or caulk.
- Smart Thermostat - Smart thermostats make it easy to conserve both natural gas and electricity by using less energy when you're away from home and overnight,and you can even control the temperature from your phone or computer.
- Insulate your Attic - Just like putting on a jacket to keep your body warm in the winter, increasing the amount of insulation in your attic is key to staying warm, saving energy, and reducing emissions. Aim for R-30 to R-40 insulation.
You can request an In-Home Energy Plan from Dominion Energy's ThermWise incentive program - an expert from ThermWise will visit your house for just $25 and give you a customized plan to start saving energy. You can find more information at: thermwise.com.
Dominion Energy and Rocky Mountain Power also offer incentives for numerous energy efficiency improvements and appliances: air sealing, smart thermostats, attic insulation. For more information on Rocky Mountain Power's Wattsmart efficiency program visit: wattsmart.com.
You can find more information at utahcleanenergy.org/how-to/energy-efficiency and at ucair.org.
