Many of us are staying home. Whether we are working or staying home for safety, this is the most important thing we can do during the COVID-19 pandemic – stop the spread of the coronavirus. For many, our homes are a place to sleep, have a few meals, watch TV, and, maybe, not much else. But now that we are spending more of our time there, it is important that it be healthy for us and energy efficient for our wallets.

With many people having free time, this is an opportunity to upgrade your home to be more energy efficiency and healthy. The good news is that material is available to help you improve your home in these areas. For some, incentives exist so that others pay part of the cost. Many energy efficiency upgrades improve family health, as well.

Projects, such as improved insulation and sealing, reduce the impacts of extreme weather (the chance that your home will be unhealthily hot or cold) and reduces infiltration by pests and allergens, improving family health (fewer asthma or allergy attacks). If you are hesitant, remember that such projects also reduce the amount of heating and cooling needed, saving energy costs, making the effort more worth it.

And, remember that governments and utilities have incentive programs that pay out billions of dollars annually to building owners who implement an energy efficiency upgrade. The US Dept of Energy has a Weatherization Assistance Program to provide information and resources to help improve inefficient homes by offering costs to implement such projects or even to repair or upgrade existing HVAC equipment.

According to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, in the State of Ohio, energy efficiency programs also resulted in positive health impacts, saving 187 lives and $1.5 billion in avoided costs in 2017. Similar results were seen in other states.

While upgrading one’s kitchen and entertainment equipment, insulation, windows, HVAC equipment, etc. are positive financial investments, simple changes in home procedures can also save energy costs and improve health.

• Cooking has become family fun time. It is best to clean and maintain kitchen equipment and perform operations at the same time.

• Hand washing is so important to inactivate coronavirus. However, many studies show that the water temperature is unimportant. Cold water cleans as well as hot or warm. Therefore, use cold water to wash hands. The use of soap is the key. The same is true of laundry. Cold water is as good as hot. And make sure your laundry and dishwasher is full before using.

• Adjust the thermostat based on actual use. If one is leaving a room or area, make sure the AC or heat is off in the area. Set the temperature to a comfortable and not extreme temperature.

• Use equipment efficiently. It is not good for one parent to watch one video, the other to stream an old show, and each child play separate games. Try to do activities (and use electricity) together and have fun, too.

The COVID-19 pandemic is making us all spend more time at home. Let’s make sure that they (for ourselves, family members, and friends) are healthy for us to live in (so we do not come down with another malady) and is energy efficient, too.

And remember, as we begin to move toward normal, such upgrades will also improve health impacts and energy usage of commercial buildings you work or shop in, too.

CCES can help you and your firm develop and implement appropriate, proven energy-saving strategies to improve health and save significant energy costs. Our technical professionals have done this for many different building and company types. Contact us today at 914-594-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.