What’s Rosie’s No. 1 tip for saving energy at home?

You can keep your house as cool as you like this summer and save at least 30 percent on your electric bill. In fact, you can keep it downright cold if that’s how you like it. 

The trick is to tap your electric utility’s “off-peak” rates—the rates it charges during times of the day when demand for household electricity is low, like when everyone is sleeping at night or at work during the middle of the day. 

Of course, it would take a computer to regularly figure out which rate applies to which time of day, because most utilities have more than 30 rates for different customers and different day parts. Those rates can range from 3.5 cents to 21 cents per kilowatt-hour. 

Advanced Home Systems has the computer for you. 

It’s called an energy management computer. It costs around $3,500 and is installed in your home, where it keeps tabs on your thermostat and automatically raises it—just slightly, and never higher than you want—when the high “peak” rates kick in every day. Likewise, it lowers it again when the “off-peak” rates take effect. 

You don’t have to do anything but have the computer installed and “tell” it the minimum and maximum temperatures that make you feel comfortable. It keeps your home within your comfort zone while juggling the cheapest rates throughout the day. 

The cooler you keep your home, the more you’ll save. It seems contrary to conventional wisdom, which says the less energy you use, the less you’ll pay. 

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For more information and for answers to all YOUR Landscape, Garden and Home Improvement questions, visit our website, rosieonthehouse.com

Join Rosie and Romey broadcasting from Rosie Quarter at the Home and Building Expo, June 2nd from 8a-11a!

Come down before 9am for the broadcast and get in FREE!

Enjoy Rosie and Romey broadcasting from Rosie Quarter at the Phoenix Convention Center!

This event offers the Home & Building Expo, The Green Expo and The Baby Boomer Expo all under one roof, June 2nd and 3rd!

Come down and spin the prize wheel for the chance to fun prizes including Rosie T-shirts and Recyclable Bags.  Register to win a $250 gift card, which can be exchanged for $500 towards the product or service of one of our home show partners.

Come visit the Rosie Quarter to visit in person with these Rosie Certified Partners:

• Integrity Air, 625
• Think Green Irrigation, 627 & 629
• Tru View Windows and Glass, 628
• Hauptman's Floor Covering, 630
• Legacy Design-Build-Remodel, 723 & 725
• Granite Transformations, 724 & 726
• Lyon's Roofing, 727
• Pella Windows and Doors, 528 & 530
• Plumbing Masters, 531
• Air Quality Specialists, 631
• Thermal Advantage, 729
• Sun King Fencing, 731
• Integrity Tree Service, 822
• CYC Landscaping, 824
• JLC Enterprises, 826
• Blue Sky Pest Control, 828
• Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, 823
• ServPro of Gilbert, 825
• Pittsburgh Paints, 827
• Titan Security and Screen Door, 831
• REEis, 728 & 730

For more information and for answers to all your Landscape, Garden and Home Improvement questions, visit our website, rosieonthehouse.com

What is an R-value?

R-value is a measure of how effectively insulation, windows or another building material resists heat flow. Generally, the higher the R-value, the greater the product's insulating power.

You'll run into R-value when you buy windows or insulating products for your attic.

Windows
When you are blasting cool air in the summer, your windows might be letting a lot of it escape to the outdoors.

Most U.S. homes still have single-pane windows that let the sun's hot rays in during the summertime, making air conditioners work overtime. They have an R -value as low at R-1.

Rosie recommends a double-pane window with a high-performance coating, which can have an R-value of up to R-5. Choose a window with a low-emissivity (low-E) or spectrally selective coating, will prevent the heat from penetrating the glass in the summertime.

R-value is a measure of how much heat can get through the window in an hour. Windows with a high R-value allow less heat to enter your home. The greater the R-value, the greater your energy savings will be.


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For answers to all your Landscape, Garden and Home Improvement questions, visit our website, rosieonthehouse.com

Do I need to ventilate my attic, house and roof?

Why do I need to ventilate my attic?

1.  Temperatures inside an unventilated attic on a 90-degree day can reach 170 degrees.
2. A properly ventilated roof will prolong the life of roofing material because it will reduce the temperature of the sheathing.
3. If you reduce the heat in the attic and on the roof, you’ll also reduce the stress on your air conditioning unit.
4. Reduced heat in the attic means less heat-gain inside the home.

Do I need to ventilate my house?

If you live in a "tight" home that the builder designed to be energy-efficient, chances are not much air leaks out of the house through cracks and holes around windows, doors and walls.

That's great for saving on your energy bill. But a house that doesn't let your air conditioned air get outside might not let any fresh air get inside, either.

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Will an energy efficient roof keep my house cool?

Replacing an old, energy-inefficient roof with a reflective material like foam or Energy Star-labeled asphalt shingles or metal will go a long way toward keeping your house cooler in the summer. But it can’t do it by itself. 

When you replace your roof, you also should upgrade your ventilation and add attic insulation.

Attic insulation breaks down over time, so you need to add more. Thick insulation—around R-38 is a good choice—prevents heat from transferring from the roof through the attic to the house.


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For more information and answers to all YOUR Home Improvement, Landscape and Gardening questions, visit our website, Rosieonthehouse.com

How can I prevent bugs from getting in my house? What about termites?

Here are some tips from my exterminator friends:

1. Expect unwelcome houseguests like spiders and scorpions from March until the end of November. In the winter, they’re content to live outside because the weather is pleasant.
2. Scout around your yard to find their hiding places. Favorite hangouts are under decorative boulders because there’s usually a space of an inch or so between the rock and the soil—plenty of room for them to live without being noticed. Roll the rock away, kill the pests you can see, and then fill that space in with gravel or expansion foam
3. Look inside boxes around the outside of your home, like the ones that house the electric meter, the irrigation valve, or phone and cable connections. Spray inside the valve box with an insecticide.
4. Check the seal around your exterior doors. If there’s a gap of even an eighth of an inch between the door and the floor, that’s as good as a welcome mat for insects. Add a door sweep.

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Click here for what Termite Treatment Rosie recommends

For more information and for answers to all your Home Improvement, Landscape and Garden questions, visit our website, Rosieonthehouse.com