Whole House Energy Efficiency

The first step to taking a whole-house energy efficiency approach is to find out which parts of your house use the most energy. A home energy audit will show you where these are and suggest the most effective measures for reducing your energy costs. You can conduct a simple home energy audit yourself, or you can contact professional for a more comprehensive examination.

1. Check the level of insulation in your exterior and basement walls, ceilings, attic, floors, and crawl spaces. Contact a qualified contractor for additional assistance.

2. Check for holes or cracks around your walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light and plumbing fixtures, switches, and electrical outlets that can leak air into or out of your home.

3. Check for open fireplace dampers.

4. Make sure your appliances and heating and cooling systems are properly maintained.

5. Study your family's lighting needs and use patterns, paying special attention to high-use areas such as the living room, kitchen and exterior lighting. Look for ways to use day-lighting, reduce the time the lights are on, and replace incandescent bulbs and fixtures with compact or standard florescent lamps.

After you have identified places where your home is losing energy, assign priorities to your energy needs by asking yourself a few questions:

1. How much money do you spend on energy?

2. Where are your greatest energy losses?

3. How long will it take for an investment in energy efficiency to pay for itself in energy savings?

4. Can you do the job yourself, or will you need to hire a contractor?

5. What is your budget and how much time do you have to spend on maintenance and repair?

Once you assign priorities to your energy needs, you can form a whole-house efficiency plan. Your plan will provide you with a strategy for making smart purchases and home improvements that maximize energy efficiency and save the most money.

Another option is to get the advice of a professional. Many utilities conduct energy audits for free or for a nominal charge. For a fee, a professional contractor will analyze how your home's energy systems work together as a system and compare the analysis against you utility bills. He or she will use a variety of equipment such as blower doors, infrared cameras, and surface thermometers to find inefficiencies that cannot be detected by a visual inspection. Finally, they will give you a list of recommendations for cost-effective energy improvements and enhanced comfort and safety. A good contractor will also calculate the return on your investment in high efficiency equipment vs. standard equipment.

Heating and cooling you home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in you home. Typically, 44% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. What's more, heating and cooling systems in the United States together emit over a half billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, adding to global warming. They also generate about 24% of the nation's sulfur dioxide and 12% of the nitrogen oxides, the chief ingredients in acid rain.

No matter what kind of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system you have in your house, you can save money and increase comfort by properly maintaining and upgrading your equipment. But remember, an energy-efficient furnace along will not have as great an impact on your energy bills as using the whole-house approach. By combining proper equipment maintenance and upgrades with appropriate insulation, weatherization, and thermostat settings, you can cut your energy bills and your pollution output in half.

Heating and Cooling Tips

1. Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer.

2. Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed.

3. Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed.

4. Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls and the radiators.

5. Use kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans wisely; in just 1 hour, these fans can pull out a houseful of warmed or cooled air. Turn fans off as soon as they have done the job.

6. During the heating season, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to allow the sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.During the cooling season, keep the window coverings closed during the day to prevent solar gain.

7. Close an unoccupied room that is isolated from the rest of the house, such as in a corner, and turn down the thermostat or turn off the heating for that room or zone. However, do not turn the heating off if it adversely affects the rest of your system. For example, if you heat your house with a heat pump, do not close the vents-closing the vents could harm the heat pump.

8. Select energy-efficient equipment when you buy new heating and cooling equipment. Your contractor should be able to give you energy fact sheets for different types, models, and designs to help you compare energy usage. Look for high Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) ratings and the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER). The national minimums are 78% AFUE and 10 SEER.

9. Look for the ENERGY STAR® and EnergyGuide labels. ENERGY STAR® is a program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designed to help consumers identify energy efficient appliances and products.

One of the most important systems in your home, though it's hidden beneath your heat and over your head, may be wasting a lot of your energy dollars. Your home's duct system, a branching network of tubes in the walls, floors, and ceilings, carries the air from your home's furnace and central air conditioner to each room. Ducts are made of sheet metal, fiberglass, or other materials.

Unfortunately, many duct systems are poorly insulated or not insulated properly. Ducts that leak heated air into unheated spaces can add hundreds of dollars a year to your heating and cooling bills. Insulating ducts that are in unconditioned spaces is usually very cost-effective. If you are buying a new duct system, consider one that comes with insulation already installed.

Sealing your ducts to prevent leaks is even more important if the ducts are located in an unconditioned area such as an attic or vented crawl space. If the supply ducts are leaking, heated or cooled air can be forced out unsealed joints and lost. In addition, unconditioned air can also be drawn into return ducts through unsealed joints. In the summer, hot attic air can be drawn in, increasing the load on the air conditioner. In the winter, you furnace will have to work longer to keep your house comfortable. Either way, your energy losses cost you money.

Although minor duct repairs are easy to accomplish, ducts in unconditioned spaces should be sealed and insulated by qualified professionals using the appropriate sealing materials. Here are a few simple tips to help with minnow duct repairs.

Duct Tips

1. Check your ducts for air leaks. First look for sections that should be joined but have separated and then look for obvious holes.

2. If you use duct tape to repair and seal your ducts, look for tape with the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) logo to avoid tape that degrades, cracks and loses its bond with age.

3. Remember that insulating ducts in the basement will make the basement colder. If both the ducts and the basement walls are un-insulated consider insulating both.

4. If your basement has been converted to a living area, install both supply and return registers in the basement rooms.

5. Be sure a well-sealed vapor barrier exists on the outside of the insulation on cooling ducts to prevent moisture buildup.

6. Get a professional to help you insulate and repair all ducts.

If you heat with electricity and you have an unshaded, south-facing location (such as a roof) on your property, consider installing a solar water heater. More than 1.5 million homes and businesses in the United States have invested in solar water heating systems and over 94% of these customers consider the systems a good investment. Solar water heating systems are also good for the environment. Solar water heaters avoid the harmful greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity production. During a 20-year period, one solar water heater can avoid over 50 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
When shopping for a solar water heater, watch for systems certified by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC) or the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC).

If you use electricity to heat your home, consider installing an energy-efficient heat pump system. Heat pumps are the most efficient form of electric heating in moderate climates, providing three times more heating than the equivalent amount of energy they consume in electricity. There are three types of heat pumps: air-to-air, water source and ground source. They collect heat from the air, water, or ground outside your home and concentrate it for use inside. Heat pumps do double duty as a central air conditioner. They can also cool your home by collecting the heat inside your house and effectively pumping it outside. A heat pump can trim the amount of electricity you use for heating by as much as 30% to 40%.

Heat Pump Tips

1. Do not set back the heat pump's thermostat manually if it causes the electric resistance heating to come on. This type of heating, which is often used as a backup to the heat pump, is more expensive.

2. Clean or change filters once a month or as needed, and maintain the system according to manufacturer's instructions.

Using passive solar design techniques to heat and cool your home can be both environmentally friendly and cost effective. Passive solar heating techniques include placing larger, insulated windows on south-facing walls and locating thermal mass, such as a concrete slab floor or a heat- absorbing wall. Close to the windows. In many cases, you can cut your heating costs by more than 50% compared to the cost of heating the same house that does not include passive solar design.

Passive solar design can also help reduce your cooling costs. Passive solar cooling techniques include carefully designed overhangs, windows with reflective coatings, and the use of reflective coating on exterior walls and the roof.

However, a passive solar house also requires careful design and site orientation, which depend on the local climate. So, if you are considering passive solar design for new construction or a major remodeling, you should consult an architect familiar with passive solar techniques.

Solar Tips

1. Keep all south-facing glass clean.

2. Make sure that objects do not block the sunlight shining on concrete slab floors or heat-absorbing walls.

3. Consider using insulating curtains to reduce excessive heat loss from large windows at night.

When you cozy up next to a crackling fire on a cold winter day, you probably don't realize that your fireplace is one of the most inefficient heat sources you can possibly use. It literally sends our energy dollars right up the chimney along with the volumes of warm air. A roaring fire can exhaust as much as 24,000 cubic feet of air per hours to the outside, which must be replaced with cold air coming into the house from the outside. Your heating system must warm up this air, which is then exhaust through your chimney. If you use your conventional fireplace while your central heating system is on, these tips can help reduce energy losses.

Fireplace Tips

1. If you never use your fireplace, plug and seal the chimney flue.

2. Keep your fireplace damper closed unless a fire is going. Keeping the damper open is like keeping a 48-ince window wide open during the winter; it allows warm air to go right up the chimney.

3. When you use the fireplace, reduce heat loss by opening dampers in the bottom of the firebox (if provided) or open the nearest window slightly-approximately 1 inch-and close doors leading into the room. Lower the thermostat setting to between 50° and 55°F.

4. Install tempered glass doors and a heat-air exchange system that blows warmed air back into the room.

5. Check the seal on the flue damper and make it as snug as possible.

6. Add caulking around the fireplace hearth.

7. Use grates made of C-shaped metal tubes to draw cool room air into the fireplace and circulate war air back into the room.

Is your plan to buy a new heating system, ask any contractor for information about the latest technologies available to consumers. They can advise you about more efficient systems on the market today. For example, many newer models incorporate designs for burners and heat exchangers that result in higher efficiencies during operation and reduce heat loss when the equipment is off.

It might surprise you to know that buying a bigger room air-conditioning unit won't necessarily make you feel more comfortable during the hot summer months. In fact, a room air conditioner that's too big for the area it is supposed to cool will perform less efficiently and less effectively than a smaller, properly sized unit. This is because room units work better if they run for relatively long periods of time than if they are continually switching off and on. Longer run times allow air conditioners to maintain a more constant room temperature.

Sizing is equally important for central air-conditioning systems, which need to be sized by professionals. If you have a central air system in your home, set the fan to shut off at the same time as the cooling unit (compressor). In other words, don't use the system's central fan to provide circulation, but instead use circulating fans in individual rooms.

Cooling Tips

1. Whole-house fans help cool your home by pulling cool air through the house and exhausting warm air through the attic. They are effective when operated at night and when the outside air is cooler than the inside.

2. Set your thermostat as high as comfortably possible in the summer. The less difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the lower your overall cooling bill will be.

3. Don't set your thermostat at a colder setting than normal when you turn on your air conditioner. It will not cool your home any faster and could result in excessive cooling and, therefore, unnecessary expense.

4. Consider using an interior fan in conjunction with your window air conditioner to spread the cooled air more effectively through you home without greatly increasing your power use.

5. Don't place lamps or TV sets near your air-conditioning thermostat. The thermostat senses heat from these appliances, which can cause the air conditioner to run longer than necessary.

6. Plant trees or shrubs to shade air-conditioning units but not to block the airflow. A unit operating in the shade uses as much as 10% less electricity than the same one operating in the sun.

You can save as much as 10% a year on your heating and cooling bills by simply turning your thermostat back 10% to 15% for 8 hours. You can do this automatically without sacrificing comfort by installing an automatic setback or programmable thermostat.

Using a programmable thermostat, you can adjust the times you turn on the heating or air-conditioning according to a pre-set schedule. As a result, you don't operate the equipment as much when you are asleep or when the house or part of the house is not occupied. Programmable thermostats can store and repeat multiple daily settings (six or more temperature settings a day) that you can manually override without affecting the rest of the daily or weekly program. When shopping for a programmable thermostat, be sure to look for the ENERGY STAR® label.

Water heating is the third largest energy expense in your home. It typically accounts for about 14% of your utility bill.

There are four ways to cut your water heating bills: use less hot water, turn down the thermostat on you water heater, insulate your water heater, or buy a new, more efficient water heater. A family of four, each showering for 5 minutes a day, uses 700 gallons of water a week; this is enough for a 3-year supply of drinking water for one person. You can cut that amount in half simply by using low-flow nonaerating showerheads and faucets.

Water Heating Tips

1. Repair leaky faucets promptly; a leaky faucet wastes gallons of water in a short period.

2. Insulate you electric hot-water storage tank and pipes, but be careful not to cover the thermostat.

3. Insulate your gas or oil hot-water storage tank and pipes, but be careful not to cover the water heater's top, bottom, thermostat, or burner compartment; when in doubt, get professional help.

4. Install non-aerating, low-flow faucets and showerheads.

5. Buy a new energy-efficient water heater. While it may cost more initially than a standard water heater, the energy savings will continue during the lifetime of the appliance.

6. Although most water heaters last 10-15 years, it's best to start shopping for a new one if yours is more than 7 years old. Doing some research before your heater fails will enable you to select one that most appropriately meets your needs.

7. Lower the thermostat on your water heater; water heaters sometimes come from the factory with high temperature settings, but a setting of 115°F provides comfortable hot water for most uses.

8. Drain a quart of water from your water tank every 3 months to remove sediment that impedes heat transfer and lowers the efficiency of your heater. The type of water tank you have determines the steps to take, so follow the manufacturer's advice.

9. If you heat with electricity and live in a warm and sunny climate, consider installing a solar water heater. The solar units are environmentally friendly and can now be installed on your roof to blend with the architecture of your house.

10. Take more showers than baths. Bathing uses the most hot water in the average household. You use 15-25 gallons of hot water for a bath, but less than 10 gallons during a 5-minute shower.

11. Consider the installation of a drain water waste heat recovery system.

People everywhere are becoming more and more aware of their environment-what gets sprayed in the air to what stays in the air. As the heating season begins, some energy-saving methods may present a hazard by polluting indoor air. Today's homes are built tight, which helps make them more energy-efficient.

However, without an appropriately designed, installed and maintained ventilation system-which translates into a lack of fresh air - occupants can suffer a multitude of negative consequences.

When many consumers think of buying, building, or updating a home, they all too often focus on aesthetic features rather than factors such as the quality of the indoor air. In fact, according to the American Lung Association, in 1999 85% of Americans didn't realize the air in their homes might be a health hazard.

The good news, however, is that more are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of indoor air quality and health. Slowly but surely, they are demanding better comfort and healthier air -- and who better to satisfy their needs than HVAC contractors and builders?

Ventilation is a system of exhaust and supply that creates a flow of air. Effective systems require a proper balance of exhaust and supply air. A good home ventilating system provides a wide array of benefits, which are highlighted in this Guide. Additionally, offering these systems gives HVAC contractors and builders an edge. Those who discuss the benefits of proper ventilation with their customers and prospects -and show them how to achieve it - demonstrate a sincere regard for the customer, perhaps opening their eyes to considerations the competition isn't even mentioning.

Indoor Air Quality

To help improve your indoor air, here are suggestions:

1. Avoid accumulation of dust, animal dander and other allergen-causing materials.

2. Clean your chimney, air conditioners, humidifier, refrigerator coils, air ducts and heat exchangers, and change filters regularly.

3. Never allow smoking in your house.

4. Improve ventilation by leaving doors open between rooms and leaving windows open whenever possible.

5. Install ceiling fans to increase circulation.

6. Decrease excessive humidity by installing exhaust fans in bathrooms.

7. Fit gas ranges with hoods and install an outside exhaust to prevent carbon monoxide.

8. Prevent backdrafts by having your furnace serviced regularly. Have your gas water heater and clothes dryers serviced regularly.

9. Keep fireplace dampers completely open during use.

10. Use only wood in the fireplace, not paper or charcoal.

11. Watch for mold and mildew, and remove any accumulation of standing water in cellars, basement or garages.

12. Reduce exposure to household chemicals, cleaning solvents, pesticides, paints, kerosene and gasoline.

13. Test for levels of radon-a radioactive gas from soil and rock-beneath and around your home's foundation.

14. Avoid keeping plants in your home if you're sensitive to molds.

If your home was built prior to 1978, have it inspected for asbestos, lead and formaldehyde contamination by the local health department. Some people are sensitive to even low levels of formaldehyde, which is used to add permanents-press qualities to clothing and draperies, as a component of glues and adhesives, and as a preservative in some paints and coating products. In homes, the most significant sources of formaldehyde are likely to be in the adhesives used to bond pressed-wood building materials and in plywood.

Ventilation

There has been more than 17 million single family homes constructed since the late 1970s. Built and insulated to be extremely tight, they are also those homes with the highest incidences of indoor air quality problems.

Common pollutants from the home, people, and contents, along with temperature and humidity conditions, can create an unhealthy environment.

They include:

Moisture
Too much moisture can cause allergy problems and structural damage by encouraging the growth of mold, mildew, bacteria, dust mites, dry rot, and insects.

Common Household Chemicals
1. Cleaning supplies
2. Paints and solvents
3. Formaldehyde from furniture, carpet, and building materials
4. Pesticides
5. Volatile organic compounds
6. Odors

Particles
1. Dust and dust mites
2. Pet dander
3. Lead
4. Pollen
5. Asbestos

Tobacco Smoke
A health risk to smokers and non-smokers alike - children are especially at risk.

Combustion Products
These are produced by fuel-burning heating equipment, gas water heaters, fireplaces, woodstoves, gas ranges, and candles, and include:
1. Carbon Monoxide
2. Nitrous oxides
3. Unburned fuel
4. Carbon Dioxide
5. Soot
6. Moisture

Heat
Overheating in the attic from sun exposure.
Ventilation systems and components are designed to:
1. Remove excess moisture;
2. Remove airborne chemicals, particles, tobacco smoke, and odors;
3. Help keep humidity levels in proper balance;
4. Help control combustion byproducts; and
5. Keep attics under control to avoid water damage in the winter and overheating in the summer.

These factors come together to enhance the comfort and indoor air quality of the home to help keep occupants safe. A quality ventilation system also contributes to preserving the structural integrity of the home, reduced maintenance costs, and adding to the home's value.

Strategies for use throughout a home include:

Local Ventilation - for bath, kitchen, and other moisture- or odor-producing areas.

General Ventilation - to remove stale, polluted air and bring in outdoor air. May be provided by using local ventilation fans and intakes, or centrally ducted continuous ventilation systems such as heat or energy recovery ventilators (HRVs/ERVs).

Proper placement of vents and ventilators-to protect the attic and crawlspace.
Manufacturers of home ventilation products try to ensure that their products are simple and require little to no maintenance. However, no matter how well products are made, it's up to the HVAC contractor to select the right products for the particular application and to install them properly. It's also important that contractors educate customers about the importance of regularly scheduled system checkups to ensure that the entire home comfort system is operating efficiently, as intended.

It's not that fancy Perrier that's coming out of your tap, but when it's time to pay the water bill, it sure seems like it. Conserving water is a good thing, right? Nobody wants to waste water, yet no one wants to change their lifestyle in order to save it either.

Thank goodness there are easy, economical, and simple ways to conserve water. The upside of conserving water is that you save MONEY. What could be better than that?

Low Flush Toilet

One easy way to conserve water is to flush less. Not fewer flushes (yuk!) but less water per flush. Too put it simply, install a high performance low flow toilet. Standard toilets use 3.5 to 5 gallons per flush where as the low flow toilets only use 1.6 gallons per flush.

According to research, the average person uses the toilet approximately four to five times a day. Four to Five flushes per person per day means that a low flow toilet has the potential to save a family of four over 14 thousand gallons of water per year. Saving that much water, especially at today's prices, means that a low flow toilet pays for itself within a couple of years.

Low Flow Showerhead

An additional switch that you can make is to install a low flow showerhead (energy efficient showerhead). A conventional showerhead drops about 4.5 gallons of water per minute where as low flow showerheads only drops about 2.5 gallons of water per minute. With the better showerheads, you won't even be able to tell the difference. A low flow showerhead can save a family of four approximately 20 thousand gallons of water per year. It's not just water that your saving, but HOT water. About 14% to 25% of your home's energy use goes to heat water.

Your toilets and showerheads top the list of simple water conservation methods that save a lot of water. With little effort and money, you can save tons of water and money on your utilities bill.

Here are some additional ways to save money by conserving water:

When washing dishes by hand, don't let the water run. Fill one sink with soapy water and the other with rinse water.

Keep a pitcher or jug of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap.

Run your washing machine and/or dishwasher only when they are full.

Check your bill and water meter to track your water usage.

Don't clean your driveway/sidewalk with a hose. Use a broom instead.

Do not overwater plants. Better absorbtion happens without overwatering. Only water when necessary.

In the summer, you should water your lawn once every three days. In the winter, if you water, it should be once every five days.

Throw those used tissues in the garbage instead of flushing them down the toilet.

Check all outdoor pipes/faucets/hoses/pools/sprinklers for leaks and repair or replace them.

Instead of washing your own car at home, use a commercial car wash that recycles water.

Don't let the water run while shaving, washing up, or brushing your teeth.

Bathe young children together or share a shower with your significant other.

When mowing your lawn, adjust the mower to a higher blade setting. This will leave the grass blades a little longer. The long grass blades will hold more water than the short ones.

Install new water-saving appliances (dishwaher/washing machine).

Home builders are good about sealing windows and doors to keep the hot air outside in the summer and the cold air outside in the winter. That's good. But there's one important source of outside air infiltration that's always overlooked - your wall outlets.

A small amount of outside air is constantly seeping into your home through the plugs and switch boxes on your walls. That means while your air conditioner is trying to cool your home, this infiltration is raising the temperature throughout your house.

How much can leak around your outlets and wall switches? A lot; especially when there are 10, 20 or 30+ little leaks. That can add up to quite a bit of additional heat load. In the winter, the opposite is true. Cold air seeps in and makes it that much harder to heat your home.

The solution is insulated outlet seals. These simple add-ons will eliminate drafts and lower your utility bills. You don't have to suffer to conserve energy, just make simple, smart improvements and you'll start seeing great results.