Top 5 Energy Efficiency Techniques
1: Stop Air Infiltration- Air infiltration is a major cause of increased energy usage. When a home is not properly sealed and weatherized, it will loose heat during the winter and loose air conditioning during the summer, creating higher heating and cooling cost. The solution is to perform a pressurization test to locate air leaks and then use a combination sealants and weatherization techniques to seal those air leaks in your walls, ceiling, doors and windows.
2: Kill Phantom Electrical Loads - phantom electrical loads are those unforeseen “standby” electrical loads that rob about 11% of annual energy consumption. Most electrical products have standby electrical loads which use electricity even when the product is turned off. DVD players, TV’s, Computers, phone chargers, and many other products all use electricity on a constant basis. The solution is to plug these things into surge protector strips and turn the strip off when they are not in use.
3: Change Lights - Incandescent lighting is responsible for wasted electricity and added heat gain. These light bulbs of yesterday are slowly being phased out for more energy efficient Compact Florescent bulbs and LED lightbulbs. A new energy efficient CFL bulb can save about 150 kWh of electricity annually and save you approximately $37 over the life of the bulb. LED lightbulbs, although more expensive up front, will last much longer than CFLs and use less energy as well.
4: Window Renovation - Windows are generally the most significant energy sink in almost every home due to lack of insulation. In cooler climates gas filled double pane windows with high R-values are excellent and well worth the cost of replacing old single pane windows. In hotter climates, these same windows are not as effective as they only reduce convective and conductive heat gain but fall short in stopping radiant heat gain. Stoping radiant heat gain in hotter climates requires exterior shading elements or the use of an energy film which helps to block the suns UV rays. Window energy films are applied directly to the glass with soap and water and will essentially make an existing window perform like that of an energy star rated double pane gas filled window.
5: Control Radiant Heat - Radiant heat is the most efficient form of heat transfer and in order to increase a homes heating and cooling efficiency, radiant heat transfer must be stopped. Radiant heat is responsible for excess heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter. The most cost efficient way to stop radiant heat transfer is by using a radiant barrier, which is a sheet of low emisivity, high reflectivity foil. Although radiant barriers come in many shapes and sizes, but be sure to find a well made, durable, two sided (for winter and summer protection), perforated radiant barrier. I highly recommend Ra-flect radiant barrier as a cost effective, high strength, high quality product.