Subscribe to our RSS feed!This paper will explore the current U.S. energy picture and the role energy efficient homes can play in addressing the energy challenges that the nation is currently facing.
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Air Sealing Major Point #2 - Attic Access
Yet again, another gaping hole in your buildings "envelope" or shell. Attic accesses allow for large amounts of energy and air (money) to escape into your attic, disappearing through the roof. What to do? Attic access covers are great or talk to us for a custom one, starting around $95. The attic access insulated covers below usually run around $125.
Why is Air Sealing so Important?
Part one of a five part series covering why air sealing your home is so important; especially before insulating. See the image below as a reference in addition to a link to our page The Importance of Air Sealing. Later, we'll identify several areas that we see on a daily basis that are major holes in your home. Costing you money and comfort! Click here to go to the second part of this series.
Calling all Realtors!
Lesson #2: Understanding Air Leakage.
"Air Infiltration can account for 30% or more of a home's heating and cooling costs and contribute to problems with moisture, noise, dust, and entry of pollutants, insects, and rodents" NC State University, NC Solar Center
So what causes drafty, cold & hot rooms? What drives up our utility bills?
AIR!
More specifically, air that is either conditioned and escapes out of your house, or unconditioned air that finds its way in. In each case, that air must be replaced with conditioned air in order to maintain comfortable temperatures (otherwise known as your thermostat setting).
Lesson #1: What Really Makes Up Our Energy Bill?
Contrary to common belief, your "windows & doors" are not the largest contributors to your utility bills.
Older, leaky windows & doors can cause drafts and be a part of the problem, but are often expensive solutions. Your Heating & Cooling, as you can see, make up the largest portion of your monthly utility bill. Older, inefficient appliances and older water heaters can also add to those costs.
Contact us today to find out how we can help you start saving on your energy bills by starting with a whole house, comprehensive home energy audit which will pinpoint deficiencies in your home's thermal envelope -- which may include air leaks or poor insulation -- so we can start fixing them, and get you on the road to a more comfortable, safer, healthier home with lower heating and cooling bills.
Everything You Need to Know About the Home Star Retrofit Act of 2010.
Pending in the Senate is a bill called the Home Star Retrofit Act of 2010, or simply Home Star for short. Sometimes referred to as Cash for Caulkers in street slang, the bill would provide a series of financial incentives for homeowners to increase the energy efficiency of their homes through substantive, effective improvements to their homes that save homeowners money, reduce our country’s carbon emissions, help to mitigate climate change, and put tens of thousands of Americans back to work.
Energy Efficient Landscaping for Cooling Down.
On cold winter days, a ray of sun streaming into your house can be most welcome - a free source of heat. But what about in the summer, when those rays of sun and other, less-evident solar heat, seep into our already too-hot houses and become a costly nuisance? Well, what happens is that you lose money. But using landscaping (namely by planting trees) to shade your home can be a great way to lower energy costs.
Is Your Insulation Working? Find Out with an Energy Audit.
Winter's coming. It's already heating season. So how do you save money on heating costs? You've got to own your heat. Simple as that. You've paid for all that warm air already, so it doesn't make much sense to waste it now.
A simple enough premise - it's the application that gets complicated. We (and most building science experts) strongly recommend air sealing and insulation as high priority measures to make your home use less energy, make you more comfortable, and make the planet happy.
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