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Entries in home energy audits (7)

Friday
May222015

Insulation: Unlocking The Keys To An Energy Efficient Home

Image courtesy of homeyimprovement.com.

With the current discussion on energy efficiency, concerns over energy costs in a challenging economy, and high prices in the property market, homeowners are increasingly looking to maximize their budget savings and the property values of their homes. 

One key way to approach this, in both  an existing and new home, is to check and update the level of insulation in the home.

How Insulation Is Vital In Insulating Property

Insulation is a vital tool in a homeowner’s arsenal when improving both energy and cost efficiency, and the reason is preventing the over-use of energy and preventing heat loss. 

Heat can be expensive to generate, particularly in winter, and so keeping heat within a home rather than letting it escape through the windows, doors, ceiling, and walls, saves significant amounts of money.  It is also good for the environment, as the amount of fuel used, and the amount of harmful emissions produced is reduced when less energy is required.

Why Insulation And Energy Efficiency Are Newsworthy

While the heat-saving and money-saving aspects of insulation have been known for some time, the environmental factors of effective insulation have only recently become a mainstream topic of conversation. One reason for this is that there is research now available that shows the increased effects and nature of climate change. 

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Friday
Apr182014

US Energy Dept.'s New Video on Energy Efficient Designs and Retrofits for Commercial Buildings

The U.S. Energy Department just put out its newest informational video release – Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings – as part of its Energy 101Video Series.

While the video focuses a lot on taking a holistic approach to energy efficient design planning in new constructions, it also has a lot of ideas that can be retrofitted into both existing commercial and residential buildings with little expense.

These ideas are important, especially for commercial buildings, because the department says that, “About 20 percent of all the energy we use in the U.S. today goes to power commercial buildings, like the offices and schools we use everyday.”

The Energy Department said that depending on the level of energy efficient design implemented in a new construction or retrofitted into an existing structure, these “buildings can be up to 70 percent more efficient than conventional commercial buildings.”

One of the easiest approaches that can be taken to reduce energy costs in both new constructions and existing buildings, whether commercial or residential, is daylighting – the practice of using natural light to illuminate building spaces. To make the most use of the concept, there are some important aspects of daylighting to understand.

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Thursday
Feb022012

New Orleans Launches Home Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program For Parish Homeowners  

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has launched a new partially-federally funded program called NOLA Wise to help local homeowners make energy efficient retrofits to their homes.

Diagram courtesy of energyauditinstitute.com.

The program will be available to all local homeowners and will be a one-stop-shop for the process from evaluation to the completion of the renovations.

NOLA Wise is one of the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Neighborhood projects and it will be managed by the environmental nonprofit Global Green USA.

The nonprofit expects the program to give “homeowners the opportunity to reduce their utility use by 15 percent or more.”

Special financing will be provided to homeowners depending their needs, and free assistance to those eligible.

NOLA Wise says that “there are no income requirements for the program” and final upgrade costs, after incentives are applied, will either be paid out of pocket by homeowners or through special low income loans provide through the program. Loan application approvals will depend on credit scores.

The program will take a holistic “a house-as-a-system approach,” explaining that “if one system has a problem, it impacts the other systems’ ability to function properly.”

High energy bills can result from issues such as uneven temperatures from room-to-room, drafts, pest infestations, and premature deterioration of building materials, according to experts at NOLA Wise.

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Thursday
Apr282011

Free Online Home Energy Audit Calculators Helping Do-It-Yourselfers Reduce Utilities

Image courtesy of Missouri Gas Energy.

With the tight economy over the last few years, there has been a growing trend toward do-it-yourself home energy audits, with the help of online calculator websites that are often free to use.

The great thing about the do-it yourself approach is that besides the fact that it’s often completely free, it gives you a lot of cost-saving information.

Home energy calculators range from the very complicated, where you feel like you need to be a professional to understand them, to the very user-friendly with large print, simple language, and lots of drop down menus.

These calculator websites  also often contain a lot of free articles and blog posts that are very useful. Two of the best and most user-friendly are the U.S. Department of Energy’s Home Energy Saver calculator and Microsoft’s Hohm calculator.

The Home Energy Saver calculator has a lot of drop down menus and after completing the survey, recommends energy saving strategies and upgrades that are appropriate for a home, depending on its structure, the local climate, and local energy prices.

The Home Energy Saver calculator starts off by asking the user to enter their zip code to receive instant energy cost estimates for both typical and efficient homes in the area.

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Friday
Aug282009

Free Home Weatherizing Services for California Residents in Select Counties

Graphic courtesy of Help - New Mexico Inc.

The weather is cooling and Fall is almost upon us. This is the perfect time to start weatherizing your homes and save some money when winter comes. If you’re residents of the California counties of El Dorado or Alpine, then you are especially lucky because they are offering free home weatherizing services to homeowners and renters that reach the middle income range.

The counties plan to use $1.5 million in newly received federal stimulus money to expand their home weatherizing assistance programs to help an increased number of residents over the next two years.

The program is being operated by the El Dorado County Department of Human Services in cooperation with the California Department of Community Services and Development.

Homeowners and residents who qualify may be entitled to receive up to $6,500 in services. This could provided eligible parties with:

  • Attic Insulation
  • Window Repair
  • Water Heater Blankets
  • Heating and Cooling Systems
  • Energy Efficient Refrigerators
  • Ceiling Fans
  • Weather-Stripping
  • Energy Efficient Lighting
  • Microwaves

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