Tag Archives: insulation

How to Conduct a Home Energy Audit

by Wesley72Ppqhw Posted on April 25, 2018

Energy is a precious resource, and wasting it can really?take a toll on your monthly utility bill and on the environment. On the flip side, taking the time to locate and address your home’s greatest inefficiencies is one of the best things you can do to ensure the energy?you’re buying is being put to good use.

But how do you discover those energy inefficiencies? A home energy audit of course!?So block out your Saturday??? it’s time to take a tour of the?attic, windows and doors, and a couple of stops?in between. Here’s what you’ll need before you get started:

  1. A clipboard and pencil to take notes
  2. A smartphone or computer with internet access
  3. A measuring tape or ruler
  4. A stick or two of incense and matches

Step #1: Take a peek at?your insulation.

On average,?30 percent of heated air is lost through leaks in attic floors. That’s 30 percent of your heating costs going toward energy that will never heat your home! According to the Department of Energy, the vast majority of homes built before 1980 were not properly insulated when built.

Ready to find out if your home is?losing conditioned air? Follow these steps:

  1. Fill out this form to determine your home’s recommended R-value (a measure of thermal resistance)
  2. Submit the form and mark down your results. Save for later.
  3. Measure the depth of visible insulation in your attic using this tutorial.
  4. Calculate your home’s current R-value.

Return to the recommended R-value you discovered in step one. Is your home’s R-value less than the recommended value? You’re probably losing energy. Consider hiring a contractor to insulate your place!

Step #2:?Check for draftiness.

Besides gaps in the attic, drafty walls and crawl spaces are also big causes of wasted energy. Air leaks can be a little bit difficult to find, but sealing them up can make a huge difference in the comfort of your home.

Here’s how to find air leaks in your house:

  1. Shut all windows, fireplace flues and exterior doors (leave interior doors open).
  2. Turn on every exhaust fan that blows air outside (clothes dryer, bathroom fans, vents, etc.).
  3. Light an incense stick and hold?it in front of access points like doors and window frames, as well as attic hatches, electrical outlets and vents.
  4. Look for smoke that wavers or blows in odd directions. This signals a draft!

Step #3: Examine your windows.

Those windows giving you all that gorgeous natural light could also be a main source of energy loss! Similar to insulation, windows?are rated by U-factor ? aka their ability to keep conditioned air inside where it belongs. The lower the rating, the better.

Here’s how to check your windows:?

  1. Grab the R-value you calculated earlier in step number one.
  2. Input that value into this calculator and leave the U-factor section blank. Calculate.
  3. Mark down the result. This is the?recommended U-factor for your home!

If the U-factor you calculated is a lot lower than the U-factor listed on your windows, you are most certainly losing energy. They aren’t up to snuff. To solve the issue, look into replacing single pane windows with double pane windows, as well as considering air sealing.

Action Steps

Make it through? By now you should have a solid idea of whether your home is well-insulated and well-sealed, as well as whether it’s operating efficiently or inefficiently. Take note of those areas of improvement. Every upgrade?you make?to address energy inefficiencies is a step toward a more comfortable, more eco-friendly home.

These upgrades are also a great investment!?Looking to sell your place in the future? A well-insulated home will be much more attractive to buyers. Sticking with your place for the long haul? You’ll get to reap the benefits for years to come. Enjoy it!

What steps have you taken to make your home and your lifestyle more eco-friendly?

Related Stories:

9 Questions to Ask Before Buying Solar Panels
11 Home Energy Enhancers
An Easy Guide to Saving Energy in Your Home

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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How to Conduct a Home Energy Audit

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Want To Use 90% Less Energy In Your Home? Here’s How

by MiraAdzmrd Posted on May 20, 2015

earth911

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Want To Use 90% Less Energy In Your Home? Here’s How

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Garage Insulation: The Surprising Energy Saver

by LannyCurtiss Posted on April 27, 2015

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Garage Insulation: The Surprising Energy Saver

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Insulation and Your Home

by Roger Frost Posted on April 4, 2013

Insulating your home properly will make your home more comfortable and energy efficient. The value of the insulation in your home is measured by its R value, which is its resistance to heat flow.

There are many types of insulation available and talking to an insulation expert may help you choose the right insulation for your home. Whether being installed in walls or in attics can have a huge difference in the type of insulation you should choose. Choose a supplier that carries all types to prevent being sold the product that he carries, rather than the one that is right for you.

If you have a brick home with blown in fiberglass insulation then it is more than likely your have mice living in your attic. Mice can climb straight up brick walls and enter through any tiny crack or hole to winter in your attic. If you have vinyl siding then you would be safe from climbing mice as its surface is too slippery for them.

Fiberglass insulation is made by jetting molten glass through tiny heated holes in a high-speed stream. The resulting fibers are drawn very thin and to great length. The fibers are then collected into a matte to produce fiberglass insulation.

The R values between blown in cellulose insulation and fiberglass insulation are the same but the thickness varies. On average, blown in cellulose insulation is 2-3 inches thinner than fiberglass insulation when both have the same R values. Both blown in cellulose insulation and fiberglass insulation perform well to insulate your home. However, regardless of which insulation you choose, the performance of the insulation varies greatly on the quality of workmanship. This is generally true more so for cellulose insulation than fiberglass insulation. in addition cellulose insulation could cause some corrosion on metal that it touches but can also insulate the entire cavity of the wall and flow around wall studs while fiberglass insulation may not cause corrosion but it can not flow around wall stubs as it has to be placed there. However, this is generally not done.

Blown in cellulose insulation is 2-3 times denser than fiberglass insulation. Studies comparing Blown in cellulose insulation Vs fiberglass insulation show that cellulose insulation was 38% tighter and required 26% less energy. A Princeton University study shows, a group of homes with blown in cellulose insulation in the walls had an average of 24.5% reduction of air infiltration compared to fiberglass insulation, with only the walls insulated. A similar study, the Leominster MA Housing Project for the Elderly found that, a building with blown in cellulose insulation compared to a building with R-13 fiberglass batt insulation in the walls and R-38 fiberglass batt insulation in the ceiling, had 40% lower leakage. However, when it comes to air infiltration, sheathing and drywall are better air barriers than any cavity insulation. Air infiltration barriers such as high-density polyethylene membranes are installed for this specific purpose.

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How You Can Help To Save The Planet By Installing Double Glazing

by Andrew Karolitz Posted on March 15, 2013

Installing double glazed windows in your home or office can be a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. A Carbon footprint is calculated by working out how many tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are produced by the activities of a person or company. Installing double glazing can be a great way to cut down on these carbon emissions.

The way that most people can work out their own carbon footprint is to use some online software, which is easily available. This calculates a number of things such as the number of car journeys or plane journeys a person makes among other things. These are known as the primary carbon footprint and also include a measure of how energy efficient your home is. That is, does it have insulation in the loft and wall spaces etc.

Next, it asks questions about your indirect carbon usage. This is your secondary footprint and involves things such as where your produce comes from. Do you buy sugar produced in your own country or shipped in from far away for example?

Double glazed windows are made from frames containing two panes of glass quite close to each other. These act as insulators as they trap air between the panes. This can reduce the heat which is lost from a house by up to half.

This immediately has an direct impact on how much energy you lose through your windows. This means, of course, that you are using less energy to keep your house warm and so you see a reduction in your energy bills. Your carbon footprint will decrease by roughly 740kg per year, for an average sized house.

Double glazing is indeed a quick and energy efficient way to transform your property from one which leaks heats through the windows into one which conserves heat. And if we all do this, we all help to save the planet too.

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