Home Energy Saving Tips Make
Things Warmer And Less Drafty

Insulation

One of the most important home energy saving tips that you should be aware of, especially if you want your home to be more comfortable, is to insulate.

Insulation slows the movement of warm air through your floors, ceiling and walls. In doing so, it keeps your home warmer and less drafty and cooler in the summer.

In existing homes insulating the exterior walls beyond that which already exists is difficult and can be costly, although it is doable.

The attic however, is where you can have additional insulation blown in by an insulation contractor. This will make a big difference and increase your home energy savings.

Have the maximum blown in according to the area of the country that you live. R-38 to R-49 depending on where you live. Another option is to lay blanket-type insulation perpendicular to the ceiling joist throughout the attic.

After all, you don’t want your money going through the roof! With a new home, have the contractor install the maximum for your area in all locations even if it is an upgrade.

Insulation is not that expensive compared to the dollars that you can save over time. One of our home energy saving tips is to not exceed the amount of maximum blown insulation for your area. There is a maximum depth for given areas beyond which your return becomes minimal.

Other Insulation

Insulate the basement frame walls on the exterior part of the basement. Also insulate any concrete basement wall that is common with the exterior down to frost depth level below grade.

There are some moisture and frost conditions that are applicable and we suggest that you get a contractor’s advice on this installation for your area. Insulate the band board (the board that the floor joist are connected to at the perimeter of the house) as well.

Energy Efficient Windows

One of our other home energy saving tips is to consider replacing your old windows with energy efficient windows. If you are in an older home that has single glazed windows you can do one of two things.

Either choose to have storm windows installed giving you a large air space between the storm windows and the the existing windows that does a nice job insulating. The other alternative is to replace your windows with a double or triple pane units that are rated as energy efficient windows.

Many of the replacement windows today are a lot more advanced having Low-E glass and argon gas between the panes. In a colder climate they reduce the suns fading effects and heat loss while allowing solar gain. And conversely, in a warm climate, they reflect much of the suns heat.

Energy efficient windows are more expensive, but they have a lot more technology built into them and will yield a much tighter overall seal, have greater insulation and offer the best home energy conservation.

Although, the payback on replacement windows may be more than what you wanted to invest in. We recommend that you look at that payback period very closely before making your decision on new windows.

Check to see if the US government currently has an Energy Tax Credit available that would apply toward energy efficient windows that you have installed. There are time restrictions. Click the link above to see their website for details.

Storm Doors

Install storm doors at all the exterior door openings is another one of our home energy saving tips. If you are not opposed to the look of a storm door, then they do have a useful purpose of keeping drafts from entering your home and are one of our practical ways to save money over time.

Going Green

Home energy saving tips that qualify as going green are limited to installing new energy star appliances, integrating super high-efficiency heating and cooling system and considering solar collector panels.

When it comes to Going Green or Living Green...an overall reduction in energy use through home energy conservation plays an important role.

By using less energy, you will have become more environmentally sensitive and will have effectively reduced your carbon footprint.

You can find more information on going green in our Living Green Section.
You can find more information on solar energy in our Solar Energy Section.

Go to Other Pages in This Series