Spotting Energy Saving Retrofits and Renovations in Our Homes and Neighborhoods
Many homes and buildings were constructed before energy savings as "being green" in preserving the limited resources of the earth were commonplace and positive concepts or even widely known and appreciated.
The house or building that you or your family is residing in, or may be next door may well have been constructed before present times - in the 60's perhaps - when gas, fuel oil or electric power were considered an endless energy that was "cheap" so hence energy conservation was not an issue or priority.
Energy costs were cheap, so that fuel and heat efficiencies and insulation practices were not the norm nor even considered necessary and essential.
However as we all know with the high costs of heating our homes and the figures on our power and hydro bills, that this is not the situation today.
What opportunities are there in our homes, offices and residences as well as in our local neighborhoods and areas to retrofit? How can you spot these? While each home or building is unique there are some general concepts and hallmarks involved to help you spot heat loss and retrofitting opportunities.
First of all virtually all houses will and can benefit from what is termed in the energy conservation upgrades trades as "Air Leakage Control".
Various means of sealing airtight, sealants as well as weather-stripping can and will save cash costs, stop drafts, improve comfort levels and as well improve the longevity and reduce overall building maintenance ongoing costs.
Involved in these are steps to complete a full and comprehensive heat, heating as well as summer air conditioning heating and cooling system workup.
An overall and full analysis should be done on furnace and air cooling hardware.
It might well be that either the furnace / boiler heating system and air conditioning mechanical units are well beyond their prime and should be upgraded with newer and much more energy and fuel efficient modern units with a quick payback period, with the inherent energy savings resulting, to pay for these costs.
It's a win-win situation.
Once you are involved with these projects - or even in the work up, or in assessing whether energy savings can be had - inspect attic areas for insulation levels.
Insulate attics with substandard insulation levels.
Along with this it is vital to have a good air seal first as well as humidity exhaust vents and venting.
Other areas to inspect and take care of include empty frame walls that should have insulation.
Next in line basement exterior concrete and even stone foundation exterior walls are big time losers of heat.
These should have insulation attached and as well be "damp proofed".
Lastly not only should we all do our part in being energy utilization wise and "green" we should pay great attention to detail that each and every time we are involved in property maintenance upgrades and renovations that we look for opportunities to save energy, reduce power bills and be green in energy use and savings each and every time.
The house or building that you or your family is residing in, or may be next door may well have been constructed before present times - in the 60's perhaps - when gas, fuel oil or electric power were considered an endless energy that was "cheap" so hence energy conservation was not an issue or priority.
Energy costs were cheap, so that fuel and heat efficiencies and insulation practices were not the norm nor even considered necessary and essential.
However as we all know with the high costs of heating our homes and the figures on our power and hydro bills, that this is not the situation today.
What opportunities are there in our homes, offices and residences as well as in our local neighborhoods and areas to retrofit? How can you spot these? While each home or building is unique there are some general concepts and hallmarks involved to help you spot heat loss and retrofitting opportunities.
First of all virtually all houses will and can benefit from what is termed in the energy conservation upgrades trades as "Air Leakage Control".
Various means of sealing airtight, sealants as well as weather-stripping can and will save cash costs, stop drafts, improve comfort levels and as well improve the longevity and reduce overall building maintenance ongoing costs.
Involved in these are steps to complete a full and comprehensive heat, heating as well as summer air conditioning heating and cooling system workup.
An overall and full analysis should be done on furnace and air cooling hardware.
It might well be that either the furnace / boiler heating system and air conditioning mechanical units are well beyond their prime and should be upgraded with newer and much more energy and fuel efficient modern units with a quick payback period, with the inherent energy savings resulting, to pay for these costs.
It's a win-win situation.
Once you are involved with these projects - or even in the work up, or in assessing whether energy savings can be had - inspect attic areas for insulation levels.
Insulate attics with substandard insulation levels.
Along with this it is vital to have a good air seal first as well as humidity exhaust vents and venting.
Other areas to inspect and take care of include empty frame walls that should have insulation.
Next in line basement exterior concrete and even stone foundation exterior walls are big time losers of heat.
These should have insulation attached and as well be "damp proofed".
Lastly not only should we all do our part in being energy utilization wise and "green" we should pay great attention to detail that each and every time we are involved in property maintenance upgrades and renovations that we look for opportunities to save energy, reduce power bills and be green in energy use and savings each and every time.
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