Sealing Your Home Can Bring Big Rewards

July 1st, 2011

You use a lot of energy – and money! – keeping your house at a comfortable temperature. But if there are holes in the “envelope” or “shell” of your home, air from the outside can get into your home and drive up your energy costs.

Sealing the envelope of your home is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve energy efficiency and comfort. Energy Star estimates that appropriate sealing can save up to 20% on heating and cooling costs.

There are three ways to seal the envelope of your home:

  • Sealing air leaks to stop drafts
  • Adding insulation
  • Installing Energy Star windows when replacing windows

Sealing leaks. It may be easy to find some of the leaks in your home, because you can feel and sometimes even see them (for example, around windows and doors). You can seal these leaks with caulk, foam, and weather stripping.

Other leaks may be hidden in attics, basements, and crawl spaces. Common leak spots include:

  • Recessed lights
  • Outdoor faucets
  • Dryer vents
  • Attic hatches
  • Around light switches and cable, phone, or power outlets
  • Chimneys and furnace flues
  • The tops of walls that lead up to attic space

To find and seal these hidden leaks, it may be advisable to hire a contractor who can use special diagnostic tools. The expense is often quickly paid back in increased comfort and reduced utility bills.

Adding insulation. There are several common types of insulation — fiberglass (in both batt and blown forms), cellulose, rigid foam board, and spray foam. Different types are appropriate for different places in your home.

The strength of insulation is measured by “R-value” – its ability to resist heat flow. The higher the R-value, the more insulating power. Different R-values are recommended for different parts of your house, depending upon where you live.

Insulating your attic may offer significant savings, and can be a good DIY project if you are handy. To see if your attic can benefit from more insulation, look across your uncovered attic floor. If your insulation is level with or below the attic floor joints, more would probably be helpful.

Remember, however, that even well-insulated attics need appropriate ventilation to prevent mold growth in the summer and ice buildup in the winter.

Installing Energy Star windows and doors. Replacing windows and doors is a big project and may not generate enough energy savings to justify the cost. However, if you are remodeling or building a new home, be sure to choose Energy Star windows and doors. Energy Star windows and doors will not only help seal and insulate your home – they will also act as a sunscreen to protect your pictures, furniture, and carpets.

After Sealing Your Home: Check Air Quality!

After any sealing or insulating project it’s very important to have a professional perform a Combustion Safety Test on your gas and oil burning appliances to ensure that they are still operating safely.

It’s rare that homeowners seal their homes too tightly – especially if it’s an older house. However, if you are concerned, you can hire a contractor to test your home’s ventilation. If your home is too tightly sealed, he or she may recommend that you install a fresh air ventilation system.

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What is a Green Building?

June 29th, 2011

A green building is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout its life-cycle, minimizing the building’s impact on human health and the natural environment.

Some of the criteria that can go into evaluating a green building include:

  • Location
  • Design
  • Construction
  • Operation
  • Maintenance
  • Renovation
  • Demolition

Of course, there are many different kinds of green buildings, each with its own particular strengths. Here are a few:

Buildings located in New Urbanist communities. New Urbanism is an urban design movement that promotes walkable neighborhoods with multi-use buildings so that residents can live, shop, and work within their local area. The goal is to promote community, reduce the amount of energy used for transportation, and reduce emissions from car travel.

Net-zero buildings. A net-zero building produces renewable energy equal to or greater than the energy the home consumes from public utilities. A net-zero building saves energy by being extremely energy efficient, and by generating its own renewable power using solar, wind, micro-hydro, or geothermal systems.

“Ultra-small” homes. Super-small houses (30 square meters and even smaller!) are a growing trend in home design. Tiny spaces dramatically reduce the occupants’ energy use – in some cases, the entire home can be run on the equivalent of a couple of light bulbs.

Buildings constructed with local, natural materials. Homes made of earth, straw bales, stone, stucco, and other natural materials are often cheaper to build and require much less gas for transporting construction materials. They can also be extremely energy-efficient to operate because the building materials are suited to the climate.

Buildings constructed entirely or in part with reclaimed materials. Recycling keeps building materials out of the landfill and reduces the energy needed to manufacture new items. One commonly-used reclaimed material is shipping containers, which are strong, cheap, and can be assembled in a modular fashion to create homes of any size.

R-2000-certified buildings. R-2000 is a voluntary standard administered by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) that evaluates three main areas of construction: energy performance, indoor air quality and use of environmentally preferred materials. Builders are given the freedom to choose the best and most cost-effective way to achieve the R-2000 goals, which means they can incorporate any of the techniques or building styles described above.

LEED-accredited buildings. Probably the best-known green building accreditation system, LEED offers third-party verification that a home is above average in the following areas: sustainability of building site, water efficiency, energy use, sustainability of materials, use of resources, indoor environmental quality, location, transportation connections, and innovation in design. LEED-accredited homes are extremely efficient to operate and have a high resale value.

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Save by Buying Low, Buying at the Right Time

June 27th, 2011

Buying a new HVAC system is a big step and a big investment. You know you will be spending a considerable amount of money, but it is worth it to get the right system for your home. However, that does not mean you should not shop around and compare prices before you buy. Prices in this industry are far from static, and you could get a great deal if you do some research and know what you are looking for.

Of course, you first have to have the luxury of being able to shop around. If your HVAC system has broken down completely, you will be much more limited on what options you can explore and how much you will pay for the system that you want.

But if you know that you are going to be replacing your existing HVAC system sometime soon, the best thing you can do is to start looking around at what is on the market now. Get a feel for the type of system that you want, the features that are important to you and what it will cost you to get all of that in one package deal.

You can also compare the prices for the same system offered by various retailers and installation companies. While it may seem like the same system should cost the same everywhere, this is often not the case. Also, different places may be offering special discounts or installation specials at different times, and you want to put yourself in the best position to take advantage of that.

The time of year can also affect the price of the system you are looking at. Buying a heating system in the middle of the summer, for instance, is often a good way to get a great deal. So if you plan ahead a little bit, you can make out big when you see the deal you were looking for.

Staying on top of the market is the best way for you to see how the prices on different systems change over time and you will be in a great position to grab a good deal when it comes up. You can also often get good deals on HVAC systems that are close to being replaced by a newer model. Just make sure that the newer model does not offer too much more than the previous year’s and you will likely come out ahead.

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Save Money with Coupons – HVAC and Plumbing

June 24th, 2011

HVAC and plumbing services are not things that you usually think about using coupons for. After all, you almost never call an HVAC specialist or plumber unless there is an emergency, and that means you probably do not have time to go hunting for a coupon. You are going to go with the person who is able to respond quickly and get the job done fast.

But that does not mean you should have to pay too much for emergency or other HVAC and plumbing services. In fact, if you know where to look, you can find coupons for great deals on anything from annual maintenance to full new system installation. Of course, not all of these deals are that great. But even saving a little on each service will add up over time. Plus, gathering up some coupons ahead of time will make it easier for you to choose a good HVAC service or plumber because you can see which one in your area offers the best deals.

So where do you find these great coupons? Well, a lot of them can actually be tracked down online. A simple search for HVAC or plumbing coupons in your area should turn up quite a few results for services you could use now or in the future. Some of these offer quite substantial savings as well, so even if they are for something you do not need at the moment, take a look at the expiration date. Even if you are not sure you will be able to use the coupon in that space of time, there is certainly no harm in holding onto it just in case.

It is also important to remember that you do not need to stay with the same company that installed your system, for instance, if you can find a coupon for great savings on annual maintenance with someone else. Just about every company in this field is well versed in handling all types of HVAC or plumbing equipment and they can easily take care of a system that another company installed.

Particularly if you are not satisfied with the service that you get from the company you are now using, look around for coupons from someone else. That is a great way to figure out which new company is worth a try.

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Save with Maintenance on HVAC

June 22nd, 2011

You can never save too much money by making improvements and taking steps around the house. Of course, it is hard sometimes to see exactly where the money saving opportunities are. That’s because you expect to spend a certain amount on various types of services when you own a home. You know you are always going to have heating and cooling bills, for instance. But are they higher than they need to be?

For many people, the answer to that question is “yes.” And it is not because they use their home heating and cooling systems inappropriately or because they have the wrong equipment. It is simply because they neglect to get their HVAC systems the regular care and maintenance that would keep them running at peak effectiveness and energy efficiency.

When your HVAC system is new, it runs well and can be remarkably energy efficient. However, over time that energy efficiency will gradually deteriorate. This drop off in efficiency is often not obvious at first, but if you compare your energy bills from the year you got your system to bills for the same time of year and same usage five years later, you will probably notice that the bill has gone up quite a bit, and not just because energy prices have gone up.

You can do a lot to prevent this loss of energy efficiency, though, if you simply have a professional HVAC technician come out once a year and give your system a tune up. During this type of maintenance service, the technician will check over your entire system looking for worn out parts and buildup that could be interfering with your system’s performance.

They can clean out any areas of your HVAC equipment that require it and they will be able to make any necessary repairs at that time. Often, a technician performing this type of maintenance will be able to catch minor issues before they are able to develop into bigger problems. And while you still have to pay for the maintenance visit, the cost is much less than what you would pay for an emergency repair.

It also represents a substantial savings over what you would be paying on your energy bills every month without it. Regular HVAC maintenance can preserve the vast majority of your system’s energy efficiency loss over time, and it is never too late to start. Even if it has been several years since you had your system installed, you will still be able to get back the vast majority of your original energy efficiency by starting with regular maintenance now.

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Maintenance Really Does Save Money

June 20th, 2011

When it comes to your home heating and cooling systems, you really cannot go wrong with proper annual maintenance. While it may seem like an unnecessary expense, especially if your systems are relatively new, you will save a lot in the long run if you pay that small fee once a year for each system.

During a maintenance visit, a technician can thoroughly clean out your heating or cooling system and check all parts to make sure they are not showing signs of excessive wear and tear. If they do find a problem or a part that needs to be replaced, they will be able to make the necessary repairs quickly and you will not have to worry about calling someone out later for an emergency visit.

Also, catching problems early like this means that repairs will likely involve fewer parts and cost much less than they would if you let the problem go and it became more widespread. The truth is that your heating or cooling system can continue to work when one or another of its parts is not working correctly, but that means that other parts of the system have to work overtime to create the same result.

Your heating or cooling system will also be much more energy efficient if it receives regular tune ups and attention from a professional. Even the best new systems lose a small percentage of their efficiency each year that they are in operation. While this is not much from year to year, the cumulative effect will soon cause your energy bills to climb higher than necessary.

Paying for regular maintenance, then, can actually save you money because it will mean you pay less each month to run your system. And it is never too late to start. Even if your heating or cooling system is not new, it will benefit from a thorough cleaning and tune up. You may be quite surprised how much your energy bills go down after this type of service has been performed.

Annual maintenance can also help you to get more for your money by extending the useful life of the heating or cooling system. Many systems that are properly maintained can last even beyond their expected life span, meaning that you will not have to replace it as soon as you would have otherwise. For all of these reasons, the minimal cost of an annual maintenance visit is well worth paying over the long term.

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Heat Recovery Ventilator – What Is It and When Do You Need It?

June 17th, 2011

While the design of modern homes is to retain as much energy as possible while minimizing the cost of heating and cooling, that very design can have a negative impact on your indoor air quality. Because air cannot pass freely between indoor and outdoor environments, you are stuck breathing the same air day after day.

Luckily, there are t options that will exchange the heat in your indoor air to the outdoor air as it enters your home. In effect, you can retain all of the heat your home produces each day before it leaves the house. It works equally well in the summer to retain the cooled air your air conditioning units produce.

How Heat Recovery Works

Heat recovery ventilators come in many forms, including simple ventilation, heat exchange, or air exchanging. There are even some indoor heat pumps that will carefully draw heat from the air as it’s removed from your home and recirculate it through your air ducts.

The idea is the same no matter how the system is installed. As air leaves your home through a ventilator, a counter-flow heat exchanger transfers energy between the air leaving and entering your home. So, instead of warm air leaving and cold air entering, the air coming into your home takes the heat from the air leaving your home. Air comes and goes, but heat stays inside.

In the summer, the same system works in reverse to remove heat from the air coming into your home and keep it outside. The one thing to keep in mind with a heat recovery ventilator is that it doesn’t retain the humidity in your home as an energy recovery ventilator would. If you live in an area with very high or very low humidity during summer or winter, an ERV may be a better solution for your needs.

Air Quality Benefits

The goal of a good heat recovery ventilator is not just to retain the heated or cooled air in your home. It is also to ensure you have clean, fresh air to breathe each day. Most people don’t realize, but when you don’t circulate your air and your home is sealed up with enhanced weather-stripping and high quality insulation, unwanted contaminants begin to build up. A heat recovery ventilator makes sure you not only get fresh air, but that it’s properly filtered and the heat or cooling your comfort system produces is retained. No money is lost, energy is saved, and your family stays comfortable and healthy – everyone wins.

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Understanding House Ventilation Options

June 15th, 2011

All the fancy air quality control tools in the world are useless if you don’t have a good ventilation system to circulate air through your home each day. An air filter removes larger particles like dust, dander and pollen, and an electronic air filter removes smaller particles like bacteria, mold, and gases. However, your indoor air will still be poor without a fresh supply of air constantly circulating in from outdoors.

Types of Ventilators

There are a few options here, depending both on the number of contaminants your home has and the amount of heated or cooled air you are willing to lose each day through vents.

The simplest method is an exhaust fan. Fans blow air from your home, creating a negative pressure zone inside. Air inlets then allow new air to enter your home and equalize that pressure. There are also balanced exhaust fans – one fan blowing indoor air out and another fan pulling fresh air in. If you have open flames or gas burning appliances, a balanced exhaust fan is necessary to keep the flames from going out due to the negative pressure caused by a single outlet exhaust fan.

Traditional ventilation, while simple, is also inefficient. In the middle of winter it blows all of your heated air outside and in the summer, it does the same to your cooled air. Your home comfort system likely can keep up with the loss of heat or cooling, so you won’t be less comfortable, but you will certainly pay more on your energy bill.

That’s why heat and energy recovery ventilators are popular in many homes. Especially if you went to the trouble of having your home sealed up tightly to minimize energy loss, these ventilators will save you money.

When air is ventilated through a recovery unit, the energy and heat is transferred between indoor and outdoor air as it passes. In the winter, this means the energy in your indoor air is retained and during the summer, the energy in outdoor air is removed before it enters your home.

Which Method is Best?

The method you choose will depend largely on your current cost of heating and cooling and what types of contaminants you face. Energy recovery ventilators have the added benefit of patching directly into your indoor air quality units, so you won’t need to worry about new contaminants coming in either.

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How a Thermostat Works

June 13th, 2011

Your thermostat is designed to closely monitor and maintain the temperature in your home. When you flip the switch, you want your furnace or air conditioner to respond immediately. So, it’s a good idea to learn how it works so that if there is a problem, not only will you know better what needs to be fixed – you can decide whether to call a professional in for help.

Thermostats shouldn’t need input from you other than to set the initial temperature. From there, they are automatic switches. A thermometer inside the thermostat measures the indoor air temperature. When it gets above or below the limit you’ve specified, it triggers the thermostat to send a message to your home comfort system and keep things nice and comfortable.

Types of Thermostat

Thermostats come in two forms –electromechanical and electronic. An electromechanical thermostat is the simplest and has been used for decades to regulate temperature in homes. It has a simple strip or coil of metal that expands as the temperature rises and contract as it lowers. A mercury thermometer is placed on top of the strip. The coil’s movements cause the vial to tip as the temperature changes. There is a pair of electrical contacts on either end of the vial. The mercury can absorb that electrical current when the electrical contacts touch the thermometer. The mercury then acts as a switch to turn on your comfort system.

An electronic thermostat simply has an electronic sensor that measures the indoor air temperature. You set a temperature for your room and when it changes significantly, the switch inside your electronic thermostat is triggered, causing it to turn on your comfort system.

Ways to Upgrade Your Thermostat

Most homes only need the bare minimum in their thermostats. However, there is some very exciting technology on the market these days that can add quite a bit of value to your system. Not only can you install a programmable thermostat, you can opt for zone control systems that allow multiple thermostats in different rooms of your home.

Programming allows you to set temperatures for certain times of the day. This is especially great if you are gone from the house for long periods of time each day. Why heat or cool a home when it is empty? And if you have multiple people with different temperature needs, zone control temperature control allows you to set specific temperatures for specific rooms in your home – a very enticing option for large families or multi-story homes.

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What to Do if Your Ceiling Fan Does Not Work

June 10th, 2011

A ceiling fan is a great addition to your home. It can keep you cool all on its own on moderately warm days and it will help to take on some of the cooling load even on days when you do need to use the air conditioner as well. Plus, you can even use your ceiling fan in the winter to keep the warm air from your heating system circulating properly.

But just like anything else, your ceiling fan will encounter some sort of problem from time to time. While there are certainly some things that you cannot fix on your own, it is a good idea to check on a few items before you call in a professional repair person.

For instance, if you switch on the fan and nothing happens, make sure that all of the controls are in the place they should be. Most ceiling fans have a chain or dial on the body of the fan itself that controls the direction that the fan turns and can even turn it off. However, there is usually also a power switch on the wall. If you flip the switch and the fan does not turn on, there is a good chance that the setting on the fan itself is in the off position.

After ensuring that all of these switches and controls are calibrated properly, you can also take a look at the fuse and the breaker that the fan is connected to. If the breaker is thrown or the fuse is blown, the fan is not getting power and you will have to replace the fuse or reset the breaker to restore power to that circuit.

If that does not solve the mystery either, you may want to test the blades themselves to see if they seem to be stuck on a physical impediment. Ceiling fans do occasionally need to have their bearings lubricated and this is a relatively simple task that you can carry out on your own as well.

However, if none of these actions seems to solve the problem, then you will probably need to call in a professional to assess the situation and make the necessary repairs. There may be a mechanical problem within the fan itself or the wiring could be frayed or fused and these are not repairs you should attempt to make on your own.

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