Wednesday, April 8, 2009

How can I make my home more energy efficient?

There are various ways to make your home energy efficient. Some cost nothing and are self-reliant, such as unplugging items that don't need to be plugged in all the time and others mentioned throughout this blog. And many have a price, the price depends on how much your willing to invest.

Solar energy, for example, is an excellent resource for using the suns energy to power your home. With solar you can substantially reduce and in some cases eliminate your monthly power bill. Government incentives and rebates are available, these differ from state to state. The cost can be expensive, depending on your budget.

Another product- Energy Saving Kits. Not as effective as Solar but the cost is very reasonable. Let's take a look at an energy saving kit and what it can do for your home:

Energy Saving Kits are comprised of 4 products, a 90 day money back guarantee and savings of 35% or more monthly on energy costs:

1) Radiant Barrier: Radiant barriers are installed in homes—most commonly in attics—to reduce summer heat gain and winter heat loss, which helps lower heating and cooling costs. The barriers consist of a highly reflective material that reflects radiant heat rather than absorbing it.

How Radiant Barriers Work
Heat travels from a warm area to a cool area by a combination of conduction, convection, and radiation. Heat flows by conduction from a hotter material to a colder material when the two materials touch. Heat transfer by convection occurs when a liquid or gas is heated, becomes less dense, and rises. Radiant heat travels in a straight line away from the hot surface and heats anything solid as the wave of energy hits it.

When the sun heats a roof, it's primarily the sun's radiant energy that makes the roof hot. A large portion of this heat travels by conduction through the roofing materials to the attic side of the roof. The hot roof material then radiates its gained heat energy into the cooler attic (some of the roof's heat will radiate in other directions too). A radiant barrier reduces the radiant heat transfer from the roof to the attic space.

Fiberglass re-enforced (perforated)aluminum foil insulation; Fire retardant; Reflects 95% of radiation heat Perforated aluminum foil radiant barrier to eliminating sweating; Use for attics, roof and walls; Easily stapled into place in attic on ceiling joists orafters, sealed with aluminum tape; Adhesion Good on clean and dry surface; No Discoloration Resistance Excellent resistance to water, water vapor, oxidation and weathering.

(2) Duct Seal System: Duct sealing is a combination of Radiant Barrier and Duct Seal

Leaky ducts can reduce heating and cooling system efficiency by as much as 20 percent. Sealing and insulating ducts increases efficiency, lowers your energy bills, and can often pay for itself in energy savings.

Plus, if you’re planning to install new heating and cooling equipment, a well-designed and sealed duct system may allow you to downsize to a smaller, less costly heating and cooling system that will provide better humidification.

1) Tape all seams in duct work
2) Wrap all duct work with radiant barrier
3) Use same tape to attach radiant barrier to duct work and seal all seams

(3) The Solar Attic Fan: Saving energy in your home must start at the top. As warm air rises, it collects in the attic making your entire house hotter and your air conditioning less efficient. This costs you valuable dollars and unnecessary wear and tear on your cooling equipment.

The Solar Attic fan removes hot air from the attic keeping your home cooler while maximizing your air conditioner's efficiency. The solar powered fan draws no electricity from the utility and will cost you nothing to operate!

Removes Hot Attic Air; Solar Powered; Up to 850 CFM Air Flow; Optional Thermostat; Proudly Made in USA; 10/5/25 Year Warranty.

(4) Power Save 1200 Energy Saver: A small gray box that fits neatly next to your breaker panel, saves you money year after year and protects the entire home.

The Power Save 1200 was designed with the homeowner in mind, providing lower energy bills, increased motor and appliance life, for all of the equipment inside of your house.
Residential customers throughout North America could see a realized savings of 8% - 10% typically and as much as 25% on their electrical usage (and thus power bills). The Power Save 1200 is UL Certified as the Cat. No. ABET 2201 and CSA certified.



The cost of an Energy Saving Kit depends on the square footage and whether your home is a one or two story home. To view pricing and more detailed information about energy saving kits visit: Energy Saving Kit. Any product in the Energy Saving Kit can be purchased independently.

1 comment:

  1. Great post! Solar attic fans are not only the least expensive (in terms of total cost of ownership, which is purchase price + operating costs), they are also the most environmentally friendly way to ventilate an attic. Unlike conventional electric attic fans, solar attic fans don't use any electricity from the power grid at all! I have really been trying to get the word out about this method of attic ventilation at Solar Attic Fan Info because I think not enough people are aware of the benefits - please check it out!

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