How To Have a Cost and Energy Efficient Home

“Rising oil prices and higher heating bills
have caused consumers to search for meaningful ways
to reduce their home heating cost.”

Michael Lotesto, president of Illinois-based Performance Exteriors

A Personal Action Plan to creating a living space that is cost and energy efficient – steps to take TODAY, FOR TOMORROW!

You can look at various options for your own home (depending on the applicability) YOURSELF or through a third party, expertise – go from the front door literally all the way through and around and check for:

Here is a step-by-step plan to work and customize your own plan of action for energy and cost saving in and around YOUR OWN HOME

- Educate, enable and empower yourself by learning as much as you can about your house, energy, savings to be had and efficiencies. Continue your learning and on-going search for knowledge!

- IT IS UP TO YOU TO FIGURE OUT AND QUANTIFY how, when and why your home used, loses and wastes energy.

- Making the best use of electricity through thermostats, wireless controlled, programmable systems go a long way to effectively handle lighting and cooling or heating in your home. Dimmer and occupancy censors all contribute too, as do low-energy light-bulbs.

- Track the progress and performance of your home throughout. Stay on top of slippage or changes in usage, it might indicate a problem beginning or be a symptom of something more serious. Fresh airflow and ventilation for example are oftentimes overlooked.

- Credits, incentives and rebates for energy-efficient improvements are at your disposal too. Take full advantage of these and other such programs and initiatives in your local area.

Where to find help and more information on this particular options open to homeowners:

Produced cooperatively by
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Building Technology,
State and Community Programs
1000 Independence Avenue S.W.
Washington, DC 20585
1-800-363-3732
http://www.eren.doe.gov

Additional assistance provided by
Alliance to Save Energy
1200 18th Street, N.W., Suite 900
Washington, DC 20036
1-202-857-0666
http://www.info@ase.org

Additional information available from
Federal Citizen Information Center
Pueblo, CO 81009
1-888-8-PUEBLO (1-888-878-3256)
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov

Distribution assistance provided by
Countrywide Home Branch Locator
http://branches.countrywide.com/default.asp

Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.
CMD Secondary Markets/Product Deployment & Pricing Support
6400 Legacy Drive, PTX 66
Plano, TX 75024
(800) 669-6020
(972) 608-1602
http://www.countrywide.com

There are lots of talk of even zero-energy homes these days, super-efficient solar homes and SMART homes with alternate technologies. Others upgrade and adapt existing conventional older and traditional homes, to address the task and step up to the plate of saving energy and money. Whichever camp you fall into, or fit onto this spectrum, there are numerous avenues and things for you to try yourself and using specialized services, to make your contribution count.

Trends indicate that there are many more stepping up in the general populace to pick alternatives for old methods, costly energy bills and other inefficiencies.

- There is a steady decline in the once costly price-tag for energy-efficiency and solar technology.
- Sensors that monitor electricity consumption, temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and hot-water usage
- Data-collection for electricity flow from appliances such as refrigerators, air handler units, water heaters, compressors and inverters.
- Airtight envelopes
- Energy Star appliances
- Compact fluorescent light bulbs
- HVAC distribution systems
- Low-emissive windows
- Passive-solar principles
- 70 percent of windows on the south-facing side of a house
- Extended overhangs above the south-facing windows to block light (hot summer)
- Structural insulated panels
- Pre-cast concrete walls to keep houses cool in the summer months and warmer in the winter months
- Superior insulation value and are tightly joined, to form an airtight building envelope (for maximum energy efficiency). The houses all have a relatively simple ventilation system that maintains indoor air-quality to the high standards recently mandated by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. These ventilation systems filter outside air into the houses throughout the day and condition it in response to interior carbon dioxide, humidity and temperature measurements.
- Innovative roofing technology and heat reflection
- Measures to bring more natural light into your home
- Geothermal heating and cooling
- Market-ready solar home kit
- Best-tested features and appliances
- Whole home packages and upgrades
- Airtight construction, panelization
- Mechanical ventilation
- Dehumidification
- Utility meters, smart meters and monitoring equipment
- Energy-intensive chores in off-peak hours or optimal, cheapest time-periods
- Mindful of energy efficiency
- Prudent practice in everyday habits, changes necessary to see results and success in savings and energy consumption lowered
- CHANGE YOUR OWN CONSUMER AND FAMILY BEHAVIOR when it comes to electricity, energy use, consumption and waste

Knowledge is POWER! (Again pardon the pun!), most of our electricity is still coming from sources that are costly to operate and to the environment we live and thrive in.

- Burning fossil fuels
- Hydro-electric dams
- Nuclear power plants
- Air pollution
- Global warming
- Waste

These are added costs that we, our kids and future generations are having and will be coping with in years to come. Is it not time for us to rather do something more positive in how we spend our money, make our decisions about energy efficiencies?

Dishwashers

· Energy Star approved dishwashers use 25 per cent less energy than other new models! Here are some other energy-saving tips:
· Always run your dishwasher with a full load. Most of the energy used by a dishwasher is spent heating water, and since you can’t decrease the amount of water used per cycle, filling your machine is more effective than running half-loads.
· Use the air-dry option instead of the heat-dry, rinse-hold and pre-rinse features. If your dishwasher doesn’t have this option, prop the door open after the final rinse cycle to dry your dishes.

Washers and Dryers

For more information on zero-energy, energy independence, solar and geo-thermal options:

ORNL Buildings Technology Center
www.ornl.gov/btc

Building America
www.buildingamerica.gov

Appliances Energy Star
(888) 782-7937
www.energystar.gov

Windows Andersen Windows
(888) 888-7020
www.andersenwindows.com

Cool Roof ATAS International
(800) 468-1441
www.atas.com/dutchseam

Heating and Cooling Lennox Heat Pump HPX19
(800) 953-6669
www.lennox.com

American Geothermal (800) 776-8039
www.amgeo.com

Solar Electric System BP Solar
(866) 277-6527
www.bpsolar.com

Sharp multi-crystalline silicon modules
(800) 237-4277
www.solar.sharpusa.com

Xantrex/Trace Sun Tie inverter
(800) 670-0707
www.xantrex.com

Big Frog Mountain (equipment installers)
(877) 232-1580
www.bigfrogmountain.com

Walls and SIPs Insulspan
(517) 486-4844
www.insulspan.com

If you are in the market for a new home or just moving into an older one, renovating or inspecting your conventional home, regardless of design or age, check for energy efficiencies like:

- Check for and ensure sealed ductwork
- Condition of the roof
- Effective insulation
- Ensure that exterior and interior of the house are without gaps or cracks, holes and crevices
- High-efficiency heating and cooling equipment
- High-performance windows (such as low-E (low emissive) windows)
- Tight construction and outer shell, firm robust, strong and durable structure