Energy Efficiency - Information, Calculators, and Recommendations
How Efficient Is Your Home?
Are you aware there are a number of easy inexpensive “do it yourself’ projects that will reduce your heating and cooling costs and also make your home a healthier more comfortable place to live.
A new heating or cooling unit will not make your house more energy efficient. The only way to reduce your heating and cooling requirements is to tighten up the structure itself. The following is a “checklist” for you to go through to identify any problem areas in your home.
| Attic | |
| Insulate the attic to R-49. If it is over R-30, go onto other items before adding additional insulation. R-30 is approximately 10 inches of fiberglass batt or cellulose. | |
| Attic vents need to be unobstructed and open to provide adequate air ventilation. | |
| Caulk electrical wire penetrations at the top of the interior walls and wires into ceiling fixtures. | |
| Insulate attic access door by attaching extruded (pink or blue) foam insulation to the backside. | |
| Weather-strip attic access door. | |
| Seal around the plumbing stack(s). | |
| Seal around the chimney using a high temperature sealant such as
muffler cement and metal flashing where necessary. |
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| Seal all other holes between the heated space and the attic. | |
| Main Level | |
| Check weather-stripping on windows and doors. | |
| Install foam gasket on all wall outlets and switches, and use child safety plugs backed with gasket punch-outs to keep the cold air from coming through the sockets. | |
| Caulk along baseboards with a clear sealant. | |
| If you have a room air conditioner, remove it for the winter or seal it up and insulate it. | |
| When unable to replace an inefficient window, install plastic over the inside of the window. If you desire something more permanent than plastic, install an interior storm window. | |
| Replace broken glass and any loose caulking. | |
| Replace your old leaky windows. Use low expanding foam around the new window woodwork, caulk where the frame meets the wall and all other joints in the window woodwork with a clear sealant. | |
| Replace an old warped entry door with a new insulated door. | |
| If You Have A Fireplace | |
| Check to make sure the damper is closed tightly when not in use. | |
| Install tight fitting glass doors and/or make a decorative insulated cover for it. | |
| Install a top sealing damper. | |
| Provide outside air for combustion. | |
| Exterior | |
| Caulk around all penetrations such as telephone, cable,
gas, dryer vents, electrical outlets, water faucets, etc. |
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| Caulk around window and doorframes. | |
| If you have combination storms, caulk around the storm windows where the metals meet the window frame. If you have wooden storms that must be exchanged for screens in the summer, use rope caulk to seal around the storm. | |
| Install storm windows on all single-glazed windows. | |
| Install storm door where you have none. | |
| If you are re-siding, consider adding 3/4” to 1 1/2” of extruded foam insulation with taped seams. | |
| Keep dryer vent screens lint free. | |
| Basement | |
| Seal the band joist with caulk or foam. | |
| Seal any holes in the foundation wall with caulk or foam sealant. | |
| Caulk around the basement windows. | |
| If you have a crawl space, place a layer of plastic on the dirt floor. Insulate the walls by hanging fiberglass batts down them and out two feet onto the floor. | |
| Insulate The Basement Walls In One Of The Following Ways |
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Note: The energy savings and installed cost will vary significantly, thus the cost effectiveness of each measure should be evaluated on a case by case basis.
