What’s the largest single opening in most houses – the garage door. Usually the garage is attached to the house and often has living space above it. This is a very large, mostly unconditioned, space that can directly affect the heating / cooling costs for your home.
What is a radiant barrier? A really rough analogy is like at Thanksgiving time when you put the aluminum foil over your turkey to keep it from getting too brown. That is a radiant barrier – it reflects the heat which then will keep the covered item cooler. The same principle applies to radiant barriers for houses, just on a much larger scale. In a house, radiant barriers work by reducing heat transfer between the roof deck and the attic floor.
One really quick and easy energy saving project is to insulate your water heater tank. After heating and cooling, water heating is typically the largest energy user in the home because hot water is used for so many activities.
If your water heater was built prior to 2004 it can most likely benefit from an insulating blanket. This is a thick fiberglass blanket, secured around the tank by waterproof tape. If you don’t know when your water was built, touch it. A tank that’s warm to the touch needs additional insulation. Be sure to check the owner’s manual for your water heater. Some newer models specifically recommend that you do NOT use a heater blanket. If your manual doesn’t mention blankets (or you’ve lost the manual) and you can feel heat on the outside of the heater it can probably use a blanket.
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Sealing air leaks can save big money! Air leaks can account for 30 percent or more of a home’s heating and cooling costs. It can also cause moisture problems and allow a host of other undesirable elements (dirt, bugs, noise) into your house. By minimizing the air leaks in your house you can significantly reduce your heating and cooling costs. According to the Federal Government’s Department of Energy (DOE) it usually costs less than $200 to minimize the air leaks in an average house and the majority of the work can be performed by the homeowner. |
Annual Energy Costs for 1300 sq. ft. house
| Infiltration Rate | |||
| Atlanta | High | Low | Savings |
| Heating | $311 | $244 | $67 |
| Cooling | $196 | $178 | $18 |
Well, what can you do about it? Here are some relatively quick and easy steps.
Are you tired of having to dress in a HazMat suit to avoid being overcome with the itches? Dow has introduced a new line of insulation that finally gets rid of the itch factor. It comes in both R-13 and R-19 batt insulation form. It has the same look and the same insulating properties as traditional fiberglass insulation. They have replaced the fiberglass fibers with polyester fibers which are non-irritating. It has no formaldehyde binders, no acrylic binders and no borates, which are found in many other traditional insulation products, SAFETOUCH Fiberglass-Free Insulation is better for your family and for the environment. Despite the lack of borates, the insulation is formulated so that it does not provide a food source for mold.
