Hhee

HHEEproof.
book Page v Tuesday, August 12, 2008 1:18 PM
The Homeowners Handbook to
ENERGY
EFFICIENCY
A Guide to
BIG AND SMALL
IMPROVEMENTS
John Krigger
Chris Dorsi
HHEEproof.book Page vii Tuesday, August 12, 2008 1:18 PM
Contents
Introduction Chapter 4
Heating and Cooling First Steps
Chapter 1 Evaluate Your Homes Comfort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Developing a Plan for Your Home Basics of Comfort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Energy Consumption versus Carbon Emissions . . . . .3 Adjusting Your Thermostat Habits. . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Embodied Energy and Durability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Circulating Air for Summer Comfort . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Developing a Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Ventilating with Outdoor Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Big Versus Small Improvements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Shading Windows for Summer Comfort . . . . . . . . . 48
How to Use this Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Improving Roof Reflectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Analyzing Your Energy Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Simple Furnace Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Analyzing Your Utility Bill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Simple Air Conditioner Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Baseload versus Seasonal Consumption . . . . . . . . . . .9 The Bottom Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Home Energy Audits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Setting Goals for Your Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Chapter 5
Ten Sure-Fire Ways to Improve Landscaping
Your Homes Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Evaluate Your Landscaping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Landscaping Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Chapter 2 Climactic Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Lighting and Appliances Creating Shade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Evaluate Your Lighting and Appliances. . . . . . . . . .19 Creating Wind Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Lighting Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Planning Your Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Types of Lighting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Selecting Trees and Shrubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Outdoor Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Planting Trees and Shrubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Installing Lighting Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Tree Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Appliance Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 The Bottom Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Replacing Appliances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Chapter 6
Finding and Sealing Air Leaks
Chapter 3 Evaluate Your Homes Air Leakage . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Water Heating Air Leakage Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Evaluate Your Water-Heating Efficiency . . . . . . . . .27 Blower Door Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Water Heating Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Materials for Air-Sealing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Adjusting Your Water-Heating Habits . . . . . . . . . .28 Air-Sealing Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Simple Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 The Bottom Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Replacing Water Heaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Solar Water Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
HHEEproof.book Page viii Tuesday, August 12, 2008 1:18 PM
Chapter 7 Chapter 11
Insulation Photovoltaic Systems
Evaluate Your Homes Insulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Evaluate Your Homes PV Potential . . . . . . . . . . 143
Insulation Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 A Perspective on PV Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
How to Measure Your Insulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Photovoltaic Economics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Types of Insulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Photovoltaic Power Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Attic and Roof Insulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Solar Site Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Preparing to Install Insulation in Open Attics . . . . . 89 Costs and Benefits of Photovoltaic Systems . . . . . 150
Installing Insulation in Open Attics. . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Grid-Tied PV Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Roof Cavity Insulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Working with PV Installers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Retrofit Wall Insulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Foundation and Floor Insulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
The Bottom Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Chapter 12
Moisture Management and Ventilation
Chapter 8 Evaluate Your Homes Moisture Management
Windows and Doors and Ventilation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Evaluate Your Windows and Doors . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Moisture Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Window Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 How to Control Outdoor Moisture . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Understanding Window Ratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 How to Control Indoor Moisture . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Windows: Improve or Replace? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Ventilation Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
The Value of Storm Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Controls for Ventilation Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . 160
Window Repair and Retrofit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Installing Ventilation Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Insulating Shades and Draperies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Replacement Window Choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Window Replacement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Chapter 13
Improving the Efficiency of Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Building a New Home
The Bottom Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 New Home Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Insulation for New Homes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Chapter 9 Air-Sealing and Ventilation for New Homes . . . . 167
Cooling Systems Windows for New Homes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Evaluate Your Cooling Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Moisture Protection for New Homes . . . . . . . . . . 169
Cooling System Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Water Heating for New Homes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Professional Air-Conditioning Service. . . . . . . . . . 120 Heating and Cooling for New Homes . . . . . . . . . 170
Replacing Central Air Conditioners . . . . . . . . . . . 122 The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Room Air Conditioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Evaporative Coolers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Resources
The Bottom Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Saturn Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Organization Contacts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Chapter 10 Internet Keyword Searches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Heating Systems
Evaluate Your Heating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Index
Heating System Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Duct System Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Professional Heating System Service . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Inadequate Ducted Airflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Improving Duct Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Heating System Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Space Heaters and Zone Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Heating Systems of the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
The Bottom Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
HHEEproof.book Page 3 Tuesday, August 12, 2008 1:18 PM
Developing a Plan for

1 Your Home
We presume youre reading this book with the inten- Comparing Emissions of Various Energy
tion of improving the energy efficiency of your home. Sources
We hope to help you do that and more. Its not difficult to estimate the amount of CO 2
Improvements to your homes efficiency are among released by the natural gas, propane, or oil you con-
the best financial investments available. The projects sume in your home. Your utility bill shows you how
described here yield returns in utility cost savings that much fuel you consume. Burning that fuel releases pre-
range from five to fifty percent annually, exceeding the dictable amounts of CO2 up the chimney of your heat-
interest yielded by many traditional investments. These ing system.
economic returns will only improve as energy prices Its more difficult to evaluate the carbon emissions
increase. that result from your electricity consumption because
Most of the projects described here also offer bene- electricity is produced by a variety of methods. The
fits beyond energy efficiency. Many will increase your fuel most commonly used to generate electricity in
homes comfort, safety, and durability. And the resale North America is coal, though natural gas and fuel oil
value of efficient homes continues to climb in compar- are also used. These are burned to produce steam that
ison to homes with high utility costs. spins electric generators. The combustion of these
The best time to start improving your homes energy fuels, for both heat and electricity, accounts for the
efficiency is now. Your savings wont begin until you majority of greenhouse gas emissions that we produce.
take time to analyze your energy consumption, formu- Hydroelectric plants use falling water to generate
late your own solutions, and upgrade your home. electricity. Hydropower emits no carbon directly,
though the associated construction and maintenance
of dams, generators and transmission lines do incur a
ENERGY CONSUMPTION VERSUS
large environmental cost.
CARBON EMISSIONS Even nuclear power can be described as carbon
Your consumption of energy has an effect on the neutral, since nuclear reactors dont burn fossil fuels
planet, which varies widely depending upon the and so dont release CO2. Yet the operation of nuclear
amount and type of energy you use. The primary envi- power plants and the disposal of their waste incurs
ronmental factor we evaluate in this book is the emis- large environmental and economic costs. Carbon emis-
sion of carbon dioxide (CO2), a normal byproduct of sions are not the only way to measure the desirability
the combustion process that is released when you burn of potential energy sources.
hydrocarbon fuels such as coal, oil, or natural gas. One of the most promising ways to generate elec-
Combustion takes place within your home heating tricity today is with photovoltaic (PV) systems. You
equipment, and at the central power plants that pro- may have seen banks of PV solar panels on the roofs of
duce most of our electricity. When carbon dioxide is buildings, or even in large arrays operated by utility
released, it traps heat in the atmosphere through the companies. PV systems convert sunlight to electricity.
process called the greenhouse effect. When you But even this is not a perfect technology: PV systems
improve the efficiency of your home, you produce less are still relatively expensive and their manufacturing
carbon dioxide and other pollutants, saving money process consumes energy and incurs other environ-
and reducing your environmental impact. mental costs. Wind power and other renewable energy
4 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency
sources are also becoming a part of the mix as we required to build the manufacturing facility? Should it
develop sustainable energy systems. include the energy required to build the vehicle used to
When it comes to generating electricity, there is no transport the material? What about the energy used by
perfect solution. The improvement of existing build- housebuilders to commute to the job where the mate-
ings, to make them more efficient, still produces a bet- rial is installed?
ter economic return than the construction of almost The longevity of a material must also be considered
any type of power plant. Thats why using less energy when assessing its environmental impact. For example,
is the best way to save money and trim your carbon PVC plastic roof gutters that last for ten years or less
footprint. cannot be compared pound-for-pound to PVC plastic
plumbing that remains functional for fifty years or
more. And if a material is recycled when the building is
EMBODIED ENERGY AND DURABILITY demolishedcommon for aluminum in todays market
Your home leaves an environmental footprint beyond but not for concretethen some or its embodied
its carbon emissions from daily energy consumption. energy is reclaimed by recycling.
Two other factors carry great weight: the embodied You can minimize the embodied energy in your
energy in its materials, and the durability of the struc- home by following these general guidelines:
ture.
Build small. Its best to use less of any building
Embodied energy is the sum of energy inputs a
material. Smaller homes have less impact on the
material requires over its lifetime. Several organiza-
environment both during their construction and
tions have proposed indexes of embodied energy that
throughout their lifetimes.
allow comparison among building materials. Not
Remodel your home rather than building a new
everyone agrees on what inputs should be included in
one. Youll avoid the cost and environmental
these indexes, making comparisons difficult. But most
impact of buying an entire houseful of new mate-
such indexes account for the energy consumed in some
rials. Focus your efforts on improving the effi-
or all of these activities.
ciency of an existing building instead.
Mining or harvesting the raw materials
Choose long-lived high-quality building materi-
Shipping the raw materials to the manufacturing
als. Materials with a long lifespan have less envi-
facility
ronmental impact than those that wear out
Processing the raw materials into building prod- quickly, plus they require less maintenance.
ucts
But remember that embodied energy is only part of
Shipping the materials to the job site
the picture. Your homes operational energythe elec-
Installing the building materials
tricity, gas, and other fuels used year after year to
Performing needed maintenance over the mate- operate and maintain your homeare still your big-
rials lifetime gest concern. This is a simple matter of scale. Most
Disposing of or recycling the material when it is research that compares the embodied energy and oper-
replaced or the building is demolished ational energy of homes shows that embodied energy
accounts for only ten to twenty percent of the total
energy consumed by the building over the years. Oper-
Other considerations may affect embodied energy,
ational energy consumes the other eighty to ninety per-
making a reliable estimate difficult to calculate. For
cent. The goal of this book is to help you control that
example, should embodied energy include the energy
ongoing energy consumption.
2 Lighting and Appliances
Lighting, appliances, and water heatingthe types of EVALUATE YOUR LIGHTING

consumption we call baseloadaccount for up to two- AND APPLIANCES
thirds of the energy consumed in North American
households. If youve analyzed your utility bills as How many of your light fixtures are fitted with old-
described in Analyzing Your Utility Bill on page 8, fashioned incandescent light bulbs? Replacing incan-
youve estimated how much of your utility bill goes to descents with compact fluorescent lamps usually has a
baseload uses and how much goes to heating and cool- payback of less than two years. This is one of the best
ing. This will show you how much you can potentially investments described in this book.
save by improving the efficiency of your baseload uses. What is the wattage of the lamps installed in your
The size of your baseload varies depending on your fixtures? If you have fixtures that provide more light
climate, your home, and your habits. If you live in a than you need, you can easily install smaller lamps and
very hot or very cold climate, for example, your total save energy. This is especially true of lights that are left
utility costs will be relatively high, with your baseload on all night, such as nightlights and outdoor fixtures.
accounting for a smaller portion of those bills. If you Do you have light fixtures installed over work areas
live where both winters and summers are mild, or if that can be used instead of overhead fixtures? Task
your home has an efficient building shell with good lighting that is installed close to your work provides
insulation and air-sealing details, your total utility illumination more efficiently than ceiling fixtures. Try
costs may be low, but your baseload will account for a using task lighting without turning on overhead fix-
larger portion of your bill. tures to get the maximum benefit.
In this chapter, well show you some easy ways to Do you have light fixtures that tend to be left on
improve the efficiency of your existing lighting and when they are not needed? The easiest solution is to
appliances. In many cases, you can make improve- turn the lights off when you dont need them. But
ments that save energy right away. Well also consider lighting controls such as motion detectors and timers
upgrades to your lighting system and replacement can also reduce this consumption.
strategies for your appliances. We dedicate all of Chap- How old is your refrigerator? Does it have an
ter 3 to water heating since it is the most complicated ENERGY STAR rating? Recent technological
of the baseload uses. advances have made new refrigerators and freezers
two to three times more efficient than older models.
Does your clothes washer have an ENERGY STAR
Let ENERGY STAR Be Your Guide rating? Newer front-loading washing machines use less
hot water, cold water, electricity, and soap.
Do you use a clothesline or drying rack? You can
reduce your drying cost to zero with this simple and
effective approach.
If you have a dishwasher, does it have an ENERGY
The ENERGY STAR label has emerged as one of the best
STAR rating? Dishwashers use cold water, hot water,
ways to identify the most energy-efficient appliances available and electricity. The best new machines allow you to
in both the U.S. and Canada. trim consumption by giving you control over cycle
length, water consumption, and drying cycle.
If you have groups of appliances at a desk or enter- TYPES OF LIGHTING

tainment center, can you put them all on a control
To craft a plan for improving your lighting efficiency,
strip? Most of these appliances consume electricity
first inspect your light fixtures to see what sort of
even when they arent in use. Control strips let you
lamps you currently have installed. Your lighting
shut them off.
upgrades will likely focus on lamp replacement,
though replacing fixtures is also a good upgrade.
LIGHTING BASICS
The first step toward improving your lighting effi- Standard Incandescent Lamps
ciency is to learn how to compare various types of
Incandescent light bulbs are the oldest style of lamp.
lamps. In lighting terminology, a lamp is the tube or
They are also the least efficient, and so are increasingly
bulb that emits light. A fixture holds the lamps or
prohibited by both building codes and government
bulbs. The output of those lamps is measured in
bodies. Standard incandescent lamps have efficacies of
lumens, which we perceive as brightness.
10 to 17 lumens per watt. Incandescent lamps have the
Lighting efficiency is described by the term effi-
shortest service life of the common lighting types, last-
cacy (pronounced EFF-u-ke-see). Efficacy is the mea-
ing only 750 to 2000 hours. They are the cheapest of
sure of lumens emitted per watt of electricity
the lamps at less than $1 for most types. But they are a
consumed. A higher efficacy is better.
poor value because of their short life and poor perfor-
A 100-watt incandescent lamp that emits 1200 mance.
lumens of light has an efficacy of 12.
1200 100 = 12 Halogen Lamps

A comparable 28-watt compact fluorescent lamp Halogen lamps are a specialized type of incandescent
that emits 1200 lumens has an efficacy of 43. bulb. They are filled with halogen gas that allows them
to burn hotter and somewhat more efficiently. But they
1200 28 = 43 still run at an efficacy that is scarcely higher than stan-
dard incandescent lamps.
The compact fluorescent lamp has an efficacy more
Halogens lamps produce a whiter light than is emit-
than three times higher than the incandescent, and so
ted by standard incandescents. They are always
uses less than one-third the electricity while emitting
installed in dedicated fixtures, and are mounted under
the same amount of light. When shopping for lamps,
cabinets, as wall scones, and as ceiling fixtures.
choose those with the highest efficacy possible to save
Halogens have an efficacy of 12 to 22 lumens per
energy.
watt, and their lifespan varies from 2000 to 4000
hours.
Incandescent Light Bulb
Comparison Among Types of Lamps
Typical
Efficiency
Type of Lamp lifespan
(lumens/watt)
(hours)
Incandescent 1017 7502500
Halogen 1222 20004000
Incandescent light is produced by a white-hot coil of tungsten
wire that glows when heated by electrical current. Of all the Fluorescent tube lamp 30100 700024,000
electricity these lamps consume, 90 percent goes to producing Compact fluorescent 5070 8000-10,000
heat, and only 10 percent to producing light! lamp (CFL)
3 Water Heating
Heating water is the largest baseload use in most If you have a storage water heater, how many inches
households. In mild climates, such as California, many of built-in insulation does it have? If you have an older
families spend as much or more on water heating as water heater with only an inch or two of insulation,
they do on heating or air-conditioning. you can save energy adding an external blanket.
In this chapter, we describe how to reduce hot water Have you considered installing a solar water heater?
consumption through both simple adjustments to Solar water heaters are not inexpensive, but in many
behavior and improvements to your water-heating sys- climates they produce a good economic return.
tem. We also outline the current options for upgrading
your equipment.
WATER HEATING BASICS
Water heating systems present opportunities for effec-
EVALUATE YOUR WATER-HEATING tive conservation in three categories: demand, standby,
EFFICIENCY and distribution. Trimming each category requires a
What type of water heater do you have: a storage tank, different set of efficiency measures:
a tankless or on-demand system, or a solar system? Demand is the actual hot water used in your
Traditional storage water heaters are the least efficient shower, washing machine, dishwasher, and other
type of system, and so offer the best opportunities for fixtures. You can reduce your demand by install-
improvement. Tankless on-demand systems are more ing low-flow showerheads, upgrading appliances
efficient, and offer few opportunities for improvement. to models that use less hot water, or by simply
Solar water heating is the paradigm of efficiency. adjusting your habits to use less hot water. When
If you have either a storage or tankless system, does you conserve hot water, you save both water and
it use electricity, gas, or oil? If you have electric water the energy that would be used to heat the water.
heat, your current high cost of water heating will
Standby loss includes the heat lost through the
improve the payback of your efficiency improvements.
walls of your water heater tank. You can reduce
If you heat with gas or oil, your improvements will
standby loss by installing a water heater blanket,
have a less favorable return.
by installing a new water heater with better
What is the temperature of hot water at the taps in
built-in insulation, or by insulating the water
your home? If your water is delivered at more than
lines near your water heater tank.
120F, you can easily save money by adjusting your
Distribution loss includes the heat lost through
water heater thermostat downward.
the sides of your hot water pipes when you are
What is the flow rate of the showers in your home?
using hot water. You can reduce distribution loss
If your showers deliver more that 3 gallons per minute,
by insulating your hot water pipes.
you can save both water and the energy used to heat
water by installing low-flow high-efficiency shower- A vast majority of North American homes have
heads. storage water heaters that include an insulated tank
Are the lines between the water heater and your fix- and a gas burner or electric element. Recent improve-
tures insulated? If your hot water lines are not insu- ments in storage water heaters include better tank
lated, youre wasting many gallons of water each day. insulation and improved combustion systems.
Tankless or on-demand systems include a large gas Dont use the hot water setting on your washing
burner or electric heating element but no tank. These machine. Modern detergents work perfectly well
heat water only as you use it. They are more expensive in warm or cold water, and your clothes will last
to purchase than storage water heaters, but they use longer.
less energy since they dont incur the standby losses of Run your dishwasher with full loads. Set it to Air
storage systems. Dry to save additional electricity. Avoid pre-
Water can also be heated with solar systems that use washing dishes when loading your dishwasher.
no fuel for heating, though some systems consume a
small amount of electricity for pumps and controls.
These are the most expensive systems to install. The SIMPLE IMPROVEMENTS
economic feasibility of solar water heating systems is You can also make some inexpensive improvements to
greatest in warm climates. your water heating system that will produce a hand-
some payback. Taken together with the above changes
in habits, these improvements can help most house-
ADJUSTING YOUR WATER-HEATING
holds save a third or more of their water-heating costs.
HABITS
The quickest way to reduce your water-heating
expenses is by adjusting your habits. Some of these tips Lowering Your Hot-Water Temperature
can make a surprising difference in consumption with- One of the most effective conservation measures for
out causing much hardship. water-heating is to reduce the temperature of water in
your storage tank. Thats because many storage water
Use cold water whenever possible.
heaters are set to keep water at 140F or more, causing
Take shorter showers. Avoid running the shower
more heat to conduct through the walls of the tank
for longer than necessary before you get in.
than would occur at lower temperatures. High water
temperatures also encourage scale and corrosion to
Typical Hot Water Consumption form inside the tank, shortening its lifespan. And
extremely hot water increases the risk of someone get-
E l e c t ri c G as ting scalded.
Number of Ga llons
annual annual
residents per da y We recommend that you reduce your hot water
kWh t he rm s
temperature to about 120F. Avoid adjusting your
1 2700 180 25 thermostat lower than this, since harmful water-borne
2 3500 230 40 microbes can thrive at cooler temperatures.
Follow this procedure to adjust the temperature of
3 4900 320 50
gas water heaters:
4 5400 350 65 Measure the hot water temperature at the tap
6300 410 75 that is farthest from the water heater. The goal is
5
to get this water to approximately 120F.
6 7000 750 85
Find the thermostat on the water heaterit is
For single-family homes in the United States. Compiled from usually a round knob near the bottom of the
the Energy Information Administration, Lawrence Berkeley tank.
Laboratory, and others.
Turn the thermostat a small amount toward the
correct temperature.
Run your washing machine with full loads. If Wait a few hours for the water in the tank to sta-
you must do a small load of wash, adjust the bilize. Use your thermometer to again measure
machines water level to match the load size. the water temperature at the faucet.
Heating and Cooling

4 First Steps
The energy used by your heating and cooling systems cooling consumption substantially by using fans to
probably makes up the majority of your utility expense create a cooling breeze or to flush hot air out of the
for many months of the year. Several of the big home at night.
improvement projects described elsewhere in this If you use central air-conditioning, do you live in a
bookimproving insulation, replacing heating and dry climate? If so, you may be able to cut your cooling
cooling equipment, or upgrading doors and win- costs substantially by installing an evaporative cooler.
dowsreduce these seasonal costs. Do you have a dark-colored roof? If so, you may be
Here we describe the small steps you can take to able to trim your cooling costs by installing a light-
improve the comfort of your home without embarking colored cool roof that absorbs less heat.
on those bigger projects. In some instances, particu- Have you had your heating and/or cooling systems
larly if your heating and cooling system is relatively serviced recently? Poor maintenance can cause sub-
new, these steps may be all you need to substantially stantial deterioration in the efficiency of this equip-
reduce your seasonal energy consumption. ment.
We describe guidelines for upgrading and replacing
complete systems in Cooling Systems on page 117, and
Heating Systems on page 129. BASICS OF COMFORT
Your home should be comfortable. If its not, you will
likely adjust your thermostat to a more comfortable
EVALUATE YOUR HOMES COMFORT setting, forcing your heating or cooling system to oper-
Does the temperature of your home feel consistent in ate, and making your gas or electric meter spin faster.
winter? If you notice large temperature swings in win- Its a simple cause and effect relationship that all
ter, it may indicate that your home has insufficient begins with human comfort. Sometimes a small adjust-
insulation or excessive air leakage. ment that increases comfort can allow you to cut your
Does the temperature of your home feel consistent energy consumption substantially.
in summer? If you notice large temperature swings in Our perception of indoor comfort is primarily
summer, it may indicate that your home is subject to based upon four things: the air temperature around us,
excess solar gain through your attic or windows. air movement within the room, the radiant tempera-
Are there individual rooms in your home that are ture of our surroundings, and the humidity of the air.
too cold in winter or too hot in summer? You may be Your ability to control all of these factors in your
able to solve these room-by-room problems by home is a key to efficient heating and cooling. If one of
improving the delivery of heated or cooled air. In sum- these factors drifts beyond what is comfortable, most
mer, rooms that tend to overheat may benefit from people compensate by adjusting the thermostat to a
window-shading devices. setting that increases consumption. Your comfort
Do members of your household have regular sched- threshold is an important determinant of your utility
ules? If so, you may benefit from the installation of a costs.
clock thermostat.
If you use central air-conditioning, do you ever use
portable room fans as well? You can often trim your
What Determines Comfort? as 150F in sunny regions. That heat eventually con-
ducts down through your attic insulation and heats the
ceilings in your home. The hot ceiling radiates heat
down upon you. It is distinctly uncomfortable to sit in
a room with a 100F drywall ceiling over your head,
Radiant Temperature no matter how cool the thermometer on the wall says
Air Temperature
it is in the room. Attic insulation helps slow this flow

of heat down into your home, so your ceilings stay
ity
ent id
Air Mo
vem
Hu
m cooler.
e
tiv In winter, you are uncomfortable in a home with
la
Re
poor insulation because the walls, ceilings, and floors
are so cold. Again, the thermometer on the wall may
Your perception of comfort is made up of these four factors. say 75F, but you cant shake the chill caused if your
The thermostat for your heating or cooling system only mea- warm skin radiates heat to cold surfaces in the room.
sures temperature, but the other factors also play a large role
in your comfort. Insulation improves your comfort because it helps the
interior surfaces of the walls, ceiling, and floor stay
closer to the room temperature rather than sinking
Air Temperature towards the outdoor temperature. But unlike summer,
This most obvious factor is the one that is directly con- when attic insulation is most important, winter calls
trolled by your thermostat. In winter, you spend more for good insulation in the entire building shell. Thats
money to maintain the same indoor temperature because in winter your attic is close to the same tem-
because the greater temperature difference between perature as outdoors. If you have a crawl space under
indoors and outdoors will force more heat across the your floors, it may be cold, too, though it will be
shell of your homethrough your ceiling, walls, somewhat tempered by the ground.
floors, doors, and windowsand force your furnace Shading affects radiant temperature in summer.
to run more. In summer, the indoor-outdoor difference Good shading keeps radiant temperatures low, pro-
increases the cost of cooling. moting good comfort and low air-conditioning costs.
Taken together, shading and insulation allow for a
higher comfortable summer thermostat setting. In win-
Radiant Temperature ter, insulation is most important.
Your homes radiant temperature is almost as impor-
tant as its air temperature. Radiant temperature is the How the Sun Heats Your Home
temperature of all the objects in the room: the ceilings,
floors, and walls are of primary importance, though
the temperature of the furniture and everything else in
the room does have some effect. Your body gains or
loses heat directly across space to these objects. It is
uncomfortable to have hot objects in the room in the
summer, and equally uncomfortable to sit near cold
objects in winter. The radiant temperature of these
objects determines how fast your body gains or loses
heat from them.
The insulation level (R-value) of a house has a big Solar energy heats your home by shining on the roof, enter-
ing through the windows, and heating outdoor air that trav-
effect on its radiant temperature. In summer, for exam- els into the home through air leaks. Internal gains, such as
ple, the sun tends to heat up your attic, often to as high appliances and lighting, also release heat into your home.
5 Landscaping
Landscaping should be included in your long-term hot summer sun, while still allowing the welcome sun
plan for reducing heating and cooling costs. If your of winter to reach your home.
home is presently subject to glaring summer sun or Does the ground slope away from your home or
blustery winter winds, you could see substantial sav- toward it? You should design your landscaping to pro-
ings from a well-crafted landscape. tect your homes foundation from water.
Your plantings can also improve your privacy,
reduce street noise, and control dust. Add these bene-
fits to the beauty of mature landscaping, and its no LANDSCAPING BASICS
surprise that the presence of trees and shrubs can raise The benefits of landscaping are substantial and well-
a homes resale value by 10 to 20 percent. documented. Studies by the U.S. Department of Agri-
In this chapter, we illustrate the timeless principles culture and Department of Energy illustrate how care-
of good landscape design. We show you how to choose fully positioned trees can reduce an average
trees and bushes that will thrive in your climate, and households energy consumption by 20 to 25 percent,
the best ways to plant them. We also include mainte- saving $300 to $400 each year.
nance tips to assure that your plantings will increase in Landscaping also has important positive environ-
value over time. mental effects. Plants consume carbon dioxide and
water through photosynthesis. This carbon is stored,
or sequestered, in the plant itself and in the surround-
EVALUATE YOUR LANDSCAPING ing soils. Since carbon dioxide is a potent greenhouse
Do you have trees and shrubs already growing on your gas that contributes to climate change, improving your
property? Are they evergreen or do they shed their landscaping also reduces your carbon footprint.
leaves? What are their shapes? Your landscape plan
will have to incorporate the existing plantings around
your home. Summer Benefits
Does your home overheat in summer? Are some The shade cast by landscaping will typically reduce
rooms hotter than others? You may be able to reduce your homes summer air-conditioning costs by 15 to
your heating costs by planting trees or shrubs so they 50 percent. The savings may be up to 75 percent for
shade the hottest parts of your home. small mobile homes. The savings are the greatest in hot
Is your home located in a region where it is hot and climates and for homes with little existing shade.
windy in summer? You may be able plant hedges that You may have noticed that parks and forests are
direct cooling breezes toward your home. always cooler than nearby city streets. This is because
Is your home located in a region where it is cold and trees block sunlight before it can reach the ground,
windy in winter? You may be able to plant a wind- and their canopies of leaves release cooling water
break to shelter your home from cold winds. vapor through a process called evapotranspiration.
Where is the suns daily path over your home, and Several studies show that summer daytime air tem-
how does this path vary over the seasons? You may be peratures in neighborhoods with mature tree are 3 to
able to design plantings that shelter your home from 6F lower than in newly developed areas with no trees,
and that large urban parks are up to 7F cooler than Winter Benefits
surrounding neighborhoods.
Landscaping can also reduce your energy costs in cold
Planting trees may be ten times more cost-effective
weather. Landscaping that creates a windbreak can
than building new electrical generating plants to meet
reduce your winter heating bills by up to one-third.
summer cooling demands. A 1992 study by the
Moving air carries heat much more quickly than
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory estimated that building
still air. Wind blowing on your home will cool its exte-
new power plants to meet electrical peak loads (such
rior surfaces, causing heat inside the home to conduct
as those caused by air conditioners running on sum-
through the walls and other surfaces more quickly.
mer afternoons) cost an average of 10 cents per kilo-
Wind will also work its way through cracks and other
watt-hour. The study showed that decreasing peak-
openings in the homes shell, causing drafts and driv-
load consumption by planting trees cost only 1 cent
ing up heating costs.
per kilowatt-hour. The numbers may have doubled
Owners of rural homes have long recognized this
since then, but the 10-to-1 ratio is still accurate.
principle when designing shelter breaks around their
The effectiveness of landscaping in reducing the cost
buildings. One study conducted in South Dakota
of cooling your home will depend on several factors:
found windbreaks to the north, west, and east of
The temperature of your summer weather. houses cut fuel consumption by an average of 40 per-
The color and reflectivity of your roof and walls. cent. With a smaller windbreak on only the windward
side, the houses still consumed 25 percent less fuel
The number and size of windows on the sunny
than similar unprotected homes. An Oklahoma study
sides of your home.
found that a tall evergreen hedge on the north side of a
The amount of insulation in your attic.
house reduced that households fuel consumption by
If your home is located in a hot part of the world, 10 percent during lighter winds and more than 30 per-
and has large south-facing windows and a dark- cent during high winds.
colored roof, youll have the greatest need for summer The effectiveness of landscaping in reducing the cost
shading. If you live in the North and you rarely need of heating your home will depend on these factors:
air-conditioning, the shade cast by your plantings will
The coldness of your winter weather
be less significant.
The draftiness of your home
The windiness of your site
Summer Landscaping Design
Winter Landscaping Design
wind is sun heats

deflected by south side
shelter-break of home
Plant tall deciduous trees 5 to 15 feet away from the south-

facing side of your home to block solar heat from high in the Design your landscaping to create an energy-saving microcli-
summer sky. Plant wide trees 10 to 30 feet away from the mate around your home. To get the full benefit of solar heat-
homes west side to block low-angle solar heat during hot ing, design your landscaping to allow full access to winter
summer afternoons. sun.
Finding and Sealing Air

6 Leaks
Air leaks in the walls, ceilings, and floors of your AIR LEAKAGE BASICS
home can waste up to 30 percent of the energy con-
Every home has some drafts. Its just the nature of
sumed by your heating and cooling equipment. Holes
building construction that gaps and holes will be left in
and gaps in your homes shell also allow moisture,
the walls, ceilings, floors, doors, and windows where
insects, dust, and pollutants to enter your home. Seal-
outdoor air can make its way into the home and
ing air leaks reduces this energy loss and helps keep
indoor air can escape to outdoors. During mild
these environmental contaminants under control. A
weather, air leakage through these openings is harm-
properly sealed home is also more comfortable.
lesson any day when you might open a door or win-
In this chapter well show you how to evaluate the
dow for ventilation, air leakage through the building
air leakage between your home and the outdoors.
shell incurs no energy penalty. But air leakage is costly
Well describe some simple projects so you can get
and uncomfortable when you are running your heating
started on reducing you homes air leakage right away,
or cooling system. During these times, any air leaking
and well identify some big projects that are best left to
through your homes shell is carrying valuable energy
professionals. Taken together, these air-sealing tasks
with it. Air-sealing controls this expensive loss.
can reduce your utility consumption by several hun-
Your home will ideally be surrounded by a continu-
dred dollars a year. The improved comfort and cleanli-
ous layer of insulation that has a continuous air bar-
ness of your home will be an added benefit.
rier installed immediately adjacent to it. This air
barrier may be the drywall, exterior sheathing such as
EVALUATE YOUR HOMES AIR plywood, or building paper that is properly sealed at
its seams. In retrofit work you will probably need to
LEAKAGE
seal air leaks at some combination of these locations.
Do you notice drafts in your home? Drafts indicate For example, you might seal the drywall by caulking
that air is moving through your homes shell. This air around recessed light fixtures, and seal the sheathing
leakage is expensive. It carries heated air out of your and building paper when installing new windows or
home in winter, and carries cool air out in summer. doors.
If you live in a cold dry climate, do you notice a lot In some climates, infiltrating air also carries un-
of static electricity in the winter? Excess air leakage in wanted moisture. In hot and humid climates, your air
these climates tends to dry out your home and encour- conditioner works hard to remove moisture from your
age the production of static electricity. home. When moist outdoor air gets into your home,
Do you hear a lot of outdoor noise when inside your cooling system must work overtime, at extra
your home? Cracks and holes in your homes shell expense, to remove this moisture. In cold climates,
allow both outdoor air and sound to pass into your moist outdoor air can condense in your walls and attic
home. Well-sealed homes are quieter. in winter and cause moisture damage. Air-sealing
allows you to control where the heat and moisture go
in your home.
You may notice air leaks in the form of wintertime
drafts. A drafty home is never comfortable, because
moving air always feels cool. With proper air-sealing,
you can set your thermostat lower and save on your Sealing Air Leaks in Your Attic
heating bills without sacrificing comfort.
A well-sealed home is quieter inside. This side effect
of air-sealing often surprises homeowners after they
finish performing major air-sealing work. In areas near chimneys
airports where residents tire of the sound of aircraft,
noise abatement programs always include home air-
sealing.
The Driving Forces of Air Leakage recessed light fixtures

plumbing stacks
Air moves through openings in your buildings shell.
Air leakage is driven by pressure differences between
indoors and outdoors. Ideally there should be little or
no pressure difference between indoors and outdoors. Attics contain a variety of air leaks that draw conditioned air
Several things cause pressure differences between the out of your home. These leaks should be sealed to reduce
heat loss and prevent moisture damage.
indoors and outdoors.
Wind creates pressure and suction on different sides
of the home. You perceive this as drafts on a windy What Drives Air Movement
day.
Stack effect takes place when warm air rises toward
furnace chimney
your ceilings and dense cold air sinks to the floors.
warm air rises creates suction
This drives air leakage during cold weather more than
it does when its warm outside. When leaks are driven
Exfiltration
by the stack effect, you tend to notice them low on the
ground floor. You dont usually notice air leaks higher Neutral Pressure Plane
in your home, where warm air exits, unless you go up

into your attic and feel warm air emerging from Exhaust Air
around recessed light fixtures and through cracks in
the ceiling. But these high leaks in the shell are impor-
tant because they drive air leakage elsewhere in your
dryer
home. A draft coming under your front door is driven, draws air
in part, by airflow up into your attic. from room
Exhaust appliances such as exhaust fans, conven- Infiltration
tional furnaces, fireplace chimneys, and clothes dryers

all depressurize the home. These mechanical influences cold air enters low, driven by stack effect
can also compete with one another. This is a potential
concern when open-combustion furnaces or water
Air is driven through your home by several sources of pres-
heaters are installed that could be prone to backdraft- sure. The goal of air-sealing is to reduce air movement
ing, since this can spill carbon monoxide and other through the shell, while allowing your appliances and heat-
gases into your home. To learn more about the poten- ing equipment the airflow they require.
tial hazards of backdrafting, see Combustion Safety on
page 130.
7 Insulation
The comfort and energy efficiency of your home are or 70F hotter than your homes living space. Its
more dependent on insulation than any other compo- worth installing lots of attic insulation to slow the
nent. Without sufficient insulation, many tasks we rec- flow of heat into your home. Wall insulation is impor-
ommend for trimming heating and cooling loads are tant during hot summers, too, but its not as critical
less effective. When you install more insulation, your since the temperature difference between the two sides
heating and cooling equipment runs less and your util- of the wall on a hot day may be only 30F.
ity bills are lower. In cold climates, wall insulation is just as valuable
In this chapter, we show you why properly installed as attic insulation. This benefit is again driven by tem-
insulation is the best way to reduce heating and cool- perature difference. When the outdoor temperature is
ing costs. We also describe how to install insulation so 0F, the temperature difference across your homes
it is effective and long-lived, and which types of insula- walls is 70F. You want all the wall insulation you can
tion work best for each application. get. Floor and foundation insulation are more cost-
effective in cold climates, too.
But these comparisons must be taken in perspective.
EVALUATE YOUR HOMES So we make one simple recommendation with com-
INSULATION plete certainty. Install the maximum amount of insula-
How thick is the insulation in your attic? Your attic tion possible in your homes walls, ceilings, and floors.
insulation should be your first line of defense against
energy waste whether you live in a hot or cold climate.
The Meaning of R-Value
Thicker insulation is better.
How thick is the insulation in your walls? Whatever Insulation is rated by R-value, which is a measure of
the thickness of your walls, they should be full of insu- thermal resistance, or resistance to heat flow. Each
lation in every climate. type of insulation has a particular R-value for an inch
Do you have insulation under your floors or around of thickness. Hence a 6-inch fiberglass blanket may be
your foundation? Floor and foundation insulation is valued at R-19, or about R-3 per inch, while a 6-inch
mandatory for efficient homes in cold climates, and a sheet of polystyrene foam board has a value of R-30,
worthwhile addition to super-efficient homes in warm or about R-5 per inch. Foam board is a better insulator
climates. than fiberglass, inch for inch. But that doesnt mean
that foam board is always a preferable material.
We often use fiberglass and cellulose loose-fill insu-
INSULATION BASICS lation in attics, for example, because we have enough
Attic and wall insulation are the best energy invest- room there to install 16 to 24 inches of insulation. The
ments for many homes. In hot climates, attic insulation lower R-value of these materials is not an issue when
gains importance because of the high temperatures there is plenty of space. Fiberglass and cellulose are
attics reach in summer. The greater the temperature inexpensive, relatively nontoxic, and easy to install.
difference between outdoors and indoors, the more When choosing insulation, we consider the R-value per
you need effective insulation. If you live in a climate inch, the overall cost, the ease of installation, and
with hot summers, your attic may be 150F in summer, other factors.
Typical R-Values Versus Recommended R-Values How Much Insulation Is Enough?

Bsmt. Most of our homes have too little insulation. This has
Type of home Attic Walls Floor
walls happened because energy prices have been low for
Typical existing older 15 9 2 0 many years, allowing our building codes to neglect
home energy conservation. Some of our homes have ade-
Recommended in cold 50 30 30 20 quate attic insulation, because it is fairly inexpensive
climate to install. But our walls, floors, and foundations are
Recommended in moder- 50 21 30 12 often the weakest energy detail in our homes.
ate climate We recommend that you make a substantial invest-
Recommended in warm 50 21 19 12 ment in improving your homes insulation. Your attic
climate
should be insulated to at least R-50. Your wall cavities
The ideal home with 60 40 40 40 should be completely filledwhich isnt always the
super-insulated details
case in homes more than a few decades oldand con-
R-values represent the whole-wall R-value, and account for
the thermal resistance of the entire building assembly, includ-
sider adding two to four inches of foam insulation to
ing framing. the outside of your exterior walls. In cold climates,
your foundation or floor should be insulated to at least
R-30. The total cost of these projects will range from
Thermal Bridging $2000 to $10,000, and the payback will range from 5
The R-value of the insulation itself doesnt describe the to 15 years. Fortunately, you neednt commit to a com-
overall thermal resistance of an assembly such as a plete insulation retrofitevery project you complete
wall or ceiling. The R-value for a wall accounts for will improve your homes efficiency. You can learn
both the insulated areas and the areas occupied by more about all these procedures later in this chapter.
framing lumber. Since lumber has a relatively poor R- The table shown here lists the R-values that we rec-
value per inch, the overall R-value of the assembly is ommend for existing homes.
lower than the R-value of the insulation itself. This
overall measurement is known as the whole-wall R-
HOW TO MEASURE YOUR
value.
The whole-wall R-value of a building assembly can
INSULATION
be considerably lower than the R-value of the insula- To complete this inspection, youll need a flashlight, a
tion itself. In typical frame walls, for example, lumber screwdriver, a tape measure, and pencil and paper. You
occupies 15 to 25 percent of the surface area. Because may need a ladder.
wood has an insulating value of only about R-1 per Start by walking around your home and identifying
inch, these framed areas create thermal bridges in the all the parts of the building that could have different
insulated wall. The interior wall areas over the framing insulation details. New additions, for example, often
are cold in winter and hot in summer because heat have a framing structure that allows more insulation
conducts through wood more rapidly than through the than in the original building. Your home will have, at
insulated space between the framing. If metal framing minimum, different insulation details at the walls, ceil-
is used, the reduction in whole-wall-R-value is even ing, and floor, and it could have several different
greater. details for each. Create a list to keep track of your
For a wall with a common two-by-four wood frame findings.
and R-11 31/2 -inch fiberglass insulation, the whole-
wall R-value will be R-9 to R-10. For a similar two-by-
six wall with 51/2 -inch fiberglass insulation, the whole- Inspecting Open Attics
wall R-value will be R-11 to R-13. If your home has a pitched roof and an open attic,
youll need to find the hatch. It may be outdoors, in a
8 Windows and Doors
We all want to have ample windows in our homes. Do have you heavy blinds or drapes that can be
Windows provide light, ventilation, fire escape, and a drawn in cold weather? Insulated window coverings
view. Yet they create a weak link in your homes ther- can cut the heat loss through your windows by half or
mal boundary, because they cant be insulated as well more. Light curtains, mini-blinds, and roller shades are
as the walls in which they are installed. Windows also less effective.
allow some air leakage into your home. Do you have some way to keep the sun off your
Fortunately, you can have plenty of windows and windows in summer? If your home overheats during
still have an efficient home. You just need to choose hot weather, you can trim the cost of air-conditioning
the right types and install them properly. And your substantially by shading your windows with curtains,
existing windows may be better than you think. Win- roller shades, awnings, or trees.
dow replacement is not the only answer to window Do your doors allow drafts into your home? You
inefficiency. may be able to slow air leakage by simply installing
In this chapter, we show you how to evaluate the high-quality weatherstripping. If you choose to replace
energy performance of your existing windows and an existing door, you should upgrade to an insulated
decide whether to improve them or replace them. If unit. If you have a sliding glass door, consider replac-
you choose to replace them, we show how to decide ing it with a hinged unit that has insulated glass.
which windows are best for your home. We also Do you plan to replace the siding on your home in
include important installation details to assure that the near future? The cost of installing windows will be
your new windows perform as well as possible. less if you are already replacing the siding on your
At the end of the chapter we show how to weather- home. Youll also have the opportunity to perform an
strip doors to slow air leakage, and how to choose integrated super-insulation retrofit that includes addi-
doors for replacement. tional insulation under your siding.
EVALUATE YOUR WINDOWS AND WINDOW BASICS

DOORS The average home has twenty to thirty windows, total-
Do you have at least two panes of glass on all your ing some 12 to 25 percent of the wall area. Since even
windows? Windows are always the weakest point in the most advanced windows have an R-value of
your homes thermal boundary. If you have single-pane between R-3 and R-6, windows are by far the weakest
windows, you can cut your window energy loss in half link in your homes thermal boundary. It is for this rea-
by installing either storm windows or insulated dou- son that window improvement is so worthwhile.
ble-pane glass. During winter, windows probably account for 15 to
Are your windows watertight at the exterior? The 40 percent of the heat loss from your home. In sum-
cost of window replacement is often difficult to justify mer, windows allow the sun to overheat your home,
based solely upon energy savings. But if they are in and can be responsible for up to 75 percent of the heat
such poor condition that water leaks into your home, gain on hot days. Efficient windows can slow this heat
replacement or repair should be a top priority in order flow and reduce your heating and cooling costs.
to protect your home from water damage.
Window Terminology Types of Window Operation

Youll find it helpful to understand the terminology as Double-hung windows are the oldest window design
you do research and make decisions about your still in use. They include two sashes that slide vertically
homes windows: past one another. Single-hung windows are similar,
with a fixed sash at the top. Horizontal sliders usually
Glass assemblyOne or more glass panes with
include one sliding sash and one fixed sash. Hinged
spacers and/or gaskets.
windows include casements, which are hinged on the
SashFrames the glass assembly. Sashes are
side, and awning windows which are hinged on the
often openable for ventilation and fire escape.
top. Casement windows tend to have the lowest infil-
Sashes can also be fixed so they dont open.
tration rates of all opening windows because their
FrameSurrounds the sash and attaches to the hinged swing compresses the weatherstrip most effec-
building. tively when closed. They also have an advantage in hot
Rough openingStructural framing of the build- climates because they tend to direct breezes into the
ing to which the window frame is attached. home when open.
SillLowermost horizontal surface at the base Fixed windows dont open. Though you wouldnt
of the window. want them throughout your home, they do have the
JambTrim that wraps the sides and top of the advantage of lower cost (no mechanism needed) and
window. low infiltration rates (they are permanently sealed).
Types of Window Operation Insulated Glass Unit
choose low-e glass coatings
ss
gla
choose argon
gas filling
between the
double-hung casement panes er ss
ac gla
sp
sea
choose a warm-edge spacerlant
awning fixed
Insulated glass units create a dead-air space between the
The operation of windows varies by having either fixed or panes. The efficiency of insulated glass units varies widely
moveable sashes, and by the location of hinges. depending on the features included.
9 Cooling Systems
The cost of running an air conditioner can be exorbi- frequency of professional service visits by performing
tant, accounting for the largest electrical expense for this simple do-it-yourself maintenance task.
many households in hot regions. The U.S. Environ- Is your home a consistent temperature when your
mental Protection Agency estimates that one-seventh air conditioner is running? If the temperature in your
of all electricity generated in the U.S. is used to air- home swings widely when your cooling system is run-
condition buildings. Its a huge burden on all of us. ning, it may indicate that the system is oversized, or
The good news is that you can reduce or eliminate has other problems that can be solved with a service
your use of air-conditioning by implementing the alter- call.
nate low-energy cooling methods described here. And If you have a room air conditioner, do you ever use
you can do so with little reduction in your comfort. it in place of central air conditioning? Room air condi-
If you dont already use air-conditioning, the low- tioners are considerably cheaper to operate than cen-
energy cooling methods we describe can keep you tral systems because they cool only selected areas of
comfortable without having to resort to using an air your home. If you can run a room air conditioner or
conditioner. Low-energy cooling is particularly impor- two, rather than your central system, youll reap big
tant if you live in an area that is experiencing increas- savings.
ingly hot summer weather. If you live in a hot and dry region, do you use an
If you do use air-conditioning, the low-energy cool- evaporative cooler? Evaporative coolers (swamp cool-
ing methods we describe are still relevant. If you ers) provide sufficient summer comfort where summer
improve your homes efficiency, your air-conditioner humidity is low. They are a very effective substitute for
will run less in summer, and you may be able to air-conditioning at about one-third the electrical cost.
shorten your air-conditioning season by a few weeks in
spring and fall.
We also show you how to perform maintenance on COOLING SYSTEM BASICS
your air-conditioning equipment that will improve its Cooling is the most variable type of energy consump-
performance, and we describe the most important tion. Two similar homes in the same neighborhood can
guidelines for installing new air conditioners. vary widely in cooling costs, with an inefficient air-
conditioned home consuming $500 worth of electricity
in a hot month, while a neighbor in a well-designed
EVALUATE YOUR COOLING home might spend only $20 per month to operate
EFFICIENCY room fans and an evaporative cooler.
If you use a central air conditioner, has it been profes- Air-conditioning systems are expensive and environ-
sionally serviced in the last year? No home energy sys- mentally destructive to operate. The environmental
tem is more prone to poor efficiency than air problem is that everyone who has an air conditioner
conditioners that go without professional mainte- needs it at precisely the same time, creating a summer
nance. peak load for utilities. This peak is the driving force
If you use a central air conditioner, have you for the construction of new power plants.
cleaned the filters in the last year? You can reduce the Fortunately, we have proven low-cost cooling strat-
egies that can trim home cooling costs substantially:
Install and use window shading when possible to How Air Conditioners Work
minimize solar heat gain. See Shading Windows
Air conditioners employ the same principles as your
for Summer Comfort on page 48.
home refrigerator. An air conditioner cools your home
Install the maximum amount of attic insulation. with a cold indoor coil, called the evaporator. A hot
See Attic and Roof Insulation on page 88. outdoor coil, called the condenser, releases the col-
Install a reflective cool roof, or cool-roof coat- lected heat outdoors. The evaporator and condenser
ing. See Improving Roof Reflectivity on page 51. coils are actually serpentine copper pipes surrounded
Run indoor fans in occupied rooms to create a by aluminum fins, similar to a car radiator. Fans move
wind chill. See Circulating Air for Summer Com- air through these coils.
fort on page 44. A fluid, called the refrigerant, collects heat at the
Run ventilation fans at night to remove accumu- evaporator coil and releases it at the condenser coil.
lated solar heat (if the air isnt too humid). See The compressor forces the refrigerant through the cir-
Ventilating with Outdoor Air on page 45. cuit of coils and pipes.
Install an evaporative cooler if you live in a dry
climate. See Evaporative Coolers on page 125. Air Conditioner Operating Principles
Many of the measures described in this book will
reduce your reliance on air conditioning. But if you do
The evaporator and con-
need to use your air conditioner, youll save money by denser coils of your air
assuring that it is properly installed and maintained. conditioner are made of
serpentine copper tubing
surrounded by aluminum
Air-Conditioning Creates an Electric Peak Load fins that exchange heat
with the air passing
through them.
500
450
Dollars Per Megawatt-Hour
400
The Summer Peak
350
300
250 condenser evaporator
compressor
200
150
100
50 heated cooled
outdoor air expansion valve
0 indoor air
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Hours of the Day
Refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator, absorbing heat

The summer electric peak load is driven primarily by air- from the metal tubes, fins, and passing air. The compressor
conditioning systems that run on hot afternoons. Note how compresses the refrigerant, preparing it to condense within
the cost of electricity rises with daily demand. Providing this the condenser, where the refrigerants latent heat is trans-
most expensive electricity incurs great economic and envi- ferred to the condensers tubes and fins and then to the
ronmental burdens. outdoor air passing through.
10 Heating Systems
The cost of heating is the biggest single utility expense equipment and ducts are covered in this chapter. We
for many families. Heating your home has a large envi- also describe the basic principles and common designs
ronmental impact, too. If you heat with natural gas, of heating equipment here, as well as the most impor-
propane, or oil, your chimney probably emits 10,000 tant details for new installations.
to 20,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, in addition to
other pollutants, each year. Most homeowners can
trim this by 10 to 50 percent through a combination of EVALUATE YOUR HEATING SYSTEM
maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. Have you had your heating system serviced recently?
If you heat with electricity, your emissions are prob- You should have a professional heating technician per-
ably two to three times greater than they would be form periodic maintenance on your heating system to
with gas or oil. Even though electric heat releases no assure that it operates safely and at peak efficiency.
emissions at the point of use, the electricity you use is You may also want to learn how to perform the sim-
most likely linked to the operation of a very inefficient plest maintenance tasks yourself.
power plant in a distant location. Do you ever notice peculiar odors near your water
Most single-family homes in North America are heater or heating system? If so, you should investigate
heated by central combustion heating systems that this right away since these systems can sometimes spill
burn natural gas, propane, or oil. Most of these central dangerous combustion gases into the home.
systems are furnaces that distribute heat through duct- If you have a furnace, what is the condition of its
work that connects to rooms within the home. Com- ductwork? Energy loss in your ductwork may account
bustion space heaters, on the other hand, are installed for up to 40 percent of your heating expense, espe-
directly in the room and have no ductwork. Boilers cially if it runs through an attic or crawl space. This
that distribute heat by way of circulating water and can be reduced by sealing and insulating your duct sys-
other fluids are common in some regions. A few homes tem.
are heated by electric resistance heaters, including both Do you have plans to do any major remodel work
furnaces and room heaters, which are also covered on your home? If so, youll have an opportunity to
here. improve the shell of your home. If you first install
The remaining common heating system is the elec- more insulation, seal air leaks, and improve your
tric heat pump. See Cooling System Basics on doors and windows, youll be able to install a smaller
page 117 for information on heat pumps, since a heat and more efficient heating system.
pump is essentially a reversible air conditioner. How old is your heating system? What is its effi-
You can trim your use of energy for heating in two ciency? Older furnaces and boilers operate at 60 to 70
principle ways. The first is to improve the shell of your percent efficiency, with the remaining 30 to 40 percent
home so it loses less heat during cold weather. You can of the energy you purchase going up the chimney. If
do this by performing air-sealing tasks or by improv- your home is heated by one of these systems, you can
ing your homes insulation. See Air Leakage Basics reduce your consumption substantially by upgrading
on page 71, and Insulation Basics on page 81. The sec- to a system that operates at 90 percent efficiency or
ond way to trim heating consumption is by upgrading higher.
the efficiency of your heating equipment itself, or by
improving the delivery system, such as the ducts. Both
HEATING SYSTEM BASICS Combustion Safety

In both gas and oil heaters, burners mix and burn fuel Combustion fuels are primarily hydrocarbonsmole-
in combustion chambers. The heat exchanger sur- cules composed of hydrogen and carbon. The process
rounds the combustion chamber, and transfers heat of combustion, or burning, is simply rapid oxidation:
from the flame and combustion gases to a heating fluid oxygen combines with the carbon and hydrogen, split-
such as air, water, or steam. Combustion gases leave ting the hydrocarbon molecule. Carbon dioxide (CO2)
the combustion chamber and enter a chimney. Chim- and water vapor are the main products of this heat-
neys are made of metal, masonry, or other noncom- liberating chemical reaction. Carbon monoxide (CO),
bustible material. a poisonous gas produced by incomplete combustion,
The efficiency of a combustion heater depends on can also be produced if the equipment isnt operating
the losses of heat up the chimney, losses at the begin- properly.
ning and end of each burn cycle, and losses through If your home has combustion heating equipment
the cabinet of the heater itself. The sum of these losses such as a furnace, boiler, or water heater, youll want
is reflected in the annual fuel utilization efficiency to know that the chimney system operates effectively
(AFUE), a description of the percentage of available to carry these flue gases out of your home. When you
heat actually delivered to the distribution system. The next have a technician perform service of your heating
AFUE is always included on the yellow Energy Guide equipment, ask them to confirm that the chimney sys-
label which is included by law on all new heating tems for all your combustion appliances are function-
equipment. ing properly.
When comparing the AFUE ratings of heating You should also perform an occasional personal
equipment, higher is better. Older open-combustion inspection of your heating equipment. There should be
heating equipment has an AFUE of 55 to 75 percent. no signs of soot or scorching, and you shouldnt notice
The best modern sealed-combustion heating equip- any odd odors. Call your service technician or power
ment, which we recommend for all replacements, can company if you have any concerns.
achieve an AFUE of 90 to 95 percent. If you replace an Gas kitchen stoves present a unique air quality
older AFUE 60 furnace with a new AFUE 90 furnace, problem since they dont usually have chimneys, and
it will reduce your fuel consumption by one-third. so release all their combustion by-products into the
kitchen. The best solution to this low-level pollution is
Whats Included in AFUE and Other Types of Efficiency
Types of Efficiency
%
1
Unburned Fuel: Los

3%
ses
1-
Sensible Heat:
2%
Burn Latent Heat: 2 - 1

%
Excess Heat: 5 - 3 0
%
Efciency
-15
7
Off-Cycle / Load-Matching:
%
35
-
SSE Distribution Losses: 5
AFUE
Seasonal
Efciency Heat delivered to Home: 4085%
Some of the heat contained in the fuel you purchase never reaches your living space as useful heat. The annual fuel utilization effi-
ciency (AFUE) listed on the yellow Energy Guide label accounts for combustion efficiency, cycling losses, and jacket losses. Distri-
bution losses, which are not included on the Energy Guide, include duct leakage.
11 Photovoltaic Systems
Photovoltaic systems produce electricity from sunlight. energy than can be provided by economically sized
This electricity can be used to operate the lights, appli- photovoltaic systems. If you have an electrically heated
ances, and electronics in your home that normally con- home, a better investment would be in switching your
sume electricity from the power grid. Photovoltaic heat source from electricity to natural gas or solar
(PV) systems have been used in homes and business for thermal heat.
years, but are enjoying a resurgence in popularity due Does your combustion heating system operate at 90
to technical advances in equipment, financial incen- percent efficiency or higher? If your home is heated by
tives, and increasing utility costs. an older low-efficiency furnace or boiler, you should
Photovoltaic systems embody two important char- invest in its upgrade before installing a photovoltaic
acteristics: distributed generation and renewable system.
energy. Distributed generation systems are located Have you trimmed your annual electrical consump-
closer to the end user, and so incur fewer transmission tion to 2500 kilowatt-hours per person or less? Your
losses than centralized power plants. Distributed sys- investment in baseload conservation measures that
tems are also less subject to system-wide outages than reduce your electrical consumption will pay off by
central systems. Renewable energy sources such as allowing you to install a smaller photovoltaic system.
photovoltaic power utilize unlimited sources of energy Does your homesite receive sunlight for most of the
rather than finite fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. day? Not every homesite is appropriate for the instal-
Renewable energy sources are less subject to price fluc- lation of a photovoltaic system. To get the best pro-
tuations than non-renewables, and they also have a duction from photovoltaics, you should have mostly
smaller environmental impact. un-obstructed access to the sun from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
In this chapter we show how to evaluate your site Does your utility company or local government
for solar power, an analysis that will apply to both PV offer incentives for installing photovoltaic systems?
and solar hot water systems. We also explain how pho- Financial incentives that total up to half the cost of
tovoltaic systems work and analyze the economics of typical photovoltaic systems are available in many
installing PV systems. areas. These make the economics of photovoltaic
power very attractive.
EVALUATE YOUR HOMES PV

POTENTIAL A PERSPECTIVE ON PV SYSTEMS
Have you improved the insulation in your home to the Since photovoltaic systems are relatively expensive and
maximum possible extent? Your best conservation have a long payback of ten to thirty years, you should
investment is to improve the thermal efficiency of your always spend your first home improvement dollars on
home. Invest in insulation and other shell improve- simple conservation measures. These might include
ments that have a short payback before making a long- installing compact fluorescent lamps, upgrading the
term investment in photovoltaics. insulation in your attic, sealing air leaks, or replacing
Do you have a heating system that is powered by older inefficient appliances. These measures will
combustion fuels such as gas or oil rather then electric- reduce your electric load at a lower cost than installing
ity? Electrically heated homes require more electrical a PV system, and some of them will also improve the
comfort of your home. Once youve reduced your elec- But many consumers who are located within the
trical load as much as possible with these basic service territory of an electric utility still invest in PV
improvements, it makes sense to consider a long-term power. In these cases, the PV system is often connected
investment in a PV system. to the electric grid. These grid-tied systems feed excess
For families or business owners who want to reduce PV power into the grid when the systems production
their environmental impact, PV power can be an is greater than occupants consumption, as during
important component of a personal energy plan. The sunny weather. They draw power from the grid when
average family in the U.S. today consumes about the systems production is less than the consumption,
11,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year, such as at night and during cloudy weather.
though many get by comfortably on less than 5000 Grid-tied systems are usually net-metered, with elec-
kWh. A modestly sized PV system can produce 2000 tric meters that record electricity going both into and
to 3000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, eliminat- out of the home. Many utility companies offer net
ing carbon dioxide emissions equal to driving about metering agreements that compensate owners of quali-
10,000 miles in a typical automobile. Every PV system fied PV systems for power that is fed back into the
we install brings us closer to a sustainable energy electric grid.
future by reducing our dependence on both domestic
and foreign nonrenewable sources of energy.
Some homeowners install photovoltaic (PV) systems PHOTOVOLTAIC ECONOMICS
because their buildings are located in remote areas Photovoltaic systems require a substantial economic
beyond the reach of power lines. In these off-grid investment, with the typical systems costing $15,000
applications, the PV system may include batteries or a to $30,000 before any incentives are applied. Over the
generator to provide electricity when the sun isnt shin- life of the system, youll pay about 25 cents per kilo-
ing. One advantage of these off-grid PV systems is that watt-hour of electricity produced, compared to about
they allow property owners to avoid the cost of 10 to 20 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity cur-
extending electric lines to their site. rently purchased from North American utility compa-
nies. But as the cost of retail electricity increases, the
financial return on photovoltaic systems will improve.
Photovoltaic System Components
Fortunately, there are some incentives available for
the installation of PV systems. Several utility compa-
electrical grid nies offer grants to cover up to 50 percent of the cost
photovoltaic of residential and/or commercial renewable energy sys-
array tems. The Internal Revenue Service provides income
tax credits for some PV installations, and many state
governments and utility companies offer similar
inducements. These incentives help bring the cost of
your lights PV systems within the reach of many building owners.
and
appliances And the financial viability of your PV system will
elec improve in the future as electric costs inevitably
t
pan rical
el increase.
inve
rter
Most photovoltaic systems include these basic components.

This system is tied into the local electrical grid.
Moisture Management
12 and Ventilation
Your home should be a healthy and safe place to live. Does your home have any plumbing or roof leaks?
Over the course of a lifetime, most of us spend more These sources of moisture are easy to control. Give
time in our homes than anywhere else. Your well-being roof and plumbing repair your highest priority.
will depend in part on how you manage your home Does your home have odors and high relative
environment. humidity? Your home may be fairly airtight and may
When excess moisture accumulates in your home, it need a whole-house ventilation system to provide good
can cause health problems, deteriorate building mate- indoor air quality.
rials, and increase your energy consumption. The man-
agement techniques we describe in the first part of this
chapter can help you keep moisture under control. MOISTURE BASICS
Most homes are ventilated by air leakage, with help Excess moisture is a problem in many modern homes.
from kitchen and bath exhaust fans. But air leakage Airborne water vapor isnt a problem by itself. But
isnt a reliable or efficient way to control moisture in when the water vapor condenses to liquid water, this
your home since it provides excessive ventilation dur- condensation can cause a number of problems.
ing severe weather and inadequate ventilation during Wet homes are not healthy. Excess moisture
mild weather. The best way to maintain good indoor encourages the growth of mold, mildew, fungus,
air quality is with a whole-house ventilation system and other biological contaminants. These bio-
that provides fresh air when and where its needed. We contaminants thrive in warm, dark, moist envi-
describe ventilation systems in the second part of this ronments such as building cavities. Bio-
chapter. contaminants are responsible for a range of
human health problems such as allergies and
asthma. Many people have strong responses to
EVALUATE YOUR HOMES MOISTURE
these organisms, with effects ranging from
MANAGEMENT AND VENTILATION annoying sniffles to dangerous asthmatic
Do you have problems with mold or mildew in your attacks.
home? You can often control these problems by man- Wet homes are not durable. Wet building materi-
aging moisture in and around your home. als may support termites, carpenter ants, and
Do you have exhaust fans installed in your kitchen other insects. Water rusts metal building compo-
and bathrooms? Exhaust fans are an important first nents, leaches cement out of masonry walls, and
line of defense against moisture and odors in the damages building materials if it freezes in cold
home. They become even more important as you weather. Your home will last longer if it is dry.
improve the efficiency and airtightness of your home. Excess moisture increases energy consumption.
Does your home have a dirt-floored crawl space or When moisture condenses in your homes insula-
basement? The ground under your home is often the tion, heat can travel through the insulation more
largest source of moisture in your home. easily. And both heating systems and cooling sys-
Does runoff from rain or snowmelt ever puddle tems use extra energy when they must dry out
against your homes foundation? This water can seep your home. During the heating season, the air
into your home and cause moisture problems. that is warmed by your furnace causes excess
moisture in your home to evaporate, cooling the All homes contain condensing surfaces that are hid-
air and requiring more heating. During the cool- den within the walls, in the attic and crawl space, and
ing season, the cold evaporator coil in your air around carpet, wallpaper, and furnishings. Water
conditioner causes water to condense out of the vapor travels to these hidden areas driven by differ-
indoor air that circulates through it. This process ences in air pressure or humidity. Your homes relative
of condensation releases heat, which causes your humidity is an important determinant of how much
cooling system to run longer. Your heating and moisture condenses.
cooling systems use more energy when they must Most authorities agree that an indoor relative
dry out your home. humidity of 45 to 65 percent is best. Relative humidity
lower than this range is normal in drier regions. Low
relative humidity can cause uncomfortably dry skin in
Measuring Moisture some people. High relative humidity encourages mois-
Airborne moisture is measured in percent relative ture condensation. If youre curious about the relative
humidity (RH). Air at 0 percent relative humidity con- humidity in your home, we recommend that you pur-
tains no water vapor. Air at 100 percent relative chase a simple hygrometer, or moisture meter, to mon-
humidity is totally saturated with water vapor. Satu- itor your homes relative humidity. If the relative
rated air causes condensation when it flows near cool humidity is too high, you can take steps to counteract
surfaces. it as outlined here.
The tiny water droplets that coat the walls and ceil-
ing of a bathroom after you shower are the result of
the room air reaching 100 percent relative humidity. How Moisture Travels in Your Home
The bathrooms cool walls and ceiling provide con- Moisture moves through your home in four distinct.
densing surfaces where water vapor becomes liquid ways:
water. Liquid water flows downwards through open-
ings in the building. Rain may fall on your roof,
for example, and leak into your home around a
Vapor Migration in Building Cavities
poorly sealed chimney.
Liquid water wicks through solid materials in all
directions by the process known as capillary
warm cold
action. Water can travel up through the ground,
surface surface then wick through your concrete foundation,
and into the wooden structure of your home.
Water seeps horizontally toothrough the wood
siding on your home, for examplewhen the
moist air siding becomes saturated after a rainstorm.
Water vapor is carried by moving air. Humid air
from indoors or outdoors can migrate into build-
low RH ing cavities where the water vapor may encoun-
high RH
ter a cold surface and condense. In summer, the
humid air moves from outdoors and the con-
dew point densing surface is the back side of the drywall. In
winter, the humid air comes from indoors and
Vapor is driven through flaws in the building shell by air the condensing surface is the back side of the
movement and vapor pressure. Condensation occurs when exterior sheathing. In either case, moisture will
moisture reaches the dewpoint.
accumulate inside the wall.
13 Building a New Home
If you build a new home, youll have the opportunity NEW HOME BASICS
to create a house that is exceedingly comfortable, effi-
The efficiency of conventional frame dwellings built in
cient, and durable. It will take foresight and commit-
North America hasnt changed much in the last fifty
ment to do so, because the homebuilding process is
years. We have added many incremental improvements
littered with pitfalls that can derail your attempts to
such as insulated glass, high-efficiency heating systems,
build an energy-efficient home. Your knowledge can
and improved refrigerator technology. But one thing
help assure that you get the best house possible.
that has changed little is the design of the thermal
Much of the information in this chapter has been
boundary: the critical assembly of insulation and air
addressed to some degree elsewhere in the book. But
barrier that is your primary defense against tempera-
here we show how the best construction practices can
ture extremes.
be implemented when not constrained by the impedi-
The best homebuilders now have ready-to-go
ments of remodel work. We also describe some materi-
designs for homes that will use 50 to 80 percent less
als and methods that are used only in new
energy than the average. These are comfortable homes
construction. Finally, we identify specific energy-
that look no different than others in the same neigh-
efficiency details that are specified in building codes.
borhood. They vary in size and style, but they all
include a common set of traits:
Building an Efficient and Sustainable Home
A simple building shell
Very high insulation levels
al H
c Co eati
Airtight construction
i
h an tion oli ng Energy-efficient windows and doors
c la ng
Me enti A whole-house ventilation system
V A small heating system
Optimal Insulation
Little or no air-conditioning
Moisture Control
Integrated Efficient lighting and appliances

Energy-efficient landscaping
Design and The most efficient homes are smallthe best predic-
Planning tor of energy consumption is size. We cannot empha-
size this principle enough. No matter how well you
engineer a huge house, it will consume large amounts
of energy.
Airtight Construction The largest barriers to building low-energy homes
are consumer tastes and contractor habit. For years,
many of us have purchased large homes with complex
The most efficient homes are crafted by homebuilders who construction details and luxury options that maximize
understand how to facilitate communication between the energy use. Most homebuyers have not been interested
owner, the designers, and the trade specialists.
in high insulation levels and other low-visibility effi-
ciency measures. We have asked for fashion, not effi- Another way to improve the thermal integrity of
ciency. this hard-to-insulate area is to blow foam insulation
The solution is simple. If you plan to build a new against the bottom of the roof sheathing above the
home, we recommend that you educate yourself on the exterior walls. Since foam insulation has almost dou-
process of efficient construction. You may have tal- ble the R-value of fiberglass or cellulose, it makes it
ented designers and builders working on your behalf, possible to maintain a high R-value in this area with-
but your knowledge will assure that you get the energy out installing a raised-heel truss.
efficiency you expect and are paying for. You should Make sure the air leakage sites into the attic are
also work hard to find a builder who already builds sealed before installing attic insulation.
energy-efficient homes. You will be spending your
hard-earned money on this project, and you should
not have to pay for the education of your homebuilder. Cathedral Ceilings
No building component has generated so much trou-
ble and controversy in recent years as cathedral ceil-
INSULATION FOR NEW HOMES ings. They are too shallow to insulate well.
Insulation is the key to energy efficiency in most Amer- Conventional builders and building inspectors insist
ican climates. In cold and hot climates, insulation is that they must be ventilated. Building scientists argue
essential to providing comfort. In mild climates such as that the narrow ventilation space cant dry the cavity
the American Southwest, superior insulation can elimi- effectively, and that the only hope of keeping moisture
nate the need for heating and cooling altogether. out of the cavity is to seal it up. Electricians are forced
to wreck the effectiveness of the insulation by install-
ing recessed light fixtures. Retrofitters complain that
Attic Insulation cathedral ceilings represent a severe weakness in the
Plan to insulate your attic to between R-40 and R-60. homes thermal boundary, costing thousands of dollars
Standard roof trusses limit the amount of insulation to fix.
that can be placed directly over the perimeter of the We recommend that you build a home with flat ceil-
exterior walls. A raised-heel or energy truss allows 8 ings so you can take advantage of the myriad benefits
to 16 inches of insulation or more to be placed over of an open attic. But if you do choose to build a cathe-
the outer wall. dral ceiling, you can avoid expensive repairs by choos-
ing one of the following options.
Efficient Roof Edge Details

Scissor Truss Cathedral Ceilings
Raised-heel truss allows full-
thickness insulation over wall.
R-60 insulation
2-foot overhang
R-15 high-density 2-inch foam sheathing

fiberglass batt in cavity at exterior
Raised-heel trusses allow eight inches or more of insulation Scissor trusses allow a thick blanket of blown fibrous insula-
to cover the area directly over the outside wall. tion with adequate space for ventilation.

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book Page v Tuesday, August 12, 2008 1:18 PM

The Homeowners Handbook to

Developing a Plan for

4 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency

2 Lighting and Appliances

Lighting, appliances, and water heatingthe types of EVALUATE YOUR LIGHTING

20 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency

If you have groups of appliances at a desk or enter- TYPES OF LIGHTING

1200 100 = 12 Halogen Lamps

Comparison Among Types of Lamps

28 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency

Heating and Cooling

40 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency

it is in the room. Attic insulation helps slow this flow

58 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency

Winter Landscaping Design

wind is sun heats

Plant tall deciduous trees 5 to 15 feet away from the south-

Finding and Sealing Air

72 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency

The Driving Forces of Air Leakage recessed light fixtures

in your home, where warm air exits, unless you go up

tional furnaces, fireplace chimneys, and clothes dryers

82 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency

Typical R-Values Versus Recommended R-Values How Much Insulation Is Enough?

8 Windows and Doors

EVALUATE YOUR WINDOWS AND WINDOW BASICS

102 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency

Window Terminology Types of Window Operation

Types of Window Operation Insulated Glass Unit

choose low-e glass coatings

118 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency

Hours of the Day

Refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator, absorbing heat

130 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency

HEATING SYSTEM BASICS Combustion Safety

Whats Included in AFUE and Other Types of Efficiency

Unburned Fuel: Los

Burn Latent Heat: 2 - 1

EVALUATE YOUR HOMES PV

144 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency

Most photovoltaic systems include these basic components.

154 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency

13 Building a New Home

Integrated Efficient lighting and appliances

164 The Homeowners Handbook to Energy Efficiency

Efficient Roof Edge Details

R-15 high-density 2-inch foam sheathing

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