Energy Efficient House

How An Energy Efficient House Keeps Your Bills Down

Energy efficient house construction is now part of government law, as those in power seek to reduce the unnecessary wastage of energy and to preserve resources for the future. If you are seeking to live your life in as energy efficient a way as possible, without sacrificing any quality of life or home comforts, buying into a new development is likely to be the best way of achieving this. If this is not possible, though, there are still many things which you can do to improve energy efficiency.

An energy efficient home is built initially by using the correct materials. There is little which can be done with much of the housing stock which was built over a century ago, as these constructions obviously used materials which were around at the time. The builders of the past did not have access to the highly developed compounds and polymers which can make a difference today. When the priority is energy efficiency home construction will work best when it is designed and built from scratch using modern materials designed for insulation and warmth. The windows and doors are often the places where most heat leaks out, and these can be greatly improved even in old homes.

The most important part of a home energy efficiency strategy is to make sure that the roof is adequate. This is especially important in cold weather regions as hot air rises. A great deal of the energy you use and the heat you generate can be lost through the roof if it not properly designed, built and maintained. Roofing materials have traditionally been wood and slate, and slate is actually quite efficient at preventing heat loss. A modern compound or fiberglass will definitely give you a better result, though, and will be easier to maintain over time.

Getting the roof construction right is the most important component of an energy efficient house, but the place where the greatest difference can typically be made in old houses is with the windows and the doors. Old single glass windows made of traditional materials are effective only to a degree, and that degree can be greatly improved upon by using energy efficient Low-E glass. This is the glass which is now mandatory in all new constructions, and it works equally well when used in replacement windows. Getting the choice of frame material right is also critical in achieving house energy efficiency, as many common materials such as aluminum actually conduct heat out of the building.

Fiberglass is becoming one of the most important materials in energy efficient homes, and it is easy to see why. A wooden frame has to be painted to avoid excessive exposure to the weather elements, but fiberglass does not. Vinyl frames cannot be painted and often have a cheap appearance. Both wood and vinyl are far more prone to warping than fiberglass, which can also be a source of heat loss. Warped windows will also need to be repaired or replaced at considerable expense.

The final step in achieving an energy efficient house is to make sure that the heating or cooling system that you have in place is as energy efficient as possible. Replacing your boiler with a new one is likely to give you far more heating power for each dollar you spend, and when you place this in the context of your already energy efficient housing and the fact that you need to generate less heat to keep the property warm, you can see that the ongoing savings can be substantial. Even if you are modifying an existing building, you can still keep your bills low and create an energy efficient house.

Dave R. Passelou

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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