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What is the single most important thing you can do to save energy in your home?

Submitted by: Cherish Benton on Jun 01, 2009 at 10:52 pm Tagged with: green energy audit building science saving money home duct air seal insulation Source: Benton Green Energy

What is the single most important thing you can do to save energy in your home?

1. Replace Windows
2. Replace your refrigerator with an energy star rated one
3. Replace your old A/C or furnace with a new one

Believe it or not, it’s none of these. The most important thing you can do is to properly air seal and insulate your home. The reason for this is simple. When heated or cooled air escapes your home, it COSTS you money. When outside air infiltrates or seeps into your home and you have to pay to heat or cool it, it COSTS more money too. So the less air leakage and the less air infiltration, the more money you SAVE.

Sealing your home’s “shell”, the walls that are between the outdoors and your living space, stops this movement from outside in and vice versa. Of the areas to seal, your home’s attic should be first priority. The space below the home is second and the walls are third. The vast majority of air will escape through openings in the floor and ceiling rather than through the walls. This is why windows tend to be poor investments when it comes to weatherization. As a matter of fact, most of the audits we have done at Benton Green Energy show a faster payback for air sealing and insulating than any other measure, typically 3-5 years. The only possible exception is duct sealing.

So how much would this project cost? Can you do it yourself? You can find the answers, plus safety information to consider when sealing your home by checking out the new blog on our web site: http://www.bentongreenenergy.com/index.php?p=1_7_President-s-Corner.

We hope this article can help you make your home more cool and comfortable this summer!

Cherish Benton