Your House As a System

The energy crisis has reminded homeowners that there are many ways to use energy and lose energy around the house. In addition, the current economic conditions have everyone thinking about cutting their expenses, especially those they have the most control over. It’s obvious that energy prices are going up in the near future when PECO rates are deregulated and the economy picks up again. Even with crude oil prices low, gasoline is above $2.00 again. Where is the best place to start to get the best value for your money?

The good news is that many of the costs associated with saving energy in your home have a very short pay-back period and a high return on investment (ROI). There was a time when putting money in the stock market yielded (over the long haul and with luck) 8 to 10 percent ROI. Well, the stock market is not doing that right now, but your house can match or beat those numbers easily. We recommended a course of action in the attic of one of our Newtown readers, who will reap a 13.4% ROI with a 2.4 year pay-back on their heating bills by sealing and upgrading the insulation in their attic.

Your home is made up of interrelated systems. Each is affected by the other. When you do something to one part of the house it has implications for other parts of the house and your wallet. Our Newtown client, for example, had recessed lights added to a soffit in their kitchen, only to discover that lots of cool air infiltrates around those lights, contributing to a rise in their heating bill. The systems involved in that example might be these: incompletely installed house wrap, poor detailing on the sheathing installation, gaps in the wall insulation and vapor retarder, a chimney-effect that pulls air in at the first floor level as it goes up through the ceiling lights on the second floor. One system affects many systems.

The solution is to close up the air leaks. A common approach to tighten up your home is to install new Energy Star windows and doors. This might allow the installation of a smaller capacity furnace. In another, sealing the attic so that no air leaks in from the rooms below also has the benefit of keeping moist air out of the attic area where it might condense on the plywood or rafters. The way we use our homes can cause new issues. For example, as children become teens they take longer showers which result in substantially more moisture in the attic if the bathroom exhaust fan is not used (or even installed).

You might be wondering where to start. Typically one starts by looking at the various systems in the house to quantify the strengths and deficiencies. Of course an Energy Audit is a must. If something dangerous is found, fix that first. Then start with air sealing. This means plug up as many air infiltration holes as possible – at the band joist in the basement, the access doors, the attic, and around windows both inside and out. Then add insulation – I like spray foam and dense pack cellulose the best. These two strategies will give you the best ROI. After a couple of years the money you don’t have to spend on your energy bills will be in your savings account waiting to be invested in the stock market – if the stock market can match the returns your house will give you!

Tom Wells is a Green Remodeler and energy efficiency expert. E-mail him at thomasgwells@aol.com

This article was contributed by Thomas G. Wells

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THOMAS G. WELLS CONSTRUCTION L.L.C.
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Yardley, Pa. 19067
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