Summer is coming. It's already cooling season. So how do you save money on cooling costs? You've paid for all that cool air already, so it doesn't make much sense to waste it now.
A simple enough premise - it's the application that gets complicated. We (and most building science experts) strongly recommend air sealing and insulation as high priority measures to make your home use less energy, make you more comfortable, and make the planet happy.
Using a blower door--a device that sucks the air out of your house to simulate an especially windy day--is the best way to identify where your house leaks. For many of us, a thousand little pin pricks may add up to a hole in your house the size of a window left open 24 hours a day, 365 says per year.
By using a blower door in coordination with air sealing, we can identify the biggest leaks and get them sealed.
This video from Green Building Advisor shows how it's done.
Here's an interesting video from our friends at Energy Vanguard that shows how much air can leak through simple things like light switches.
This video from our friends at Go Green Star explains how to insulate a home's walls from the exterior, for improved energy performance and reduced energy bills, with minimum intrusion.
Ever wonder how much coal is being burned to keep your home cooled with air conditioning in the summer?
Wonder no more. EnergySavvy has an infographic that visualizes the coal it takes to keep an average home in the Southeastern U.S. comfortable with air conditioning, compared to the same house with an energy efficient air conditioner, and the same house after a comprehensive home energy upgrade.
The folks at Cree illustrate how hot incandescent bulbs can get--hot enough to melt a chocolate bunny while his pal under the LED bulb goes unscathed.
Learn how smart power strips work to kill vampire power in your home. Warning: contains humor.
This clever video from the Natural Resources Defense Council explains how energy efficiency in the home can help save the planet, while saving homeowners money in the process.
The graph below shows which structural air-leaks drive up energy costs the most, allowing you to maximize efforts toward reinforcing your home's building envelope.
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HEAR WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS HAVE TO SAY
Home Energy Medics did a wonderful job on our house. We now have much better heating and cooling. The original audit was very revealing of heat leakage points throughout the house. I had no idea that recessed lighting "cans" could leak so much outside air into the house.