Planning an Energy-Efficient Home

Posted on 18. Aug, 2009 by Grace in Energy Efficient Homes

Once you’ve discovered where your home is losing the most energy (as covered in the last post), you can now decide whether or not you should put in the effort to create a more energy-efficient home, in order to easily save both energy and money. However, before you call in a contractor or begin formulating the plan, here are some of the questions you should ask yourself:

How much do you usually spend on your home’s energy consumption?
Which part of your home loses the most energy?
If you were to invest in making your home more energy-efficient, how long do you think it would take you to recoup your investment?
Other than cutting expenses, are there other advantages to creating an energy-efficient home, such as added comfort, etc.?
How long do you think you will stay in your home?
Will you need the help of a contractor, or can you do the work by yourself?
Do you have enough time to maintain and repair your home?
What is your allocated budget for the project?

As soon as you know the energy consumption needs of your home, you can begin designing and working on a whole-house energy-efficiency proposal. The plan you will prepare will help you to choosing the right home improvement contrivances. You will get the most benefit, financially and otherwise, if you have a precise energy-saving plan for your whole house.

On the other hand, if you feel really clueless about planning a home to saves energy, you can always call on a professional contractor to assist you. Of course, there is a price to pay for their services – literally.

But if you are willing to invest in this, a contractor can give you a professional analysis of your current energy system at home, and compare it with your home’s utility bill at the same time. Professional contractors also can utilize expensive equipment to determine the current energy-loss in your home. They can make use of surface thermometers, blower doors, and the infrared cameras, at the same time. This allows them to efficiently find all the energy leaks in your home.

As soon as the contractor gets a result, you will be given several recommendations on how to improve your home’s energy consumption, without the expense of your family’s safety and comfort.

To read the next post in the Energy Efficiency Series, please visit Insulate Your Home to Save Energy – Without Spending a Ton of Money.

Tags: Contractor, Energy, Energy conservation, Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency Planning, family, Home, home improvement, improvement, RV, Solar, Whole-house