Solar Power Articles

The Whole-House Approach to Energy Efficiency – How to Save Money and Energy

Posted on 15. Aug, 2009 by Anna in Energy Efficient Homes

Did you know that you can actually save money every year on your home utility bills? And did you know that of the thousands of dollars you pay for your electricity consumption, half of it is not actually consumed, but is wasted?

Not only that, a single home pollutes the air twice as much as the average vehicle.  While cars and other modes of transportation in United States are accountable for more than 60 percent of the oil consumption in this country.

It might seem like making changes to save both the environment and money already impossible. But there are still ways to save both at the same time. It all starts at home – until you drive to your office, to the store, or anywhere else, in car.

If you would like to start saving money right in your own home, the key is having an energy-efficient plan.

The first thing you should do is to look at your home’s individual parts. You can then start analyzing your home as a whole – and take a “whole-house” approach to energy efficiency.

Let’s take your home furnace, for example. Your furnace delivers heat throughout your home, through a series of pipes and ducts. Even a top-quality energy-efficient furnace can waste a lot of fuel, if the ducts, walls, windows, attic, and doors aren’t properly sealed and insulated.

When this network of pipes and ducts is created, it’s important to ensure they are insulated and sealed properly. This also holds true for the other parts of your home such as the doors, windows, attic, and walls. The furnace can never be an effective energy saver, and will simply be wasting energy, if these parts are not accurately sealed.

Rather than approaching individual rooms or individual parts of the home, in an effort to reach energy-efficiency, you can save more time, effort, and money if you use whole-house approach.

An energy-efficient house is truly a great investment. Although you may have to shell out a few bucks at first, you can rest assure that the each and every penny spent will be well worth it in the long run.

Over time, your utility bills will be reduced – leaving you more money to spend on important things. Furthermore, a home that is built with an energy-efficient design has a higher market value.

To read the next post in the Energy Efficiency Series, please visit Determining the Energy Consumption in your Home.

Tags: Bills, Electricity, Energy, Energy conservation, Energy Efficiency, Environment, furnace, Home, save money, Seal, Solar, Whole-house, wind, Windows