Reduce Your Energy Use

Source: www.greenenergyloan.org If you live in Sonoma, or Marin county, a your path to a greener home may already be paid for you. A collection of banks and non-profits have provided funding for homeowners who want to make their homes more efficient. For those of us who live outside of those counties, they also provide suggestions on how to reduce your costs elsewhere. See for yourself. Here are selected suggestions from their page, under the heading

First, Reduce (Energy Use)

"Residential energy efficiency analysis — also known as “whole-house home performance analysis” — uses building science criteria, onsite test procedures, and analysis software to identify a home’s energy savings opportunities, recommend an upgrade plan, provide savings/cost estimates, and verify the upgrade results. Each house includes three interde­pen­dent systems: (1) an air barrier (that prevents air from leaking into or out of the building shell), (2) a thermal barrier (that keeps heat from transferring through the building shell), and (3) a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system (including furnace, air conditioner, and duct system that provide a stable indoor air temperature). Making improvements to one system affects the other systems. These three items together determine a home’s heating/cooling demand, which can represent from 50 to 80 percent of the home’s total energy use. To obtain site-specific home performance data, a qualified analyst uses test equipment including: * Blower Door: Creates a pressure difference between inside and outside for measuring total leakage in the building shell and identifying actual air leaks * Duct Blaster: Pressurizes the duct system to identify the location of leaks in the ducts and connectors * Infrared Camera: Measures the temperature of the walls, ceiling, and floor to detect missing or inadequate insulation * Carbon Monoxide Detector: Detects poorly performing and dangerous gas combustion appliances The use of this test equipment allows the analyst to monitor and confirm building shell and duct sealing measures, identify insulation upgrade opportunities, confirm proper indoor ventilation, and ensure safe operation of gas appliances such as furnaces and hot water heaters."