Insulate!

Take a look at your insulation. Only 20% of homes built before 1980 are well insulated. f you have less that 7” of fiberglass or 6” of cellulous insulation you could benefit from more. The ZIP Code Insulation Calculator is a very useful web-based tool. It can be found at EnergySavers.gov and as the name suggests, you enter your ZIP code and it will tell you the amount of insulation recommended for your area. One of the most cost effective ways to make your home more comfortable year round is to add insulation to your attic, since it minimizes both heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer.


Crawl spaces are often overlooked when it comes to insulation. To address moisture concerns, the best type of insulation to use in crawl spaces or similar areas is a bubble wrap type. This type of insulation looks very much like bubble wrap you use when shipping packages, but it has a foil coating on one side. It gets stapled to the underside of the floor joists with the foil side facing up. Not only does it keep cold air from coming up through the floor, it also will reflect any heat that is lost through the floor back up into your living space.


Duct work that is not insulated and runs through an unheated space, such as an attic, basement or crawl space, and leaky duct work can be other major sources of heat loss. You can loose a lot of heated air before it reaches the register if your duct work is not insulated and it runs through an unheated space.


Other energy savings measures include programmable thermostats, thermal window coverings, compact florescent light bulbs and power strips to eliminate phantom loads.


A programmable thermostat can save 10% per year in heating and cooling cost. Why run your heater or air conditioner all day if you’re not home? Lowering your water heater to 120°F can save a considerable amount of energy. Insulated curtains or blinds will minimize heat loss in the winter and block the sun in the summer.