[Show as slideshow]

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 4

It is much less expensive to repair a cracked window than to pay for the energy costs it will incur each month. (Datarec, Flickr)

By Mike Brandolino

Save Energy This Winter With SCGH

The harsh and frigid winds relentlessly bombard your home without regard for your family’s well- being and comfort. The winds howl and whistle through tiny spaces and crevices in your doors and windows. These leaks cause your home energy costs to soar.

The cold draft chills your bones and keeps the boiler or furnace running. Exposed pipes in your basement, cellar, crawl spaces, and utility rooms are losing expensive and valuable heat or even freezing. All this adds to unnecessary home energy expenses that can be reduced with minimal costs.

Many older homes, and maybe some newer homes, are not tightly sealed and protected from the elements. If you home is drafty, consider making some simple home improvements to save some money and keep your family comfortable during the frigid winter months.

Air sealing your home is easy and effective. It is never too late to take action against the plunging temperatures outside, and Sierra Club Green Home is sure you won’t regret this investment to save energy.

Do-It-Yourself Home Insulation

For just a few dollars, you can save much more than your investment on home energy and heating costs by installing shrink wrap plastic sheeting over your drafty windows and wall or window air conditioning units. Pipe insulation reduces the effects of heated water from cooling down and cold water lines from freezing. Save energy with two simple solutions.

Window Shrink Wrap Insulation

There are many brands of window plastic film shrink wrap on the market. In most cases, you only need scissors and a blow dryer to install the inexpensive and effective product and save energy. The shrink wrap can be easily removed in the spring. Although it is not ideal in the “green” sense because it creates plastic waste, this material does make up for it in fuel saved on heating. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions when installing and removing the product, because the adhesive may leave a residue or remove paint from the window or door frames.

Don’t forget to repair or replace windows that are cracked or broken.

Foam Pipe Insulation

Foam pipe insulation is a very affordable and inexpensive way to reduce your home heating costs and possibly save yourself from costly repairs if a pipe freezes and bursts.  Foam pipe insulation usually comes in a variety of diameters to fully cover different-sized pipes. The foam tubes are usually pre-cut along the length for easy installation. All you need is a scissors to cut the insulation to fit the length of the pipe and plumbing sections.

Place the foam pipe insulation on all exposed cold and hot water pipes, including boiler and hot water heat pipes, and any other exposed water pipes in your basement, cellar, garage, crawl spaces, utility rooms, and other areas in and around your home. It only takes a few minutes to install the foam pipe insulation.  You have just saved some money on your home heating costs.

As a caveat, while this foam is traditionally produced from petroleum, there is now a green alternative produced from mushrooms. Hopefully this material, which is completely biodegradable and sources agricultural waste, will be available in insulation tube form soon.

Prepare for a Long Winter

When you make these simple and inexpensive do-it-yourself home window and pipe insulation repairs, you have will have taken a stance to gain an upper hand against Old Man Winter. You must always be vigilant and be on guard to protect your home and family against winter’s never-ending attack on your home, your family, and your wallet.

© 2012 SCGH, LLC. 

[Show as slideshow]

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 4

Broken window panes can cause a variety of problems including air leakage and condensation build-up. (By Marin Blair)

By Marin Blair

Are your windows keeping your home as energy-efficient as possible? Sierra Club Green Home helps you check your windows and decide if you need to repair, retrofit, or replace.

Studies conducted by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) show that windows, depending on their performance, can account for 25-30% of the total heating and cooling energy use in a home. Replacing windows just to save energy generally isn’t cost effective due to high unit and installation costs. However, when windows are old, worn out or broken, it can definitely be cost effective in the long run to replace them with the most appropriate units for your home based on energy efficiency, solar exposure, usability and aesthetics.

Window basics

When learning about your options when it comes to windows it is important to start by doing a little research. Since there a large variety of window products are being offered on the market today, start by learning some of the most critical window assembly parts. A diagram of a standard window is shown below:

• U-Value is a measurement of the flow of heat through a material. The lower the U-value, the better insulating ability of a window assembly.
• Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) is a term describing the percent of heat gain through the glass from solar radiation. Measured at a value between 0 and 1, the lower the SHGC the less solar heat the window transmits.
• Visible Transmittance is the property pertaining to the amount of light that is able to pass through a window.
• Condensation Resistance measures how well a window assembly resists the accumulation of moisture. Scored from 0 to 100, the higher the value the lower the susceptibility of water build-up.
• Air Leakage is the rate at which air is able to pass through different parts of a window. The lower the air leakage value, the less air leakage a particular window will experience.

Function and performance

Windows serve several purposes: to protect the home from the elements, to provide daylight and vision, to support occupant comfort, and to allow for natural ventilation. When windows perform poorly a variety of problems can occur:

• Water intrusion causes interior damage such as condensation and mold;
• Air leakage causes drafty and uncomfortable conditions for occupants;
• Excessive solar heat gain causes the air conditioning system to be less effective in cooling the home, increasing energy costs; and
• Excessive heat loss causes the heating system to be less effective in keeping the house warm, increasing energy costs.

If you are experiencing any of these issues, it’s likely your windows need repair or replacement. There is one caveat to this however, on the topic of air leakage. Often people think that when they stand near a cold window it means the window is leaking air, which is not always the case. When the exterior temperature is significantly lower than the indoor temperature like in the case of deep winter weather, convective looping of air as it hits the cold glass surface of a window creates a drafty feeling when, in reality, it may not actually be leaking. If you feel your windows are drafty and they appear to be performing properly visually (i.e. no broken panes, damaged sills, or moisture build-up), hire an energy auditor to test them for air leakage before moving further towards the decision of replacing them altogether.

Options available

So you’ve decided your windows need some work. What’s next? Again, some fundamental education is necessary to understand the options available and to decide which may be the best choice for you both financially and from a performance standpoint. In general there are five major options for improving the performance of your windows:

• Repair or rehabilitate current windows. Usually the cheapest option available, this fix involves replacing broken window panes, stripping and repairing damage to window materials, caulking joints, adding sealant, and installing additional weatherstripping and insulation to limit heat loss. This option will save space in landfills, but likely have less of an impact on energy savings in the long run.
• Install interior or exterior storm windows. Storm units work by incorporating another assembly on either the inside or outside of a window. The cavity of air that is trapped between the two units improves the energy efficiency of the assembly because a closed volume of air has a higher thermal resistance than glass alone.
• Modify existing units by replacing sashes. For this option, the existing window frame needs to be in good condition or it will cause problems during installation. While it remains more cost effective to make these smaller substitutes rather than replacement the entire unit, sash retrofits do not address performance issues that occur between the wall and the original frame such as water intrusion or air leakage. It may also be more difficult to find the exact size sashes you need if your windows are of an older style.
• Insert window replacements into the existing frames. Again, it could be tricky to find the exact size window you need to adequately replace the old unit, and installation must be done extremely well to ensure performance problems aren’t worsened. If the frames are in good shape then by all means try and salvage them, but keep in mind the cost gap to full unit replacements is probably shrinking.
• Replace the entire windows with new units. This is clearly the most expensive option and must be completed by someone who knows what they’re doing. This option provides the best means to integrate a window into an existing wall assembly, because it allows the rough opening to be altered if needed. When the entire unit is replaced that opens up the ability to play with the aesthetics by incorporating different sizes, shapes, and types of windows. An added benefit is that the market is now saturated with a variety of products that boast high performance qualities. Use your knowledge of window characteristics to compare different units side by side. Although this option may save you the most money over time, it also produces the most waste when old windows are scrapped.

Once you have an idea of the route you want to take, contact a local retailer to view the types of units available and their respective costs. If you’ll be doing the fixes yourself, be sure to do some further research and use the many do-it-yourself guides out there to plan it out (making sure the source of information is legitimate). If you plan on getting the work done by a contractor, get at least three bids comparing a few different products so you can get the best bang for your buck.

For more technical information on the types of energy efficient windows available and see some selection recommendations, visit the Efficient Windows Collaborative.

An important note on lead

Homes built before 1979 may contain lead paint. Of these homes, window assemblies are often the most common place for lead dust disturbance as friction from opening and closing the units loosens lead dust particles that are harmful for human development, especially in children, when ingested or inhaled. If your home was built before 1979, be sure to test for lead paint first by calling your local public health department and inquire about lead testing (generally about $10-20 per test sample). If testing verifies your window assemblies contain lead paint, make sure the contractor doing any sort of refurbishing or replacement abides by proper lead abatement protocol.

Marin Blair is a home performance contractor and consultant based in Edina, MN.

For related article see:
Solar Window Film Blocks Heat and Prevents Fading

© 2012 SCGH LLC.

[Show as slideshow]

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 4

An airtight and insulated attic is a happy attic. Your wallet will thank you for it. (By Marin Blair)

Story and photos by Marin Blair

Proper insulation and air sealing, especially in a cold climate,  is critical to keeping a home comfortable, eco-friendly, and energy efficient.

You’ve probably heard this before: Increasing the amount of insulation in your attic and walls can help to trap heat in the house, resulting in a more comfortable temperature and lower energy bills. Insulation works by creating a thermal boundary between the interior and exterior of a building. Insulation, which is available in a variety of different materials, works to stop conductive heat flow because it has a high R-value. R-value is a measurement of thermal resistance and slows the rate at which heat is lost from a building’s shell.

But there’s something most types of insulation aren’t so good at: stopping air. Air leakage is important because we pay big bucks to condition the air in our homes. Intuitively, air wants to follow the path of least resistance and will naturally find holes in the building where it can leak to the outside. Often the most vulnerable area for holes in the home is the surface of the attic. Sometimes these holes are minor and common construction flaws, but bigger unintentional holes can cause significant heat loss to the attic and can lead to problems such as ice dams, attic condensation, and mold. Here are some examples of these troubling leakage spots in an attic:

• Electrical penetrations;
• Lighting fixtures;
• Dropped soffits (a soffit is the underside of a beam, arch, or other architectural component);
• Open interior wall cavities;
• Ventilation exhaust fans;
• Mechanical equipment and ductwork;
• Chimneys and flue stacks; and
• Plumbing vents.

Unfortunately, once air has leaked through these holes, insulation alone is usually not enough to stop it. Air can easily travel through cellulose and fiberglass, two of the most common materials used to insulate homes today. Although these materials are not airtight, large amounts of insulation can work to slow the rate of leakage. Applying airtight materials and assemblies is often needed to control these leakage spots.

So how do you know if air leakage is a problem in your home? If you’re willing to do some detective work (and get your hands dirty), here are a few things to look out for in your attic:

• Inconsistent insulation levels. Ideally, insulation is installed to the correct depth and R-value at an even level throughout the space. If your insulation levels are patchy (shallow in some areas, deep in others), that is a possible sign that sealing, and possibly additional insulation, are needed.
• Improperly vented exhaust equipment. A bath fan can help to control ventilation on the interior of the home, but if it is not vented correctly, it can create a passageway for air leakage into the attic. In the winter, this heated air is exhausted into the attic space, increasing the temperature of the roof deck above, which can lead to ice dam formation.
• Dirty insulation. Are there areas where your attic insulation is discolored or dirty? Air from the inside of a house carries particles with it, and discolored insulation is a clear sign it is moving right through it. It’s likely that if you do some digging behind or below these dirty spots you’ll find an area that badly needs air sealing.
• Attic bypasses. Dropped soffits can be problematic when they are not sealed from above. Interior wall assemblies can be wide open to the attic with only a thin layer of insulation to protect them. This just isn’t enough to stop large amounts of air leakage from migrating into the attic space. Anywhere where you can see down into the interior of the house is bad news, and that area should be sealed off.
• Tricky recessed lights. Recessed can lights are problematic because they usually are not installed to be airtight. In addition to leakage, these fixtures generate large amounts of heat that contribute to heat loss to the attic, and can be a major player in ice dam formation. Ideally these assemblies would have an insulated, airtight box installed over the top of them to trap air and heat from inside.
• Moisture staining on the interior roof surface. When you see evidence of moisture-like staining occurring on the ceiling of your attic, it usually means this space is subjected to higher-than-normal temperatures during the winter. This can be a telling sign that warm, humid air is able to leak from the home into the attic where it hits the cold roof surface and forms condensation. Enough condensation quickly becomes bulk water and can cause even larger issues such as mold growth and material damage. This is a big problem and is proof that lack of sealing is a critical issue.

So you think you found spots where you could use some air sealing; what’s the next step? There’s do-it-yourself guides available in the library and online, but the best option is to hire a certified energy auditor or home performance contractor to do a thorough analysis of the building and consult with you on how air sealing will change the way your house performs.  A few things to keep in mind:

• Make certain that the company you hire will use a Blower Door test to measure leakage and an infrared camera to pinpoint the areas where leakage is occurring;
• Air sealing measures can create ventilation and indoor air quality (IAQ) issues, so choosing an experienced professional is important. Tell them you’re looking to improve your home’s energy efficiency, but want to insure good IAQ as well;
• Once you get a professional opinion, ask your auditor or consultant to help you determine the best contractor to hire to get the work completed effectively; and
• When you can be certain you’ve controlled the leakage in your attic, now is the best time to consult with an insulation contractor to ensure you’ve got the right levels in your attic so you can be ready when the snow falls.

A more technical, comprehensive description of the work involved in air sealing an attic can be found here.

Marin Blair is a home performance contractor and consultant based in Edina, MN.

© 2011 SCGH LLC. All rights reserved.

[Show as slideshow]

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 8

Design of Fujisawa sustainable smart town in Japan, to be realized in 2013. (Courtesy of Panasonic)

Editor’s Note: This story is part of a series looking at Panasonic and its ecological strategies and technological developments.

By E.Q. Lam

Japan is known for being high tech, and thanks to companies such as Panasonic, its high tech is going green. Take a look at Panasonic’s eco innovations for appliances and electronics, both those currently on the market as well as those the company hopes to introduce in the near future. The company’s various divisions have public venues which showcase the products for complete energy solutions for the home. In addition, Panasonic is spearheading entire smart town projects in Japan and other parts of Asia.

The Eco Ideas House, located at Panasonic Center Tokyo, welcomes tour groups such as students and on weekends is open to the public without an appointment. The House models products and appliances for daily living for the home of the future—one with zero carbon emissions. Panasonic is focusing on three areas for a sustainable lifestyle: ways to save energy, create energy, and store energy. Check out the quick tour below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Among the features at the Eco Ideas House are the following:

• A Home energy management system (HEMS), which will even tell you when the best time to do laundry is, according to the weather forecast.
• Standard household electric vehicle charging station, which plugs into a regular outlet.
• LED lighting system, with LED light bulbs that use seven watts (one-sixth that of incandescent bulbs, which consume 45 watts of power, but with the same brightness). The lighting system can be adjusted by shade or color quality (from warm to cool).
• Home office technology for “e-work,” to cut out travel (daily commutes as well as long-distance business trips). The Japanese government estimates that 2 million tele-workers could reduce CO2 emissions by 4 million tons, according to Naomi Tomaru, Eco Ideas House guide. The technology features no noticeable time lapse between sound and images, so the communication is as natural as speaking to someone physically present. For document exchange, high-quality image capability means documents appear clear enough to read when shown to the camera.
• The house of the future will create energy with fuel cells and solar power generators (5,060-watt capacity for 22 modules on the roof of an average Japanese home), and store the energy in a storage battery. In an emergency (e.g., a power outage), you can reverse charge a home from your electric vehicle to the home.
• The ventilation system takes in cool air in the summer and warm air in the winter through the floor, where the air temperature is more stable.
• U-Vacua super-thin insulation material will be used as building materials for the home itself as well as in appliances such as refrigerators and bath tubs. Panasonic achieves 20 times more energy efficiency than foam with the thinner insulation.
• A washing machine with a tilted drum, which allows the same amount of clothes in a load to be washed using 50 percent less water, because the tilted angle of the drum extends the water level.
• A sit-down shower system which uses only one-eighth the amount of hot water in a typical bath.

Also, in 2008 Panasonic began to create eco home products under the product group ECO NAVI: to help you navigate energy management. Check out the Osaka-area ECO NAVI House, a showcase of the latest technology developed by Panasonic to help consumers navigate their home’s use of resources. The company also encourages do-it-yourself methods to reduce energy use. Find out the famous Japanese home product that inspired nearly 30 more products:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Besides providing technology solutions for smart homes and businesses, Panasonic is collaborating with the local city government to develop a sustainable smart city in Fujisawa, east of Tokyo, on land that formerly held a Panasonic factory. The project is expected to provide 1,000 homes as well as small businesses, medical centers, community centers, and mobility services such as shared electric vehicles. The town will have a community grid and equipment and systems for optimal energy, security, and information. The smart town is set to open in 2013 and has a target of 70 percent CO2 emissions reductions.

Panasonic also is involved in smart city projects elsewhere, including Tianjin Eco-City and Dalian Best-City (both in China) and a pilot project for total energy solutions for residential buildings in Singapore. For these projects in Japan and Asia, Panasonic is addressing two concerns: lack of raw materials and a growing population in urban areas—particularly in China, Japan, Europe, and the United States.

“We need many, many resources to maintain our living,” says Haruyuki Ishio, Panasonic’s director for the Corporate Division for Promoting Energy Solutions Business. “The ordinary or old cities cannot serve the concentration of populations. We believe the smart cities can be an answer to this global picture.”

For related articles, see:
Novel Japanese Recycling Plant
Double Energy Savings With DIY Tips and Technology
Panasonic Makes Eco Innovation Central Focus
Exclusive Interview With Panasonic Vice President
Green Energy Park May Be Answer to Power Supply

Travel and accommodations provided by Panasonic Corporation.

Check out more articles by E.Q. Lam.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC.

LOS ANGELES — Mushrooms are not just for your dinner plate anymore. They are now being harnessed to replace one of the worst eco-enemies out there: Styrofoam. Gavin Mcintyre, chief scientist and co-founder of Ecovative Design, speaks with Sierra Club Green Home about one of the newest and most innovative green packaging choices to hit the market. Made up of only mushrooms and agricultural waste, it consumes a mere 1/10 the energy used to produce Styrofoam. Ecovative also creates extra eco-friendly home insulation materials with it. This new mushroom packaging material is 100% renewable, 100% compostable, and 100% edible.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more innovative and inspiring projects and organizations, check out all our videos from Opportunity Green 2011: video library.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 6

Windows, skylights, and exterior doors that meet ENERGY STAR criteria are eligible for a tax credit. (Courtesy of Simonton Windows)

Editor’s Note: October is National Energy Awareness Month. Take a look at your home’s energy use and how you can take advantage of incentives for efficiency.

By Robbie Harris

You may have gotten the mailers or seen some items in stores marked “Eligible for the Energy Efficiency Tax Credit!” Maybe you bought that new storm door, window, or even the entire energy-efficient heating and cooling system qualified for the credit. Then, if you noted it on your federal income tax return, you got some money back—the government’s way of thanking you for doing the right thing for your home and the planet.

“The goal overall was to encourage people to make that extra jump to the energy efficient product,” said Thomas Simchak, a senior research associate at the Alliance to Save Energy in Washington, D.C. “If they were going to be installing an air conditioner, [the tax credit was intended to] have a value that would compensate for the price difference for the energy efficient unit.”

Blink and You May Miss It

The federal tax credit for existing homes has been available to homeowners for their primary dwelling—albeit in changing amounts—for most of the last six years. You still have time to get in on the tax incentives, but there are costs to putting off those household improvements. These federal incentives will be gone entirely by the end of 2011. Qualified items must be installed and placed into service before the end of the year to get you money back on your federal tax return.

Even if you upgraded to energy-efficient products, you may be among the many Americans who left money on the table. A survey out this week finds “[m]ost American consumers aren’t at all aware of the tax advantages of upgrading to energy efficient products.” Karl Zellmer, vice president of air conditioning sales at Emerson Climate Technologies, guided a Harris Poll commissioned by the manufacturing company. The poll found that “71 percent of consumers did not take advantage of any rebates, tax holidays, or other incentives” and that 61 percent did not even know these potential money savers existed.

“The survey did show that a majority of folks have gone to [compact] fluorescent bulbs to reduce energy consumption, and that does help,” Zellmer says. “They may do that because of the four or five dollars extra for the cost of the light bulb and they get beat up with that information everywhere they go.”

But when it comes to the details about state, local, and federal incentives, Zellmer says the study clearly shows that consumers are not getting the information they would need to calculate the costs and the paybacks of more-substantial purchases.

Like the weather, the federal government’s home energy efficiency tax incentives have been, well, changeable. The tax credit came in as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 signed by President George W. Bush and began as a 10-percent credit on certain items. It disappeared for a year in 2008. After returning in 2009, it reached its highest level—30 percent—under the Economic Recovery act, signed by President Barack Obama in February 2010. Then, almost before you could grab the low-hanging fruit of the tax credit tree, it was cut back to 10 percent for 2011. This most recent change also came with lower thresholds for rebates and more restrictions; there is now a $500 cap on tax credits a homeowner can use. Blogger Darwin Prince says the smaller tax credit and lower threshold for cash back made the tax credits less attractive to consumers—and less effective overall.

“When the window tax credit was up to $1,500, for instance, that was a substantial tax credit, which rightfully incentivized many homeowners to get around to installing new windows, making their homes more efficient and pumping probably $5,000 to $15,000 into the economy, depending on the extent of their upgrade,” says Prince on his blog Darwin’s Money. “The dual benefit was lower energy consumption into the future while providing manufacturers and installers with much needed revenues.”

At The Door Store, in Glenview, Illinois, where some doors’ prices run into the thousands, the 30-percent tax credit was extremely attractive to buyers. Owner Chris Erickson said, as that year drew to an end, “People were actually offering to pay extra as an incentive to get their door installed before the deadline.” The store did not accept the extra money, however, and could not accommodate all requests.

There is no way to know exactly how many homeowners took advantage of the federal tax credit in its various incarnations. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service does not publish that information. A report by the Government Accounting Office is expected to be published in the near future.

“Anecdotally, talking to contractors and vendors, the home improvement stores and window installers definitely saw this as a big selling point,” says Simchak, senior research associate at the Alliance to Save Energy.

If some merchants say the tax credit helped sales, and consumers who might have taken advantage of the tax credit say they were unaware of them, why not continue or even increase the tax incentives for home energy efficiency? Simchak, who is an energy efficiency advocate, believes the issue got buried.

“I think it’s largely a victim of congressional deadlocks more broadly,” Simchak says. “There is not a lot moving in Congress right now and other items were seen as ‘must pass,’ while the energy tax credits were not.”  He adds that, even though they are going away soon, this “may not be the last we’ve heard of these tax credits. [But] we’re not optimistic they’ll be extended before the end of the year.”

Similar tax credits for commercial buildings, however, will remain in effect until 2014.

A Window Closes, a Door Opens

Even if these particular federal tax incentives for home energy efficiency do not come back any time soon, other options remain for capitalizing on your energy efficiency purchases. Similar state initiatives are unaffected by the closing of the federal window at the end of this year. You can check your state’s programs at http://dsireusa.org/.

Emerson Climate Technologies has just unveiled a new smart phone app that allows you to compute the true costs of products by energy use calculated using rates in your area. Zellmer says the new smart phone application will help consumers research purchasing options ahead of time, instead of waiting until the air conditioner stops working on a 90-plus-degree day and running out to buy anything to cool off. His survey found that consumers are aware that heating and cooling are their highest energy costs, but the majority were not willing to spend more for energy efficiency upgrades unless the payback time was relatively short. According to the poll, 67 percent of respondents said they would be willing to invest up to $5,000 in a home energy upgrade, but only if it paid for itself within six months. Only 29 percent of those surveyed said they would be willing to invest that amount if the payback were 10 years.

Now that the sun is setting on this particular tax credit, there will be an opportunity to assess its effects.  After all, if a tax incentive is successful, it should go away once the behavior it aims to encourage is widely adopted. Simchak suggests that if a large number of homeowners believe upgrading their homes for energy efficiency is the right thing to do, they will do so, cash back or not.

“These tax credits got a lot of people thinking about energy efficiency, even if they didn’t actually go out there and use the credit,” Simchak. “People started hearing about energy efficiency on the news, and the media picked this up as a way to get yourselves $500 or $1,000. People say, ‘Oh, energy efficiency, yeah, I guess my kitchen door is pretty drafty, and I feel that chill on my feet in the morning, and yes, that does affect my bills, and they have been going up,’ so it gets people thinking that this is important to them.”

For related content on home health, see http://www.sierraclubgreenhome.com/home-health/.

Robbie Harris is a writer, editor and producer in Chicago at Lucid Dream Productions.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC.

When it comes to keeping heating and cooling costs in check, insulation is the first line of defense. In the winter, heated air moves from living spaces to attics, garages, and the great outdoors. Heating systems fire up to replace all that lost heat. In the summer, air conditioners kick on as heat moves from the outside in. Insulation in the attic, exterior walls, and floors can help resist this heat flow, making homes more comfortable and slashing energy bills and pollution. Homes built today are usually well insulated, but many older homes–even those built as little as ten years ago–can benefit from added insulation.

Top Tips

At home

• Start at the top. More heat moves up and out through the roof than through walls or the floor, so tackle the attic first. Fortunately, attics are accessible in most homes. Adding insulation to existing walls, on the other hand, is often difficult and expensive, but you might want to consider it in cold climates, or when you are remodeling.
• Blanket your tank. Cut hot water energy use by wrapping the water heater with an insulating blanket. They’re inexpensive and readily available at home improvement stores.
• Pamper your pipes. Insulate hot water pipes and heating and air conditioning ducts wherever they run through spaces that aren’t heated or cooled.
• Get paid to insulate! Check www.dsire.org for state, local, utility, and federal rebates and other incentives for energy efficiency.

When shopping, look for

• Healthy materials. Choose insulation with no added formaldehyde.
• Performance. An insulation’s “R-value” tells you its resistance to heat flow. So knowing an insulation’s R-value per inch of thickness allows you to compare the performance of different insulation materials. Check out the supplemental chart for more detail on the more common types of insulation: cellulose, cotton, fiberglass, foam board and spray-in-place foam. When shopping around, you may also come across other kinds of insulation, like sheep’s wool or mineral wool made from rocks.
• Cost.Product and installation costs vary greatly depending on the design of your home, the amount and type of insulation, and local market factors. Here are some general guidelines:
  • Fiberglass blankets or “batts” are often the standard insulation offered. The cost of formaldehyde-free fiberglass batts and conventional fiberglass bats is roughly equal so be sure to ask for the formaldehyde-free product.
  • Loose-fill insulation typically costs less to install than insulation sold in batts. When correctly installed, loose-fill blocks heat flow better because it does a better job of filling nooks and crannies.
  • Cellulose also may cost less than fiberglass, but installation may be more, in part because there may be fewer contractors in your area who install cellulose.
  • Cotton batts cost 50% more than fiberglass batts, but installation costs are about the same.
• Sustainability. Choose insulation with high recycled content.

Other considerations

• What’s the right amount of insulation? It depends on the climate, your home’s design and whether it’s the roof, walls, or floor that needs insulating. The Energy Department provides rough estimates for minimum installation levels in six climate zones, but to get a more precise figure for your location, check with your local building department. Remember that building codes are minimum requirements. Given the climate crisis and rising energy costs, the smart choice often means exceeding code.
• Radiant barriers aren’t a type of insulation, but when installed in the attic they can reduce cooling costs by 2% to 10%, depending on the climate and the amount of insulation in the attic. Radiant barriers are made of aluminum foil glued to a rigid backing like plywood or oriented strand board (OSB), or to a flexible paper or plastic backing. The radiant barrier is usually attached to the underside of the roof sheathing or the rafters. To work properly, the shiny surface faces down toward the attic. That may sound counterintuitive, but here’s what’s going on: When the sun heats up the roof surface, the roof radiates heat into the attic. Aluminum foil is good at blocking that heat, and you want the shiny side where it won’t get dusty, facing down. If the attic is accessible, installing a radiant barrier is a relatively straightforward retrofit project. Radiant barriers keep the attic cooler in the summer by reflecting heat back through the roof. When the attic stays cooler, the whole house is more comfortable. A radiant barrier is most effective in regions with hot summers. In the winter, a radiant barrier helps a bit with keeping heat from escaping through the roof, but its main purpose is blocking summertime heat gain.

Benefits…

…to your wallet
Adding insulation–especially in the attic–is an excellent investment that can pay for itself within a few years if you have high heating or cooling bills. It will also give you a quieter and more comfortable home. If you plug air leaks and insulate you can expect to lower your heating and cooling costs by 20%, potentially saving you hundreds of dollars per year.

…to the Earth
It’s a win-win. As you lower your utility bills by adding insulation, you reduce your emissions of CO2 and other pollutants from fossil fuels. If you also choose insulation made from recycled materials, you’ll make an even bigger contribution because recycled products require less energy to manufacture and they keep reusable resources out of landfills and incinerators.

Common Mistakes

• Air leaks. Most insulation can’t stop air leaks through cracks in walls and gaps around windows, pipes, and other penetrations. Before insulating, take the time to seal them.
• Drips. If insulation becomes wet, it’ll lose much of its effectiveness. Before adding insulation, take care of plumbing leaks and other spots where water might get in.
• Shoddy installation. Too often, insulation isn’t properly installed, even when a professional contractor does the work. Sometimes blankets of insulation (also called “batts”) are compressed or bunched up. Sometimes loose-fill doesn’t reach all the corners, and gaps are left around pipes and other obstacles. Poor-quality materials can lower the effectiveness by as much as 30%–and that means money and energy down the drain, not to mention uncomfortable spots in your home. Take the time (or make sure your contractor takes the time) to get it right. Make sure the insulation is in contact with the surface it’s meant to insulate and completely fills wall cavities without being bunched up or compressed. Pay particular attention to tops and bottoms of walls, attic corners, and hard-to-reach places like exterior walls around tubs and showers.
• Dust problems. Fiberglass can be a skin, eye, nose, and throat irritant. When working with fiberglass insulation, avoid direct skin contact and always wear a quality dust mask or respirator to prevent inhalation of the glass fibers. Controversy abounds about the potential health impacts if glass fibers get lodged in one’s lungs. While some health organizations and regulatory agencies consider fiberglass a possible human carcinogen, others do not.
• Formaldehyde. Conventional fiberglass batts use formaldehyde adhesive to hold the fibers together. Formaldehyde is a carcinogen that can slowly evaporate from the insulation and enter your living spaces. Fiberglass batts with no added formaldehyde are now available at a cost comparable to that of conventional batts. Loose-fill fiberglass and the other insulation materials listed in the supplemental chart are not made with formaldehyde.

Getting Started

• Many local utility companies offer free or low-cost energy-efficiency evaluations. They usually also have publications with tips on how to do your own energy audit and home performance improvements.
• If the insulation in your home is spotty or nonexistent, you may be able to solve the problem yourself in certain areas, such as an accessible attic. For DIYers, the U.S. Department of Energy has good information that will help you evaluate current levels of insulation and figure out how much more to add. You can pick up formaldehyde-free fiberglass batt insulation at most home improvement stores. If you want to buy cotton batts or loose-fill cellulose (or rent cellulose blower equipment), call around to check local availability. If you plan to install loose-fill cellulose yourself, check with the manufacturer for safety and installation instructions, and check your local building and fire codes.  Look at our supplemental table to learn more about each type of insulation.
• You may want to consider hiring a home performance contractor. The pros can be especially helpful evaluating walls, crawl spaces, and other hard-to-reach areas. Here are some tips for the hiring process, and beyond:
  • It’s standard practice to get several written quotes. Make sure the quotes include the installed R-value, so you can fairly compare them.
  • Ask about air sealing services and costs.
  • Ask about green options.
  • Ask how quality will be ensured, especially for areas that are out of sight, like inside walls (some contractors check quality by using an infrared camera that shows where materials are missing). Shoddily installed materials can reduce the product’s effectiveness by as much as 30%, which means you won’t get the comfort or energy savings that you’ve paid for.
  • When the work is complete, check the results before you pay the final bill. If you hired a company to thicken the attic insulation, for example, go up into the attic to see if the workers did a quality job.
• Read our article “How to hire a contractor” before making any hiring decisions.