Top 5 factors affecting Energy Efficiency in most homes and businesses*
1. Air Infiltration
Buildings need to breathe, but we need to control where, when and how. Air Infiltration is the #1 reason our homes and buildings are the most wasteful and polluting sources of the economy. Reducing Air Infiltration is the most important and achievable goal and we can easily measure our success with the Blower Door Test.
2. Insulation
Insulation is the second most important factor for a structure. More is obviously better but, rather than focusing on how thick or how high the R-value is we need to make the insulation continuous. This means maintaining a full "blanket" of insulation that is not broken up by studs and framing members (thermal breaks) . Insulation combined with the means of stopping air infiltration is what makes the building envelope. Serious envelope probems occur at unsealed crawlspaces and attics. Money and effort spent at creating a good envelope is the cheapest and easiest path to true energy efficiency.
3. Heating/Cooling Systems
This is where things get more exciting and complicated as there are so many types of systems and ways of installing them. Being the biggest energy use in buildings by far, it makes sense to invest heavily. Remember that the first price tag is multiplied by monthly, energy bills and emissions for the rest of the system's life. Systems should be proven in thier climates. In the Southeast U.S. we generally need cooling with dehumidification just as much as we need heating. Keep this in mind if you want to keep things simple and affordable. Humidity is an extreme in our climate and just because some people can live without dehumidification doesnt mean our buildings should. If ductwork is used it should be well sealed and always inside the building envelope.
4. Water Heating
Heating water is the 2nd biggest energy requirement in most homes and buildings. If one has solar access, solar heated water is by far the most efficient way to go. With a reasonably priced system, the free energy of the Sun can provide 60-90% of one's heat for water.
Despite the popularity of "tankless" on demand water heaters many see them as the ethanol of water heaters. Problems with gas, on demand water heaters include dangerous backdrafting in tight homes, service charges despite the amount used, and a reliance on an unrenewable resource with a price tied to the cost of oil. The problem with electric, on demand is the incredible strain they put on the electrical grid. The resulting problem being the need to build new electrical plants just to supply power for the few "peak demand hours" of "peak demand days" of the year.
There are tank-style electric water heaters on the market that are just as affordble as gas, yet more efficient. After solar water, the best way to heat water is by using an "off peak hour" electrical bill system paired with one of these electric tanks. This set up provides the cheapest hot water possible especially when preheated with the Sun. It is also good for the electric grid and keeps down the need to build new power plants.
5. Site Orientation
Site Orientation is simply desiging a home or building with the Sun in mind. The Sun provides almost all of the energy used on the planet, even fossil fuels were created by it. Why do we ignore it when we build? Cheap energy is probably the main answer, but what could be cheaper than the free energy of the Sun? We can get 60-90% of all our heating needs simply by stretching our buildings from East to West and putting a certain amount of windows on the South side. Similairly, we can reduce our cooling needs with proper shading and avoiding putting windows on the top, East, and West sides of our homes. This upfront planning costs little to nothing more yet represents a huge oppurtunity to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy bills.
* This list is in order of importance for the average home or building on the grid. People living "off the grid" often have different needs depending on the site. Building smaller is important. Site Orientation can move into the heating/cooling category if done to a high degree. Thermal Mass did not make the top 5 in our climate, but it should be used as much as possible in our homes and buildings, especially in Passive Solar designs.
Quick Tips
Here are some Quick Tips that can help make your house and lifestyle more environmentally friendly and will help save you money..
Unplug. Electricity tends to come from coal-fired plants. A few simple steps can significantly reduce how much electricity we use:
Turn off lights
Install dimmer switches
Clean appliances and filters. When appliances are clean they work more efficiently.
Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use (TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power)
Use compact fluorescent light bulbs
Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher's drying cycle
Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use
Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120½Ã�¿Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�° F or less
Take short showers instead of baths
Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes
Plant deciduous trees like oak, maple, gum, ash and dogwood. They lose their leaves in the winter, letting the sun though to warm your house. In the summer, their leaves shade your home. Plant shade trees in the south since that side or your home gets the most sun. Evergreens are effective for blocking wind. Plant them in a staggered or double line to the northwest of your home.
Save $500 a year by not drinking bottled water and spare our landfills and oceans a deluge of plastic.
Save $1,400 a year by opting out of junk mail and catalogs and shopping less. Americans get 40 pounds of catalogs per person each year. That's a lot of trees and way too much financial temptation.
When possible, wash clothes in cold water. About 90% of energy use in a clothes washer goes to water heating.
Make sure your dryer's outside vent is clear and clean the lint filter after every load.
Download music. Download tunes instead of purchasing compact discs at a store. Each month, more than 45 tons of CDs become obsolete, outdated or unwanted, and end up in landfills.
Rent, don't buy movies. One hundred thousand DVDs and CDs are thrown away each month. Why contribute to the trash pile? The average movie rents are $4, while the average DVD sells for more the $16.
Read your news on the internet. Cancel your paper subscription and get your news online. Each year, 10 million tons of newspapers are tossed into landfills and aren't recycled. If just of those were recycled, it would save 75 million trees. Picking up the daily newspaper will cost you $225 to $300 a year. If you must have the paper in your hands, at least subscribe to it rather then buying single copies, you will save about 50% off the cover price.
Use rechargeable batteries. The average person owns about two button batteries and 10 more common (A, AA, AAA, C, D, 9-volt) batteries. About 3 billion batteries are sold annually in the U.S., averaging 32 per family or 10 per person. Americans throw out approximately 179,000 tons of batteries per year. The problem isn't just the amount of waste but the mercury, lead and other toxic chemicals that batteries contain. Though rechargeable batteries cost more to purchase, you'll save money over the long run. A single rechargeable battery can replace as many as 1,000 single-use alkaline batteries over its lifetime. Most rechargeable batteries can be recharged 1,000 times.
Use digital cameras. About 686 million rolls of film are processed each year, and the solutions used to make the prints often contain hazardous chemicals that require special treatment and disposal. Digital cameras continue to become more affordable and the saving on film, depending on how often you take photos, can be significant.
Pack lightly. Every additional 10 pounds per traveler requires an additional 350 million gallons of jet fuel per year, which is enough to keep a 747 flying continuously for 10 years. Airlines charge for excess luggage, and recently the number of free pounds allowed has been dropping dramatically.
