energy efficiency...
A home energy audit is the first step to assess how much energy your home consumes, and to evaluate what measures you can take to make your home more energy efficient. An audit will show you problems that may, when corrected, save you significant amounts of money over time. During the audit, you can pinpoint where your house is losing energy.
Audits also determine the efficiency of your home's heating and cooling systems. An audit may also show you ways to conserve hot water and electricity. You can perform a simple energy audit yourself, or have a professional energy auditor carry out a more thorough audit.
A professional auditor uses a variety of techniques and equipment to determine the energy efficiency of a structure. Thorough audits often use equipment such as blower doors, which measure the extent of leaks in the building envelope, and infrared cameras, which reveal hard-to-detect areas of air infiltration and missing insulation.
energy efficient design...
Before you design a new home or remodel an existing one, you should consider investing in its energy efficiency. You'll save energy and money in the long run. It's also a good time to invest in a renewable energy system that will provide your home with electricity, water heating, or space heating and cooling.
If you'd like to design an energy-efficient home, no matter what type of design, you should use what's called a whole-house systems approach.
If you are remodeling a home, conduct an energy audit to help you determine what energy efficiency improvements should and can be made to your home.
Designing and constructing an energy efficient house requires careful planning and attention to details. A whole-house systems approach can help you and your architect develop a successful strategy for incorporating energy efficiency into your home's design.
A whole-house systems approach considers the interaction between you, your building site, your climate, and these other elements or components of your home:
Appliances and home electronics Insulation and air sealing Lighting and daylighting Space heating and cooling Water heating Windows, doors, and skylights. Builders and designers who use this approach recognize that the features of one component in the house can greatly affect other components, which ultimately affects the overall energy efficiency of the house.
These are some benefits of using a whole-house systems approach:
Reduced utility and maintenance costs
Increased comfort
Reduced noise
A healthier and safer indoor environment
Improved building durability.
You can use the whole-house systems approach with any home design. Using this approach, you also might consider designing a home that generates its own electricity.