Home energy loss, and ways to reduce it.

Unnecessary energy loss can increase your monthly energy bill by as much as 30%.  We will discuss some of those losses, as well as a few ways to reduce that loss.

Some of the culprits responsible include drafty doors or openings to the exterior elements.  Exterior doors come equipped with a door seal which is designed to reduce drafts while the door is closed. These door seals are often neglected over time, and as they deteriorate they lose their effectiveness.  It is recommended to inspect your door seals at least annually.  Other openings would include attic access openings, or crawl space access openings.  I advise that you install a foam door seal on the perimeter of each attic access and crawl space access opening.  This will help with small drafts, and it’s relatively inexpensive.  Another option is to attach insulation board to the cold air side of each.  For example, the attic opening would have a piece of foam board attached to the top side of the cover or door.

Another cause for a lot of energy loss is failed or missing caulking.  Caulking is meant to seal out both water and wind, so when it is missing or has failed, drafts are allowed to enter the home.  This seams simple enough, but it’s often neglected or overlooked.  Even small cracks in caulking can let in large drafts, depending on the wind direction outside.  Exterior caulking should be inspected annually, and corrected as soon as possible.  Again this is relatively inexpensive to maintain or correct.

One more major contributor to drafts in the home, and in my opinion, the largest culprit are windows.  Often times windows are old or inefficient, and allow drafts into the home.  Older windows also allow heat and cool transfer, with little resistance to the exterior temperature.  If you own a home with older single pane windows, they can account for as much as 40% of your home energy loss.  Typically, the reason that older windows fail to be replaced is the upfront cost.  However you should consider replacing these older inefficient windows, with modern, higher efficiency models.  These efficient windows could drastically reduce your monthly energy bill, and increase your indoor comfort level.

Try any of these options to decrease your energy use.  If you would like a professional inspector to inspect your home for energy efficiency, simply go to the web and search.  If you are near San Angelo, Texas, go to Assured Home Inspections for more information.