Filed under: Austin Energy Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program, duct system, Energy Effeciency, Green Fiber insulation, Home Energy Audit, Home weatherization, Radiant barrier, Uncategorized
Texas summer heat will be here soon. There are many inexpensive measures you can take in your home to prepare for the heat and get a payback with lower utility bills.
Preparing your home for summer should start in your attic. If you do not have a metal roof which reflects the sun away from your home, you can add radiant barrier to the decking, ridges and gable ends inside your attic. There are a variety of radiant barrier products including rolled out foil applications or spray on products such as HEATBLOC-75 radiant attic barrier. Applying a thin even coat to these surfaces with HEATBLOC-75 creates an effective radiant barrier that will stop 75% of the potential radiant energy transfer into the attic. Reducing the radiant energy into your home is an obvious first step toward reducing your utility bills. As a bonus, if you are an Austin Energy customer, there are currently rebates available on radiant barrier. You may choose from a list of companies registered with Austin Energy to do the radiant barrier application and they can file the rebates on your behalf.
You also need to address the heat that does get transferred into the attic. Proper Insulation will then slow the transfer of the heat from your attic into your home. Properly insulating your attic is another inexpensive way to reduce your utility bills. A home energy audit can reveal if your attic is properly insulated. Insulation is measured in R-value and different areas of the country have an R-value recommendation for the U.S. Department of Energy. For the Austin area the recommended R-value is R-38 which is equivalent to about 10-14 inches of insulation. Unless your home was built in the last 3 to 5 years and has not had the insulation updated, it is highly likely that you do not have enough insulation in your attic. Insulation now comes in environmentally friendly varieties such as recycled newsprint. Green Fiber insulation for example consists of 85% recycled content. Insulation of a typical 1500 square foot ranch style home, for example, will recycle as much news print as an individual will consume in 40 years. Therefore, by using a product like Green Fiber, you can reduce your energy bill and use an environmentally friendly product at the same time. Again, Austin Energy customers can benefit from rebates on updating insulation when they choose from a list of providers on the Home Performance with Energy Star Program .There is also a 30% Federal tax credit in 2009 up to $1,500 that applies to insulation upgrades.
Before upgrading your insulation it is imperative that you have your duct work evaluated. Your duct work will also be evaluated in a home energy audit. In homes with central heating and cooling, ducts are used to distribute conditioned air throughout the house. According to ENERGY STAR, about 20% of the air that moves through the duct system is lost due to leaks, holes and poorly connected ducts. The result is higher utility bills and difficulty keeping the house comfortable, no matter how the thermostat is set. Signs that you may need to have your duct work evaluated include high summer and winter utility bills, comfort issues in a particular area of the house, stuffy rooms and visible tangle of kinked flexible ducts in your system.
By addressing the radiant barrier, insulation and duct work in your attic you could possibly see around a 30% reduction in your utility bills.
duct leak visible with infrared camera inspection during home energy audit
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
A Greener Austin One House at a Time 