Energy efficiency begins with a well maintained house. Sealing the outside and inside of the house to make sure cold or hot air can’t come in when indoor climate-controlling systems are on.
This is your first step in creating an energy efficient house. It will not only conserve energy but lower the cost of air cooling or heating. Home energy efficiency tips are upgrading insulation, sealing duct leaks, securing your attic door, sealing gaps between baseboard and floor and weather stripping doors.
Upgrading insulation is removing worn out or damaged insulation material. Insulation efficiency is graded by the R-factor, the recommended insulation for a home by building codes is R-38 for houses with attics. Remove worn-out or damaged insulation or if possible replace the whole lot to be sure or if you think your insulation has maxed out on its service.
Find leaks on the attic insulation. These leaks are easy to find because these are marked with gray, brown or black smudges or stain on the insulation. These are air holes where the warm air from the ducts escape and letting cool air in. The smudges or stains are the dirt from the air leaking from below. Seal these leaks with spray foam or fire-safe caulk.
If you have an attic, you have an attic door. Pull-down attic stairways are often the biggest energy draining holes in a house. Seal the inner edges of the pull-down staircase with latex door sealers is one of the home energy efficiency tips that you shouldn’t miss doing. Because air can easily come out from the gap and your heating system would need to consume more energy to keep the temperature at the desired levels.
Gaps in between baseboard and hard floors like tiles, cement, hardwood or laminated flooring leak air in. Fill these gaps with a latex gap sealer preventing foot level outer air leaking inside the house. One of the easiest home energy efficiency tips for cool or hot air coming inside is weather stripping your doors.
Weather stripping on top and sides of doors will help keep drafts out. The effective door weather stripping materials are vinyl bulb weatherstrip or packed strip set. These are durable in keeping the draft out. Take care on installing the weather stripping material to make it last longer since doors are prone to wear and tear the most.
These are just a few of the many home energy efficiency tips that will help you conserve energy, save on heating or cooling fuel bills and make your system last longer.
Resources For Energy Efficient Homes
ENERGY STAR
www.energystar.gov/
Energy Savers
www.energysavers.gov/
Efficient Tucson Air Conditioning
Cool Breeze Air Solutions, LLC
5141 N Casa Grande Hwy Tucson, AZ 85743
(520) 495-2227
Technicians For Sustainability
612 North 7th Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85705-8337
(520) 740-0736