Energy Conservation Puts Money in Your Pocket

How can homeowners save money just by sitting on their couch? It’s simple, by conserving heating and cooling energy just before you sit down. There are a number of easy and inexpensive things that can be done as do-it-yourself projects that will save hundreds of dollars per year.

The easiest money saving strategy is to weather strip doors and windows with a “V” seal type weather stripping. The opening of the “V” should face towards the outside of the home. This will reduce draft in the house and retard heated or cooled air from escaping the house. And the longer the treated air remains in the house, the less the cost to treat the air.

Caulking around window and door frames and caulking around base boards will also retard the loss of treated air from the house. This strategy again will reduce the homeowner’s heating and cooling bill.

Both of these techniques can be accomplished as one weekend project. Do yourself a favor and save money, then grab a refreshment and sit down on your couch.

To ensure that you save energy and money, there are a number of other things that the homeowner can do. Removing the door and window frames and removing the baseboards will expose small and seriously large gaps in the building fabric. By holding your hand over these gaps or using a smoke pencil, you will likely feel and see the extent of the draft. Filling these gaps with fibrous materials and/or caulking will drastically diminish uncomfortable drafts, reduce homeowner heating and cooling costs and therefore save you serious money.
This project will likely take two to three weekends at minimal cost to you.

Window glass is also a significant source of heating and cooling loss to the homeowner. You could replace your present windows with high efficiency windows at a great cost, or you could cover your windows with commercially available clear plastic sheeting. This is especially great in the winter; and you will achieve a substantial reduction in heating costs.

With the savings in energy costs attributed to these easy to do strategies, you could probably by a new couch.

5 Reasons To Choose Blow In Insulation

Insulating your home is pure and simple the number one way to save money on energy costs. In the old days floors and walls were lined with just about anything to keep the moisture and cold air out of home. Renovations have revealed that even old newspapers were found packed into wall and floor boards.

Today insulating is a science all its own. There are R-factors assigned to different material and methods of insulating that give homes and buildings an appropriate amount of protection for their geographic region. The higher the R rating, the better insulated the home.

One of the top rated insulations is relatively new to the industry – probably no more than a couple of decades old – and that is blow in insulation.

The Benefits of Blow In Insulation

There are several benefits to blow in insulation over rolls of fibreglass insulation. The benefits include the method of installing it, its energy efficiency and where it can be used. Here are the top 5 reasons to consider using blow in insulation:

1. Blow in insulation is adjustable. Depending on how much material is used, it can create a protection with an R value of 15-38.

2. Only virgin materials are used to create most blow-in varieties of insulation. This means there a reduced chance of allergies.

3. Blowing the material into the crevices allows for a tighter fit and seal. It can be directed around corners, beams, or wiring that may already be in the walls.

4. Installing blow in insulation is fast. A barrier, referred to as a blanket is stapled to all of the 2x4s to keep the material from floating away and adhering where it isn’t wanted. Then a small slit is cut into the blanket. A hose is inserted and measured amounts of the insulation are blown into place.

5. This type of insulation is extremely energy efficient. As it is blown in it expands and adheres to the surrounding surfaces. It fills even the tiniest of cracks as it does this.

The Complete Installation Process

After attaching the blanket to the surrounding boards, the small opening cut into it allows the hose to be pointed in all directions around the wall or ceiling. After the material is in place the blanket’s slit is closed and taped. This blanket does not act as a moisture barrier, it just control the spray. The material itself resists moisture.

Drywall or other wall materials are then installed right over the insulation blanket. In a renovation project this means that an entire wall would not have to be removed in order to insulation. Take an extremely old home for example. There may be no insulation at all. Instead of removing layers of plaster wall, you could simply make a hole, position the hose and fill the walls will energy efficient insulation. Then patch the wall and the job is complete.

The blow in insulation is more expensive than traditional insulation. However, experts estimate that energy savings is so great that within 2 to 4 years those costs are recovered.