Holding it in
Home sleuthing solves the mystery of disappearing heat
In August, Connie Jeffries, a customer of the Petit Jean Electric Cooperative, won a $50,000 energy efficiency makeover for her 840-square-foot manufactured home during the Arkansas Electric Cooperatives’ annual giveaway.
Her prize included a geothermal heat pump, high-efficiency windows, a new water heater, metal roofing with a radiant barrier, encapsulated ductwork and Energy Star appliances.
“I can tell a big difference,” says Jeffries. “The cold is staying out, and the heat is staying in!” Jeffries forgot to switch her thermostat from cooling to heating before the recent cold spell. The first cold morning, she was pleasantly surprised to discover that, even without the heat running, her home was a comfortable 68 degrees.
She explains, “The insulation they did helped tremendously because the walls weren’t cold like they had been.”
“Our diagnostic testing revealed that 50 percent of the air volume within the home was leaking to the outside,” says Bret Curry, manager of residential energy marketing for the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas. “Jeffries had an uncomfortable home and $300 electric bills last winter,” he adds.
The electric cooperatives’ annual home makeover contest is just one of the many efforts the government and utility providers make to raise awareness about energy efficiency and to help homeowners reduce energy consumption.
BECOME A HOME DETECTIVE
The first step to creating an energy-efficient home requires some detective work and a thorough evaluation of the structure. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., the majority of houses between 1,000 and 1,800 square feet have the equivalent of a 3-footby-3-foot hole through gaps and cracks around doors, windows and exterior joints. Leakage also can occur around outlets, light switches, recessed can-light fixtures and through any interior wall opening if the walls don’t have proper insulation.
Many utility companies offer free or subsidized home energy audits. A full diagnostic
energy audit may include a blower door test, duct blaster and infrared-camera analysis to locate thermal deficiencies and air leaks. The audit also evaluates insulation in the attic and walls, windows and doors, heating and cooling systems, water heaters, appliances and lighting. After the audit is completed, the inspector gives the homeowner a list of recommended improvements.
Curry offers some ballpark figures to evaluate your energy consumption. He says that energy-efficient homes use 8 cents’ worth of energy or less per square foot. Homes that use 9 cents to 12 cents per square foot could be improved, and homes that use 13 cents or more per square foot definitely need improvements.
To calculate your home’s energy efficiency:
Add up one year’s worth of electric and gas bills and divide the total by 12 to get the monthly average.
Divide the monthly average by the number of square feet in your home.
For example, a 1,500-squarefoot home with an average utility cost of $200 uses 13 cents per square foot of energy ($200 divided by 1,500).
Homeowners have several options for getting help to pay for the recommended improvements — some based on income levels and others based on the home’s potential energy savings. Entergy Arkansas, for example, offers a variety of incentives to its customers to decrease energy consumption.
Entergy customers who complete a Tier 2 assessment (the diagnostic assessment that includes a blower door test and duct blasting) receive $150 toward the cost of the test. Additionally, the company will pay a portion of the cost of the improvements the homeowner chooses to make.
“The average incentive amount we pay out to customers is $867,” says energy efficiency project manager Gerardo Galdamez. He adds that Entergy customers who have made improvements have averaged an annual savings of $230 on their electric bills.
CenterPoint Energy also offers rebates and incentives to its natural gas customers. The company recently promoted a $500 mail-in rebate to replace traditional gas water heaters with tankless models that have an energy factor of 0.80 or greater.
Even small improvements get a boost through incentives and rebates. Replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent or LED bulbs will reduce energy consumption significantly, and utility companies such as Entergy offer rebates and coupons to help offset the cost of the more expensive bulbs.
Fliers and coupons that often accompany utility bills promote these offers; so do the utilities’ websites.
Creating a more energy-efficient home allows the occu- pants to enjoy more comfort with lower costs. Whether you hire a professional to do a diagnostic audit or you choose to go the do-it-yourself route by completing your own home inspection, the key is to make a commitment to create an energy-saving plan that fits your budget.
Simple solutions such as changing light bulbs, installing a programmable thermostat, sealing leaks in wall openings and adding weatherstripping to doors and windows work well as beginning steps. From there, resolve to replace old appliances and equipment with Energy Star-rated models as the old ones wear out, and create a plan to save money or seek financial assistance for more costly improvements.