Simple defects in the construction of your house can mean wastage of energy, less comfort and fast building deterioration. Little knowledge about anything can be dangerous; similarly if you have none or little knowledge about the construction methods, you must acquire some knowledge so that you can correct the flaws.
As we all know that the construction requires many hands belonging to many people who basically never live in the house, but they have a great influence in the building and the final product which has high energy rating. It is not only contractors who are responsible for building flaws but also well read professionals.
The contractors who actually pulls the wire, hammers and nails and also sets the furnace gets many opportunities to mess up with the project. It is not only contractors who mess with the building, architects and also engineers can also sabotage the energy integrity of a home.
Such a sequence provides perfect opportunities for construction flaws which end up in energy waste. When professionals and contractors complete their part of creating flaws, the building material adds up in creating the energy waste. The building materials have different thermal characteristics which are:
1. Metals used in buildings like aluminum conduct heat rapidly.
2. Fiberglass and plastic foams conduct heat slowly.
3. Wood, masonry and plastic are medium rate conductors of heat.
Plain Box Home Design
Simpler homes are often more energy efficient. These homes are large six sided rectangular boxes and the building comprises of six components which are four walls, one ceiling with a floor. In such type of homes, square or rectangular construction, the chances of flaws is very less.
The architecture is simple and even plumbing is also quite simple. While doing energy audit, the auditor has a simpler job to access a nice square box. The component of home, walls ceiling and floor usually has two layers with a space in between.
To make it simpler the wall has an exterior siding layer and interior drywall layer with a space between the two. Such spaces have a meaning as these layers are reserved for insulation. The building shell has seams and connections that include edges, corners and openings; these are basically weak points within the home.
The thermal weak points are fixed with the heat conductive material, broken air barriers, leaky joints and missing insulation. The major flaws are penetration through the insulation and air barriers which are the biggest concern for energy conservation.
These penetrations are due to the courtesy of the builders, electricians, plumbers and HVAC contractors. As we all are aware contractor has not to live in the house, he there for planning and gets his dues for the work done and keeps on moving to the other construction site. The most problem is faced with the homes which are shaped irregularly with additional corners, seams, and areas where the air barrier and the insulation are not in continuity.
The irregular areas are bay windows, dormers, porches, pop outs, second story decks, recessed entrances, doors and windows. Shell irregularities allow more air leakage through the building shell and allow air convection currents within the building cavities.
When you fixed the simple construction flaws at home, you may not see an instant reduction in your home energy bill. Nonetheless, by reducing your home energy wastage, even thought the savings are small, they can add up to a substantial amount.
To reduce your household monthly electricity bill, why not consider supplementing your power consumption by using a homemade solar power system? If you are good with hand tools and you understand the basic science behind a DIY solar panel project, you can setup your own Photovoltaic (PV) solar system at home without spending too much money.