Fixing Your Home Construction Flaws To Reduce Energy Wastage



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.

Using LED & Energy Saving Devices To Reduce Power Consumption




“Energy saving” is now the latest catchphrase for variety of reasons. Firstly, a wide range of energy saving devices is flooding the markets and the importance of reducing energy usage at home has become a top priority, thanks to the massive energy conservation campaign.

There is no doubt that cutting down on electricity bills is very vital for household budget. However, what really made it a burning theme in the 21st century is the relationship between energy saving and environmental protection. The emission of harmful gases, global warming and the resulting climate change are affecting not only the environment but also everyone’s life.

Energy consumption is one significant type of carbon dioxide emission, which is mainly responsible for global warming. Ecological concerns to ensure that no further damage is caused to the environment is not limited just to one specific government, but to the whole world. That is why the control on carbon emissions and broad support to ‘going green’ campaign are incorporated in the programs launched by the government of the United Kingdom and United States.

Replacing conventional lights with LED lights or energy-saving lighting is a simple and inexpensive method of saving a major percentage of electricity both at home and in business premises. This comparatively new type of lighting has transformed entire system of illumination all over the world.

As this technology is still being developed, though at fast pace, in the meantime, replacement bulbs for various conventional lighting are still available. LED lighting is based on new technology as well as new type of lighting, such as the strip lights or single LEDs for signal lighting.

Several well-known names in LED lighting, such as CREE or Philips have already introduced real replacements of traditional incandescent lights, with long-lasting energy saving lights of only 10 -12 W. Apart from this, even more extensive range of LED lights that emit a narrower beam of light or more directional lighting than the conventional lights have been launched.

Although the illumination in this type of light is not as bright as a normal incandescent bulb, price-wise, it is much more economical than normal bulb. Even the brighter LED lights will save around 60% of the household electricity bill and with several technological improvements in offing; the savings might even increase up to 90%.

Another potential saving in energy comes from the use of electrical appliances. An extensive range of energy saving electrical appliances is available in the market these days. Even the normal hot-water kettles are available in energy-saving model, which boils water according to the requirements.

These appliances are categorized into several energy groups and the superior ones are at present rated at A+++. While these appliances will certainly reduce energy consumption, the latest version of equipment like washing machines that utilize water will consume less water as well. It is high time the persons still using old washing machines replace their machines with latest models of energy saving washing machines and see the difference they make in energy bills and water consumption.

Energy consumption can also be reduced by using these machines less number of hours, besides turning off lights as much as possible. In case of normal compact light bulbs, several switches are required to be turned on and off and are time- consuming as one has to wait for a little while to see them fully bright, besides being uneconomical. On the other hand, LED lights will light up instantly fully bright.

You need not make any major changes to shift from normal lighting to LED lights and from old appliances to new ones; but considering the enormous savings these changes bring, it is worth it. Nevertheless, anyone can implement the changes at home step by step.

How Energy Is Wasted At Home? Here Are 8 Ways




In the present situation, when there is heavy demand for energy and acute constraints in its availability, it is a great challenge to not only for home owners and tenants but also experts on energy sources to identify the areas of wastage in residential power consumption and energy leakages and their causes.

A saving of a thermal unit of combustible gas and a kilowatt of electricity means a corresponding reduction in the need to generate combustible gas and electricity. The requirement of water for turning turbines and the coal for the furnace would also be accordingly less. Hence, if we could make our home more energy efficient, we would reduce the burden of national power plants having to meet energy demand.

Effecting savings in residential power consumption has the advantage of slowing down the building ‘smoke piles’ and nuclear towers. Climatic conditions of the area where the residence is located, the features of the home and the daily routine of the inmates have an important bearing on residential energy inefficiency.

For instance, while wastage of heat may affect a residence in the North Dakota, wastage of energy in cooling is the highest in Texas. Water heating and lighting may be predominant in a high-rise apartment.

Inefficiency in power consumption affects every home and the following 8 factors contribute to the normal energy wastage.

1) Occupants energy consumption habits.

Residents and managers of apartments can assist in preventing wastage and reducing power consumption by about 50% through awareness and cooperative efforts. People can be motivated to take effective steps to reduce energy consumption by offering suitable incentives.

Residents can approach electricity supplier to help them with appropriate training and offer rebates. If the neighbors consume less electricity, it may be a good idea to get a few tips from them on saving energy.

2) Home electrical appliances.

Energy Star will facilitate appraisal of the present inefficiencies in usage of power so that one can get the most energy efficient models suitable to his requirements.

Refrigerators, water beds, lights, televisions, music systems, computers and washing machines and even fish tanks can cause considerable energy losses due to their outmoded designs and improper use. Energy Star appliances can contribute to a great extent to reduce power consumption.

3) Heat distribution system.

Heat distribution systems are other areas where wastages can occur. For example, air leaks in heating ducts cause a lot of wastage of energy. It is advisable to get the ducts sealed if one heating register blows a large amount of warmer air than the other register.

4) Solar gain from the sun.

Many homes consume much more power than required to cool the rooms as they get warmer due to heat from the sun warming their rooms and there is not enough shade for protection, which will be evident if we place our hands on any of the objects in the room. Gadgets like hair dryer also consume a lot of energy. It may be helpful to use a thermal curtain on the west side window.

5) Air conditioning systems.

Air conditioning systems consume abnormally high amount of power due to irregular and incorrect maintenance. In order to ensure that air conditioners operate efficiently, it is essential to enter into an annual maintenance contract. This will help in reducing energy consumption on A.C.

With outstanding advances in technology, numerous energy-efficient air conditioning systems are now available. Even after regular servicing, if the existing air conditioner consumes a lot of energy, it is better to replace it with a latest model of energy-efficient

6) Hot water heater.

Your home water heater also consumes plenty of energy. A water heater contributes to an energy loss of 40%. A proper insulation of water heaters and hot water distribution lines can minimize heat energy losses.

It is essential to set the water temperature below 120 degrees for optimum saving in energy. If ‘baseline’ electricity or gas consumption is excessive, it means that there may be a water heating problem.

7) Air leakage.

A blower door test can determine the cubic feet of air that leaks out and fills into the house per minute. It is quite common for an old house to let out 3000 cubic feet of air through the holes in a home every minute. Air sealing is the most cost-effective way to prevent the gush of air and reduce energy losses.

8) Heat loss.

The heat losses occur when heat passes through the air, cooled by an air conditioning system. Wood and several other construction materials are responsible for high consumption of energy.

This is due to thermal resistance of the structure of a home that considers ‘R-value’, thermal and air barriers, the effectiveness of doors and windows and design and quality of the structures.

A heat loss can be detected by touching the walls of the room. If they feel cold in a cold day, it means that it is a case of heat loss.