Draftproofing your home reduces air infiltration which saves energy and lowers your heating and cooling bills. Steps include:

• Use a lit stick of incense to locate drafts in your home by watching where the smoke goes. This works particularly well on a windy day.
• Apply caulk and expanding foam to gaps and cracks around the perimeter of your house.
• Install foam gaskets around exterior plugs and switches
• Replace worn weather-stripping around doors and windows
• Check to see if the door sweep and threshold seal tightly at the bottom of the door.

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Nearly eighty million homes in the U.S. are under insulated, which can increase your energy bills up to 20%. The attic is the worst culprit, accounting for up to 40% of a home’s energy loss.

There are several options when it comes to insulation, but fiberglass is still the most cost effective solution. How much insulation your home needs depends on what part of the country you live in. If you go online to the Insulate and Save website, you’ll find a great how-to guide with all the information you need.

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With the rising cost of gas and electricity, finding ways to cut back on your energy consumption is more important than ever. To help you cope, we’re taking a look at four great ways to make your home more energy efficient that are also eligible for the Federal Energy Efficiency Tax Credit by upgrading your heating and cooling system, water heater, windows, and attic insulation.

Home Energy Audit

Blower door test.

One of the best ways to find out how to reduce the amount of energy you use is by having an energy audit conducted on your home. Your local utility provider will often conduct the audit at no cost, or you can hire a private company.

Tests conducted include installing a blower in an exterior door to create negative air pressure inside the house. A smoke pencil and infrared photography are then used to identify areas of air movement and infiltration. Similar tests on the heating and cooling system are used to detect air leaks in the ductwork, which on average account for a 25% to 40% loss in conditioned air in your home.

Once the tests have identified problem areas in walls, around windows and doors, in the attic, and in the heating and cooling system, steps are then taken to seal up any cracks or gaps to make the house tighter and more energy efficient.

Heating & Cooling

In addition to sealing up ductwork, consider replacing an older HVAC unit with a newer, more energy efficient model that has a higher Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER).

Danny discusses water heaters with actor and environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr.

Water Heaters

Heating water accounts for approximately 13% of the total energy usage in a home. Replacing an inefficient hot water heater with a new high efficiency model can save up to $300 a year on your utility bills. Energy efficient models include:

• Solar water heaters
• Heat pump water heaters
• Tankless water heaters
• High efficiency tank water heaters like the Vertex from A. O. Smith.

Windows Replacement

Up to 50% of the heating and cooling loss in older, existing homes is due to heat loss and gain through the glass in single pane windows and air infiltration in the weather stripping around the sash. While you can replace the entire window unit, JELD-WEN Windows and Doors also offers sash packs that retain the existing window frame while replacing just the sash and balance tracks on each side. The new sash have double pane glass with a low-E coating—to make them very energy efficient—set in a low maintenance, vinyl covered frame.

Insulation

Adding more insulation to your attic is one of the best and most economical ways to increase the energy efficiency of your home and reduce utility bills. A common, inexpensive solution is to install batts or blow in fiberglass or cellulose insulation on top of the existing insulation in your attic. Another option that is gaining in popularity, is to spray expanding foam insulation between the rafters and wall studs.

Spaying foam between the rafters prevents heat from entering your attic and allows your HVAC system to perform more efficiently. While more expensive than traditional insulation, foam has a higher insulation R-value and seal out air infiltration better than fiberglass or cellulose.

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I recently added an additional layer of faced fiberglass insulation to my attic. Since then I noted you stipulated unfaced insulation for the attic if you already have a layer of insulation. What should I do? -Rod

Hi Rod,

As you’ve discovered, since you already had insulation in your attic, the layer of new insulation you added should have been unfaced to prevent moisture from becoming trapped between the layers. The good news is that the solution to your problem isn’t that difficult.

Simply peel the facing paper off the top layer of insulation. Though you might loose a little of the insulation that sticks to the paper, with most brands of insulation, the facing will peel off easily. While you will have spent a little more in both time and materials on the project than if you’d used unfaced insulation to begin with, the results will be about the same.

Good luck with your project,

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In the second of our two-part series, we complete the process of adding a 500-square-foot sunroom, two porches, a covered deck, and a swimming pool to this house with a beautiful view overlooking Mobile Bay on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

Since the home is located on the water in an area prone to hurricanes, we’ve taken extra precautions to beef up the construction above and beyond the stringent building codes put in place following Hurricane Katrina.

Impact Resistant Windows

On Room with a View, Part 1, we poured the foundation, framed up the addition, and installed ImpactGard impact resistant windows from JELD-WEN Window & Doors to prevent wind damage from hurricanes. ImpactGard laminated glass is composed of an interlayer of plastic sandwiched between two sheets of glass, allowing it to stand up to high winds and impact from flying debris.

HVAC System

Once the addition had been framed up, the wiring was roughed in for the electrical and home entertainment systems. Ductwork for the heating and cooling system was installed, and the old compressor replaced with a larger unit to handle the extra load.

Insulation

To reduce air infiltration, holes and cracks in the walls were filled with foam, then cellulose insulation was sprayed in the walls. The insulation is made from 85% recycled newspapers with an adhesive added to allow it to adhere to the wall cavity. Once it was dry, a power roller was used to remove any excess insulation, which could then be scooped up and reused.

Trim

An ached entrance was added between the existing house and sunroom to mirror the arches on the porch.

After the drywall had been hung, the various trim moldings were installed. Care was taken to match the beads and bevels used on the custom made JELD-WEN windows with other moldings in the room.

Flooring

The pine floors in the sunroom were carefully spliced into the flooring of the existing house. The new floor included an intricate inlaid pattern of contrasting wood.

Stucco

The exterior of the addition was covered with cement backer board, followed by a base coat of stucco. Fiberglass mesh was embedded in the stucco to reinforce seams and detail moldings. A second coat of tinted stucco was then applied to the walls of the existing house and addition.

Porches and Deck

The subfloor on the matching screened porches was covered with cement backer board followed by tile. Porcelain tile were used since they aren’t as porous as ceramic. This makes them less likely to absorb water and crack during freezing weather.

The ceilings of the porches and covered deck were covered with v-groove, 1”x 6” pine boards. The wood was given a light stain and coated with a clear finish for a natural look.

The covered deck that connected the addition to the pool was floored with 5/4” pressure treated pine.

Railing and Steps

Pressure treated steps were constructed to provide access from the pool area to the lawn below. Copper caps on the railing posts not only add a decorative touch but prevent rainwater from being absorbed into the end grain of the posts.

Pool

Once the concrete for the pool had set, a coat of plaster was troweled on the sides and bottom to give a smooth, finished appearance. A stone waterfall, cascading from the jetted soaking tub into the main pool, added a distinctive design element.

To keep the pool area free from unwanted leaves and insects, a custom built, aluminum framework—made by City Funrooms of Pensacola, Florida—was erected over the entire pool and covered with durable screening.

Pool House

A pool house was added to provide and a bathroom and changing facilities without having to go into the house. The privacy fence for the outside shower was made from a dense tropical wood called ipê which is naturally resistant to rot and decay.

Landscaping

A retaining wall made from pressure treated wood was built to stabilize the steep slope below the pool. Ground cover and flowers were planted to make the area attractive and low maintenance while sod was put down on the rest of the area.

The completed addition and pool really enhance the look and functionality of the house. With a reinforced foundation, beefed up framing, and impact resistant windows, the room with a view should stand up to whatever Mother Nature dishes out.

For more information, go to Room with a View.

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The Heat Seeker Infrared Thermometer from General Tools is perfect way to conduct a do-it-yourself inspection of your heating/cooling system for leaks in the ductwork, or a general home energy audit. To use, simply train the laser pointer on the object and read the remote temperature reading on the LCD screen. The Heat Seeker is available at The Home Depot for less than $70.

When installing fiberglass insulation in your home, be sure to put the paper or foil vapor barrier facing toward the heated and cooled living area of the home (down in attics, up under floors, in on walls) to prevent condensation from occurring.

If you are applying an additional layer of fiberglass insulation to your attic, use unfaced insulation on top of the existing insulation to keep from trapping moisture between the layers.

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To reduce heating and cooling costs, consider having foam insulation sprayed in the walls and between the rafters in the attic. This can reduce heating and cooling by as much as 70%. The added cost of foam insulation can be recouped by energy savings in three to five years in new construction.

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One of the best ways to save energy in your home is by caulking any cracks around windows and doors. While caulk alone can be applied to narrow cracks, gaps wider than ¼” should be filled with foam backer rod first.

These flexible foam tubes are available at building supply stores in several diameters. Simply push the rod into the gap with a putty knife or painter’s tool until it is just below the surface then caulk over it.

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I have 30-year-old insulated windows. A salesman told me that the seals are broken, and I am losing heat. To me the seals look fine and I speculate that broken seals should lead to condensation in the double panes. What is the best way to determine if the seals are leaking and windows need replacement?
-Deepak

Hi Deepak,
While condensation or discoloration inside the glass usually occurs when the seals are broken, there are other factors to consider that can affect the insulation performance of your windows even if the seals are intact, such as:

• The insulating qualities of the argon gas used between layers of glass diminishes over time as it slowly leaks out at a rate of about 1% per year, which can cause a reduction in the insulating value of windows.
• Newer windows can be ordered with Low-E coatings designed for your climate that can reduce energy loss by as much as 30%-50%.
• The weather stripping around your windows may have become worn, allowing air leakage.
• Newer vinyl clad wood frames insulate better than older metal frames.

The bottom line is that replacing your windows (or the glass in them), may increase the insulation value, but you will have to weigh the savings against the cost incurred.

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