Making your home more energy efficient is the single most eco-friendly improvement that you can do. Why not start with your insulation. Whether you already have standard fiberglass insulation or not, there are now “green” options that are healthier f…

- All different kinds of alternative (non-pink) insulation is broken down with links and video (for some).

saF

http://ecotalityblog.com

If you were walking around the house this winter, cold, and noticed the windows were wide open, would you throw on an extra sweater and turn up the heat to fix the problem? Well, you might throw on the sweater and turn up the heat, but you’d make sure to shut all the windows while you were at it. Fact is, the envelope of most homes leaks like a sieve, as do the heating and AC ducts. First thing a homeowner needs to do is think of the house as a system, and tighten the envelope to insure no air or moisture penetration, while providing adequate, controlled, ventilation. Insulation could be part of that process, or subsequent to it.

I highly recommend getting a home energy audit, as suggested above, to determine the proper steps to take. Done properly, you’ll have a prioritized scope of work, as opposed to the shotgun approach you might put together on your own. It’ll run a couple of hundred dollars, but should give a lot of bang for the buck. As a greenie, and a builder, I think it’ll show a good return on investment.

There are “blankets” that can be wrapped around a water heater tank (I did so in Texas – it was in the garage),

Way to go Cheap B.

These get better by the minute.

As anecdotal evidence my dad had insulation blown into his attic many years ago and he was not one to waste a buck :)

Compared to the north, we in Florida are more concerned with keeping the heat out rather than in. The attic insulation protects us from those hot, hot roofs. Since we don’t care about the wieght of snow the roof is relatively close to the ceiling (a very low “pitch”, there are even flat tar roofs – I have no clue how they insulate those).

The roof is good but don’t forget about doors and windows. If you stand in a dark room, look at an outside door, and see light, that is a bad thing. This falls under the cheap/DIY/green savings.

Although this is not a part of your question, single pane windows are another area of rapid payback. Any “modern” home is probably ok but older homes and get a huge benefit from upgrading windows (I noticed how quiet the house was after I changed mine, since sound and air go together I figure I had a winner. Now I wish I had kept utility bills to measure the impact).

Many utility companies have programs to evaluate your home for free. The good ones use something that looks like a radar gun except it measures temperature instead of speed. It’s worth a few minutes of investigation – check a web site or two, make a phone call. Energy conservation is known as the gift that keeps on giving.

Cheers.