When it comes to home energy efficiency, the reasons to ensure your home is performing up to par are compelling. The terms sustainability and green have become everyday words and marketing slogans because there has never been a more crucial time to conserve. And even if you are a less-than-enthusiastic participant in the eco-boom, you’ll still relish the fact that your utility bill could take a significant nosedive with a little investment and a few well-installed adjustments. Chronogram spoke to some of the Hudson Valley’s leaders in home energy efficiency and got their recommendations for what you can do to help make a difference for the environment and your own bank account.
The most mommon ways to waste energy
According to all of our experts, the first thing a homeowner must address is the air that enters and exits the home. “Many homes have enough cracks and openings to add up to the same effect as a large, constantly open window,” says John Franklin, the merchandising manager for Williams Lumber. “You just don’t notice the window being open.”
There are two types of heat loss that happen: convected and conducted. Convected heat loss occurs when drafts are caused by open or loose fitting windows and doors, different types of vents, or through actual holes or openings to the outside of the building. Heated air will commonly be lost through the ceiling or top of the wall, and drafts of cold air often make their way in through the bottom of the structure. According to Franklin, this combination of airflow creates a gravity siphon that moves a huge amount of heat outside of the home. Homes that have active chimneys for fireplaces, wood stoves, gas or oil appliances, or active vents in the bathroom or kitchen often cause cold air outside to enter in almost every possible location due to the slightly negative pressure created inside.
Joseph Malcarne, owner of Energy Star-rated builder Malcarne Contracting, says that building codes mandate that the air in your house be exchanged every two hours and 52 minutes to guarantee good air quality and freshness. However, he adds that most houses he goes into have an air exchange rate of every one to two hours instead. “Imagine all that air that you have to heat up,” Malcarne says. “The results of that are that you have high heating bills, rooms that are uncomfortable, and temperature differentials between rooms.”
On the other hand, conducted heat loss is more subtle. It occurs through the shell of the home, with energy escaping through the actual window, door, wall, or ceiling. “Conduction doesn’t need a hole,” Franklin says. “It just goes through the material. If the window pane feels cold, you have a loss. If the wall or floor feels cold, you have a loss.”
Homeowners will also feel the pinch of running outdated or energy-guzzling appliances. “Old oil and gas heating units may be less than 60 percent efficient or even worse,” Franklin says.
Luckily, with rising oil prices and a widespread interest in going green, homeowners have a number of options to combat rising energy costs and make their home more environmentally mindful.
The Solutions—
Quick Fixes and Larger Investments
Malcarne says that insulation and air sealing are the best weapons against convected and conducted losses. Start by getting a blower test, which will indicate which areas are leaking air.
Since a large amount of heat escapes through the top of the home, homeowners should look at the condition of the insulation in their attics, which often becomes torn and ravaged by electrical work and other wear. Then head to the basement, and assess its condition.
“If they’re older farmhouses, basements are typically loose, stone walls and typically very leaky,” Malcarne says. For a faster, do-it-yourself approach, an easy way to fix an old, permeable basement wall is to buy a can of Great Stuff, an insulating foam sealant that will allow you to spot-treat as needed. For professionally done work, Malcarne suggests a closed-cell foam insulation for basements, which won’t absorb moisture. It’s the only kind, he says, that is usually effective for that area.
After the top and bottom of the home are covered, the walls, which are often the most expensive to insulate, should be considered. Malcarne recommends a blow-in cellulose insulation, which has a variety of benefits: its eco-friendly composition is recycled newspapers; it’s one of the most cost-effective solutions on the market; it carries a degree of flame-retardency; is nontoxic; and is not a suitable material for animals, such as mice, to make homes in. Malcarne uses National Fiber’s cellulose insulation for his projects.
An open-cell foam insulation is a good option. Dale Giraudin, the director of commercial products for Bullville’s Foamco, says that his firm’s half-pound expanding foam Icynene is sprayed into homes under construction after framing is finished and plumbing, wiring, and ductwork is installed. This insulation is sprayed into every open cavity such as wall bays, attics, crawlspaces, and box beams with the goal of sealing the building envelope. But the foam is also an alternative for aging homes, which may have no insulation at all. “The product can be applied in empty cavities of older homes, by injecting it into pencil-thin portholes, which can be later spackled closed by the homeowner,” Giraudin says.
Studies by Foamco have shown that foam insulation is an average of 42 percent more energy efficient than conventional insulation, and there are other benefits as well. The foam is not only able to seal “every nook and cranny,” as Giraudin says, but also will never shrink, settle, or sag. Though it is more costly than conventional insulation, it will likely raise the value of a home when buyers are asking about energy costs. “Spray foam installed by Foamco is a selling point, he says. “Foam provides great value when looked at from all aspects.”
Franklin has another suggestion for older homes suffering from a lack of proper insulation. “Many old homes can be improved by putting a one- or two-inch layer of foil-faced foam on the inside wall and covering it with a new layer of sheetrock,” he says. “This sacrifices 1 1/2 inches to 2 1/2 inches of space in the room, but greatly increases the effective R-value of the wall.” (The R-value stands for a material’s resistance to heat flow.)
Energy can also be lost right through old windows and doors. If you can’t reinsulate, replacing these fixtures can make a dramatic improvement. “If possible, you should replace every window and door you can with a new model that has Energy Star Low E-insulated glass panes,” Franklin says. “If you replace your windows, your house will become warmer and much quieter.”
Malcarne recommends the Paradigm window, which comes with a five-year warranty if it’s installed by a qualified professional. “What I like to look at is a window that’s well built, structurally strong, and has a rating for the air infiltration,” he says. “We want a window with high efficiency that seals well. [Paradigm is] one of the very best as far as replacement windows go.”
If replacing windows and installing foam insulation are simply not in your budget, there are ways to make a difference without a significant budget. Use common sense—make sure windows and doors are closed, and install good weather stripping around all moveable openings. Caulk should be installed in cracks around these areas, as well as around pipe chases and vents outside of the house. Purchasing a full window cover for the cold seasons and closing off unused chimneys also makes a huge difference, Franklin says. Malcarne says that lighting use, which often accounts for 30 percent of a utility bill, can be decreased by replacing other bulbs with fluorescents or using LED lights, which he says last almost indefinitely and use a fraction of the electricity.
Surveying the condition of the home’s appliances is the next step to saving money and reducing energy consumption. Franklin recommends replacing appliances. “Old appliances like refrigerators and air conditioners use a great deal more energy than new Energy Star-rated models,” he says.
Malcarne’s advice is to replace your old appliances as well, but to make sure they’re installed properly. “When it comes to heating and cooling equipment be conscious of the right product and right application,” he says. “If you’re just looking at labels you could buy a 94 percenter, it could work at 74 percent if installed wrong.” The best way to confirm that someone is a qualified technician is to require referrals from satisfied customers prior to the job.
Kate Dayton, the owner of New Paltz’s Green Courage, a materials project management company and supplier that also provides interior design services, offers clients decorative options that prove to be energy savers as well. Cork flooring, for instance, is naturally antibacterial and soft underfoot. “Cork as a flooring material is great, and you can also use floor under layment,” she says. “It’s a natural insulator and an acoustical benefit as well.” Cork flooring is offered in a range of colors and styles, such as tiles or floating floor panels. Another of Dayton’s flooring recommendations is Marmoleum, a natural linoleum made from flax with a cork backing that gives some of the same insulation benefits.
Cork can be applied as flooring or on walls with the same benefit. Dayton also recommends American Clay, a veneer clay plaster finish for walls. “It’s energy efficient because it absorbs and releases moisture into the air and can hold 300 times its weight in moisture,” she explains. “It keeps the room balanced air quality-wise and is also an insulator. If you want your home more warm in the winter and you’ve got your temperature set, it will maintain that warmth. And in the summer it will maintain the cool.”
Dayton also advises clients on how to avoid some of the pitfalls of making a home too airtight, which can include air stagnation and moisture buildup that leads to mold growth and other issues; homeowners need to remember to care for the air quality of their space after conducting all the various sealing and insulating measures. She offers her clients advice on products that encapsulate the off-gassing of toxins like formaldehyde from their furniture or millwork. She also advises clients to choose zero-VOC paints like American Pride or to use the American Clay wall covering to limit the amount of chemicals in the air, as well as opting for natural household cleaning products.
Malcarne also notes the downside to too much sealing: air that exchanges at a much slower rate than the mandated two hours and 52 minutes. This can create a slew of condensation-related issues that result in poor air quality and worse. He says to make sure that homeowners do their research and consult with knowledgeable contractors for their work. “Some people are very well-intentioned and misinformed,” he points out.
But the benefits of looking into these home improvements far outweigh the negatives, if done properly. Malcarne notes that with 120 million homes in the US, and some 20 million being built per year, the energy conservation movement is definitely needed. He also mentions that homeowners may be able to receive compensation for their improvements. Through NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority), qualifying New York State residents can receive thousands of dollars to put toward their home energy-efficiency renovations. No matter how much a homeowner qualifies for, Malcarne says that this investment is always a smart choice.
“You pay a little more up front, but for the rest of the life of the home it’s saving energy,” he says. “And when you look at the savings there, coupled with increase in comfort, you really have a win-win situation.”
Resources for home efficiency
Williams Lumber
8 locations in the Hudson Valley
(845) 876-7011; www.williamslumber.com
Malcarne Contracting, Inc.
Staatsburg
(800) 798-5844; www.malcarnecontracting.com
Foamco Inc.
Bullville
(800) 407-2240; www.foamcoinc.com
Green Courage
New Paltz
(845) 255-8731; www.greencourage.com
This article appears in April 2008.
