From Guest Blogger Ann Shirley: How to Build the Most Energy Efficient Home

When planning for a new home or a next phase, one of the most important considerations should be the overall cost of ownership. It can be easy to overlook the cost of utilities when you fall in love with a neighborhood or a floor plan. But as utility costs continue to rise, the second largest monthly expense associated with home ownership is the cost of powering it – heat, electricity, gas, and water. With the right questions and the right builder, you can make a smart purchase that won’t eat away at your wallet month after month. Finding a home that is engineered from the ground up to be an efficient whole system is the only way to ensure your home will be a wise investment.

A home with optimal energy efficiency features will reduce utility costs, create a comfortable living environment, and even, in many cases, raise the overall value of the home. But not all builders have the techniques, methods and experience to build a truly efficient home. Many builders produce a home that is the minimal that they are allowed to produce according to building code. That may be more efficient than an older home, but not by much. You need to look for an innovator, one that takes full advantage of the range of efficiencies. This means that, from the foundation to the attic, the systems, structures, and materials should all be contributing to this goal.

Foundation

Building an energy-efficient home starts at the foundation – the cornerstone of any new house. In order to properly support an entire home, a foundation must be incredibly strong. Instead of relying on old technology like cinder blocks, which many builders still use, Insight Homes uses a poured concrete foundation for superior strength and density. Poured concrete is three and a half times stronger than cinderblock and is less porous, which reduces the potential for water seepage into the crawlspace. Not only is this method used on every Insight Home in Delaware, but the exterior wall of the foundation is also coated with an asphalt-based moisture block that further reduces the chance of water infiltration. Insight Homes also lines the interior wall of the crawlspace with two-inch thick Styrofoam sheathing, which insulates the area and increases the energy efficiency of the whole building.

Building Up

A truly energy efficient home needs an advanced framing to strengthen the overall integrity of the structure. While standard builders erect traditional walls framed with 2″ x 4″ lumber, a wall utilizing 2″ x 6″ lumber can allow extra room for insulation that will offer superior protection. You may have placed your hand on a wall or windowsill during a cold day – the temperature you feel is much colder than the ambient air in the home. The heating and cooling system is constantly working against this intrusion, an often losing battle. The right walls – with thicker, blown-in dense pack insulation – prevent this. Blown-in insulation allows homeowners to fill every nook and cranny of the wall for greater effectiveness and control than what is possible with batted insulation. In a home with poor quality or too little attic insulation, the valuable treated air, whether hot or cold, escapes through the ceiling and gets trapped in the attic. The HVAC system continually produces more heated or cooled air, and it keeps getting lost because of poor insulation. In a home using an Energy Heel, a large amount of space is designed specifically for applying dense insulation, eliminating this drag on the system.

A well-insulated home can only get you so far. A truly efficient home has to have another essential component to keep utility bills in check – a good HVAC system. Not just the unit on the wall or the machine outside, a well-engineered HVAC system contains numerous components all working together to keep your home comfortable and provide true energy savings.

A home’s HVAC system and insulation need to work in tandem in order to provide occupants with the greatest comfort and most savings. By installing an advanced HVAC system like the ones used in Insight Homes, people can see energy bills of less than $100 a month. Using just one component as an example, the York Affinity® Series uses an innovative variable speed blower that can cut power load when cooling or heating, rather than just turning “on” or “off,” like an inferior system. These systems also often take advantage of a dual fuel hybrid design, meaning the system automatically switches from electric to a gas furnace on the coldest days of the year. However, the heater and air conditioner are just components – the ducting is just as important. With most builders’ homes, the air that has been heated or cooled leaks out of poorly designed and planned ductwork. This air then seeps into a poorly insulated attic, and then seeps outside. An HVAC system must be a complete and functioning system, in which all the components have to share the same goal – keeping the home comfortable year round for the least amount of money.

Windows

Another essential component of an energy-efficient home is having high quality windows that can minimize temperature changes inside. Much of the beauty of windows is that they let all of the natural light into a home. The downfall is that they often let a lot of the controlled environment out. With a home designed to be truly efficient, when the house is being built, Low-E windows should be used throughout it to enhance energy savings. Low-E windows emit low levels of radiant thermal energy; they can work by reflecting the heat of the sun on hot days and retaining it within the house on cold days.

Hot Water on Demand

We live in a day and age when everything is available at a moment’s notice, whether it be a favorite television show or hot water. As regards the latter, homeowners can install an on-demand hot water heater and ensure an instantaneous supply without the wait in front of the faucet. Traditional hot water heaters typically keep about 50 gallons of water heated around the clock, which wastes a tremendous amount of energy – and it still takes time for the water to actually reach its destination!

By using an on-demand hot water heater, homeowners can have instant access to hot water whenever they want it; once the faucet is turned off, the system shuts itself down. On-demand water heaters like those offered by Rinnai ® can save about 60% on energy costs compared to a standard water heater that most builders still rely on.

Green Ideas

Homeowners can finish off an exceptionally energy-efficient house by having CFL light bulbs and a high-quality Energy Star® appliance package. Even these smaller items can save a lot of power and money in the long run.

All of the above measures are used when Insight Homes builds a new home in Delaware. Their proven methods save money, reduce power consumption and environmental impact, and allow the new homeowners to live comfortably.