Do you shudder when the electric bill is due? Poor home energy efficiency puts a dent in your wallet while negatively affecting the environment. Recognizing the indicators of energy loss and taking action to address them saves money and the planet.
What should you look for if you are a homeowner? Keep your eyes peeled for the following signs.
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Why Home Energy Efficiency Matters
Your home’s heating and cooling systems use more energy than any other appliances, accounting for nearly half of most household power use. While adjusting your thermostat helps, it only does so much. The bottom line is that the less you run your heat and air conditioning, the fewer emissions you create.
Unless you’ve already converted your home to solar, chances are that power comes from oil or coal. Roughly 80% of the nation’s energy came from fossil fuels in 2020, and work continues to convert the grid to renewables. Until 100% comes from sources like the sun, hydropower and geothermal energy, every watt of electricity saved results in fewer emissions. Considering how fast the planet is warming, everyone’s effort counts.
5 Indicators of Home Energy Loss You Should Know
What are the telltale signs that your house isn’t as efficient as it can be? Here are five indicators of home energy loss you should know about and address.
1. Insufficient Insulation
Adding more insulation can sometimes be an easy task. Newer homes built with energy efficiency in mind may have sufficient amounts, but many lack protection in several vital areas that make your home quicker to heat up and cool down.
Your attic is the first place to investigate. If you can see floor joists, you don’t have enough insulation. Another trick? Compare your roof to your neighbor’s after a snowfall. If the snow melts more quickly on yours, you’re bleeding heat through your attic. Ensure you add sufficient insulation, wrapping it around pipes and windows.
Another common area home builders neglect to add insulation is in your garage. Insulating this space can significantly improve your home’s energy efficiency. Think about it — even if you close the exterior door, you let hot or cold air in your house every time you carry groceries inside. Furthermore, you could have permanent cold feet in winter if your home office sits above this space. Insulating it can significantly improve your comfort and keep you from turning up the thermostat.
If you address these areas and still feel chilled, it’s time to look elsewhere. Occasionally, you may need more insulation in your walls, which usually requires the help of a professional to drill holes and blow it in without damaging your drywall.
2. Poor Attic Ventilation
It may sound ironic that poor attic ventilation can lead to poor energy efficiency. However, you must think of the physics of heat. It rises, and if all that hot air has nowhere to escape to in the summertime, your AC could end up doing double duty.
Surprisingly, not all new homes come equipped with attic fans. Adding one can significantly improve your home’s overall energy efficiency, especially if you live in a warm climate. Otherwise, ensure your attic vents remain unblocked by boxes or debris to facilitate airflow.
3. Drafty Doors and Windows
You can often identify this indicator of home energy loss by look or feel when it comes to doors. Close your doors — can you see the light through the cracks? If so, you need weather stripping. Likewise, you shouldn’t feel a cool breeze when you stand near your entryway.
Drafty windows can be a bit trickier to catch. While you may feel colder by sitting next to them, it’s easy to attribute your physical sensation to other factors, like the glass material itself or the winter vista outside. However, seeing condensation between the panes of glass indicates the seals on the insulated glass unit have failed, reducing energy efficiency. If this occurs, it’s time for a replacement.
If you don’t see condensation but feel a slight draft or chill, a bit more caulking around the frame may do the trick. Select the right caulk gun and practice drawing a straight bead on a piece of cardboard before applying a neat, steady line around the edges.
4. Outdated Furnaces
If you live in an older home, your outdated furnace may drain your home’s energy efficiency. The Energy Star program encourages manufacturers to compete to improve their products, but it only came into existence a little over 30 years ago. If your home was built before 1992, it could be time for an upgrade. Strange noises, uneven heating, high bills and a flame color other than blue can also indicate trouble with your heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.
Replacing your furnace means hiring a contractor. When selecting a company, inquire about what methods they use to recycle old appliances. Alternatively, you can contact your local municipality, which can direct you where to recycle large items. You’ll generally pay a fee per pound for them to haul it away.
5. Air Leaks
Air leaks are the hardest indicator of energy loss to detect. Your best sign is often little more than feeling cold spots in your home that don’t stem from another identifiable source, like a window. While it’s tempting to pass this phenomenon off on Casper the Friendly Ghost, doing a little investigation benefits the planet and saves you considerable cash.
You can use one of several methods to determine the source of the air leak:
- Light an incense stick: Then, carry it to different areas of the cold spot and observe which way the smoke blows.
- Lights out: Wait until it gets dark and use a flashlight. This method works best with two people — one shines light on one side of the wall while the other observes.
You might use a combination of these methods to detect the air leak. Use the incense stick to get a general idea of where the unwanted airflow is coming from, then follow up after dark to pinpoint minuscule holes.
Performing a Home Energy Audit
Your electric bill might be the best method to monitor your home’s ongoing energy use and address issues as they occur. Pay attention, perhaps tracking your bills on a spreadsheet to analyze what you typically pay during certain months and how it changes with time.
You can also use this home energy audit procedure to monitor the effectiveness of your improvements. For example, if you determine it’s time for window replacement, compare your bills for the preceding month or two with the numbers after you get your new set. Unless there’s been a drastic shift in the weather, you should notice a decrease. Seeing for yourself how much you save makes you feel better about your investment.
Indicators of Home Energy Loss
Improving your home’s energy efficiency is one of the best things you can do for your wallet and the planet. Paying attention to the indicators of loss lets you quickly identify and correct issues.
Perform an energy audit on your home by looking at your bills and doing a walk-through to inspect the five areas listed above. Addressing even one problem can save you cash, giving you more green in your wallet for further eco-friendly upgrades.