Improve building performance
Improve building performance
Why?
Does your home feel about as drafty as a tent atop a bluff? Or does it roast in summer or get cold the second you turn off the furnace in winter? These signs might suggest the need to improve your home’s “shell.” Making changes like these will not only conserve energy, but also save on your energy bills. Read on to learn about other benefits.
Use window coverings
There’s more than light that passes through windows. Believe it or not, about 30% of a home’s heating and/or cooling energy is lost through windows. There’s obviously a simple – and relatively cheap – solution: window coverings. They not only improve your energy savings, but also make you more comfortable, provide privacy, and control glare.
Your best bet is to choose products certified with the Attachments Energy Rating Council (AERC), an independent organization that rates, labels, and certifies the energy performance of window attachment products. The higher the number, the greater the home energy savings.
Remember to open and close window coverings depending upon the season and time of day – closed during hot, sunny periods and open when it’s sunny, but cold.
Outdoor awnings and solar window screens are two other options to consider.
Energy.gov: Energy Efficient Window Coverings
Consumer Reports: Block the Sun and Lower Your Energy Costs With Window Coverings
Lawrence Berkeley Lab: Efficient Window Coverings
Seal air leaks (building owner)
Sealing air leaks with caulking and weatherstripping is a low-tech, cost-effective, easy way to cut heating and cooling bills. Go here for more tips on sealing air leaks all over your home. You can also check out a handy-dandy DIY toolkit from the Sonoma County Library. It’s helpful not only for projects such as weatherstripping, but also for monitoring electrical usage and finding water leaks. And you may qualify for a BayREN rebate.
Energy.gov: Air Sealing Your Home
Sonoma County Library: DIY Toolkits
BayREN: Air Sealing
Add insulation (building owner)
What a difference insulation can make in keeping your household comfortable and conserving energy! To see what you need, you can have a qualified home energy assessor do an insulation check as a part of a whole-house energy assessment.
Before you add insulation to a new or existing house, however, do some research into insulation materials to find a non-toxic, eco-friendly option. Unfortunately, foam insulation products are often blown in using hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are much, much worse than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. Some healthier alternatives include stone mineral wool, cellulose, hemp, cotton/denim, and ThermaCork.
Energy.gov: Adding Insulation to an Existing Home
Green Building Advisor: Insulation Overview
Fine Homebuilding: A Buyer's Guide to Insulation
Install energy-efficient windows (building owner)
Energy-efficient windows are double or triple glazed and provide greater insulation in frames, reducing heat transfer between the outdoors and your home. This improves comfort, greatly increases energy efficiency, and reduces outdoor noise, among other benefits. These windows also improve the value of your home. Windows that close with levers are more efficient than those that slide open and shut.
EcoWatch: Compare Most Energy Efficient Windows (2023)
ENERGY STAR: Most Efficient 2023 – Vertical Slider Windows
Install cool roof (building owner)
Cool roofs for Cool Petalumans? Sounds about right! As you well know, things are heating up and we are likely to have more hot days in our future. Cool roofs can increase comfort and reduce energy bills, among many other benefits. But do your homework first to see if one makes sense for you.
How does a cool roof work? It absorbs less solar heat because it reflects more sunlight, reducing the roof temperature by as much as 50°F. If you need a new roof, check out the cool options for roof coverings, which are usually no more costly than conventional roofs.
California Air Resources Board: Identifying Roof Products
Energy.gov: Cool Roofs
