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Making Home Energy Efficient

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Government statistics report that conserving energy costs in the home can save a household several hundred, even several thousand, dollars per year on their utility bills. Replacing your older appliances and elements of your home’s structure, such as older windows and doors, with more energy-efficient alternatives, such as products that meet ENERGY STAR guidelines, is an important step to maximizing the amount of money you can save. ENERGY STAR is a government program that identifies products – including appliances, home electronics, and home improvement products – that meet energy efficiency guidelines that exceed the minimum federal standards, as determined by the U.S. Department of Energy. You can identify a product that meets the organization’s guidelines by looking for the signature blue ENERGY STAR logo.

The ENERGY STAR program began as a voluntary labeling tool to “identify and promote energy-efficient products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions." It started with the labeling of computers and monitors and more than a decade later, has expanded to identify all types of products used in homes and offices that conserve energy. The result: Consumers and businesses have saved billions of dollars since the program began – $12 billion in 2005 alone.

Energy-efficient appliances – such as refrigerators and freezers, clothing washers, dishwashers, dehumidifiers and window air conditioning units – can cut consumer utility bills in half when compared with standard models. And home improvement products with an ENERGY STAR rating – such as vinyl replacement windows, doors, skylights and siding – help to better maintain your home’s temperature control, cutting heating and cooling costs anywhere from $20 to $400 per year.

If you’ve been searching for a product in any one of the more than 40 categories rated by ENERGY STAR, you may have come across the organization’s blue logo. That seal of approval indicates that the item can perform as well as, or better than, comparable products, but save you more money than if you purchased a less energy-efficient option. A refrigerator meeting ENERGY STAR’s energy conservation guidelines today:

Uses 40% less energy than models sold in 2001

Saves its owner 15% in energy costs when compared with other models (And freezers save 10 %.)

Compact models, with volumes less than 7.75 square feet, save 20%

A washing machine that meets ENERGY STAR guidelines:

Saves its owner up to $110 per year

Requires 50% less energy than standard washing machines

Uses up to 50% less water

Has more efficient spinning cycles to reduce drying time

Energy-efficient appliances provide an obvious cost savings for a household’s energy expenses. And other products that meet ENERGY STAR standards, such as vinyl replacement windows, doors, skylights and siding, make a significant contribution to keeping those costs down as well. Replacing your existing windows and siding with newer, better designed vinyl replacement windows and insulated siding can quadruple the insulation value of your home and save an average of 30% on your utility bills.

In addition to saving money, vinyl replacement windows with this rating create a more comfortable living environment by:

Eliminating drafts and blocking heat

Offering protection from sun damage

Reducing interior condensation on windows

In the winter, energy-efficient vinyl replacement windows keep the interior glass warmer for better temperature control. And the warmer the window, the less interior condensation that, over time, can damage your window sill and paint job, and encourage mold growth. In the summer, these windows also:

Block 45 to 70% of the sun’s heat

Provide “sunscreen" to your home by blocking ultraviolet light that can reduce fading up to 75% without compromising visible light.

Whether you are looking to add to the beauty of your home and lower your energy bills by installing vinyl replacement windows, or you want to make a smart decision when choosing your next dishwasher or window air conditioning unit, products that meet ENERGY STAR guidelines offer an economical alternative that leaves more money in your pocket.

Making Home Energy Efficient

Did you know that you can save money by having an energy efficient house? And you can facilitate this by getting a loan to improve the energy usage of the house. It is known as an Energy-Efficient Mortgage or EEM and many lenders offer them to home buyers with energy conservation in mind. You can check with banks and other institutions who can help guide you in the right direction in finding this great opportunity.

In order to qualify for an EEM, you must have your house rated for its energy usage. This energy rating evaluates the entire structure as a whole and does not consider who is living in it, meaning the assessment is not based on personal behavior. The energy rating literally assesses the amount of energy used based on the type windows that are installed in the home, the amount and type of insulation, as well as the appliances your home uses. It even looks at the type and quality of major energy users such as cooling and heating systems. The better quality the structure and the least amount of air leakage in ducts, the better the energy rating the house will get.

Before you get your house rated for energy usage, be sure to ask the lender what type of energy rating they want to you to get. A very common rating is the Home Energy Rating System or HERS, and you can find companies or individuals who can diagnose a house and give it this rating. The person who does the rating is either a certified rater or energy auditor who uses information gathered from the house, inputs it in a computer program, and then produces a report. This report is used to rate the house and give it a score from 1-100. There is then a scale of 5 stars that correspond to the amount of points the house has earned.

Not only does this report assess the current energy uses of the house, but will also give suggestions on ways to improve the energy usage of the home by making the necessary improvements on the house. It can go as far as to detail the estimated cost, savings, and break even point for each improvement.

The lender, however, may prefer you to use alternative energy audits that will determine the same type of information that the lender will use to assess the amount and terms of the EEM.

In order to qualify for an energy improvement through an EEM, the improvement must be cost-effective which means that the monthly savings on the utility bills that are generated by the improvement must be greater than the added monthly cost of the energy mortgage. Also, your total savings must be greater than your total costs.

What the EEM is achieving is the ability for a home owner to take out a loan in order to make the necessary home improvements that will save more money than the loan costs itself. There will be considerable long term savings as well, after the loan costs and savings break even.

Actually getting the EEM is like getting a normal mortgage, just there is some additional paperwork and of course information used to determine the loan amount and terms. A facilitator can assist you with making the EEM process run smoothly, making sure everything is completed and filed in a timely manner and taking some of the work off the shoulders of both the home owner and lender.

The home owner has between about 90 and 180 days to have the improvements made to the home. The loan amount, usually about 150% of the total cost of improvements, is placed into an escrow account by the lender and the lender pays the contracting company directly if so requested. This leaves the home owner out of the transaction so he or she will not be responsible for the transaction itself.

An EEM is not only environmentally friendly, but pocket book friendly as well. At the same time that a home owner is saving money, energy is being conserved that could be used elsewhere. The government is in full support of the EEM and will even help finance the energy audit up to $200. This energy audit that determines the house energy rating can cost anywhere from $100 to $350, $200 being the average.

So you think your home could be more energy efficient? And that your energy bills could be much lower than what they are? Consider an Energy-Efficient Mortgage and begin taking steps to getting your home retrofitted for a new life of energy conservation and more money in the wallet. Not only that, you get to experience a more efficient and comfortable home after all the necessary improvements are complete.

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About Author

Both Patrick Altoft & John R. Blakefield are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Patrick Altoft has sinced written about articles on various topics from Internet Marketing, Landscaping and Keyboard Synthesizer. Michael Clem is Operations Manager of Creative Energy of Richmond, Virginia. Creative Energy uses ENERGY STAR-compliant

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