Making green upgrades to your home
can majorly increase your comfort. Unfortunately, comfort and quick paybacks
don’t always go hand in hand. Upgrades like window replacements, garage
insulation and increasing insulation levels to assure they’re up to the R-38
standard, are all upgrades where the most cost effective solution may not align
with your lifestyle conditions. For example, replacing single pane windows in
good condition is not cost-effective but the price paid for one south or
west-facing window may be well worth the cost if it cools down a hot office or
reduces traffic noise at night. It’s clear that in some situations the
lifestyle conditions may outweigh the cost or payback of upgrades.
Insulation changes are another
popular upgrade that homeowners choose to make. Adding insulation can often
times give homeowners greater temperature control in their home but not every
home is the same in terms of insulation. If a home has already met a R-38
Energy Star standard adding more may still save you money on utilities but only
by a small margin opposed to adding insulation to an aged home where the
insulation has sank. In the later example the upgrade would most likely save
the home owners much more on their utility bills. Often the more important
issue is finding out how the insulation installed. A 5% defect in the installation will cut the
R-value (its effectiveness) by 50%.
All considerations for upgrades can
be discussed with an energy auditor who will give you their professional and
unbiased opinion of the most cost effective upgrades you can be making in your
home. It’s important to get a professional opinion when making investments that
could save you money and increase your comfort.
