All houses are different, but throughout the valley there are similar construction techniques and practices that are used on the majority of homes. These locally frequent practices could be the cause of your high energy bills, temperature differences within rooms, and poor indoor air quality. Through many years of experience, the energy auditors at Green ID have found that fixing these construction flaws can improve your quality of life through lower utility bills, better air quality, and consistent air temperature from room to room.
We will go into detail about what our auditors have found to be the most common home efficiency recommendations around Phoenix.
1. Seal the ducts. SRP estimates that the typical Phoenix home loses 20% of its air-conditioned air through faulty ducts. Some installers will take shortcuts when it comes the dealing duct leaks but ENERGY STAR tells us that a duct system that is properly sealed can save up to 25% of heating and air conditioning costs.
2. Air-seal the house. Chances are, when your house was built, the builder ran wires and plumbing plates through holes in the wall that are much bigger than the wires themselves. That extra space around the wires can let your expensive, air-conditioned indoor air leak outside—and invite hot, summer air inside. This leads to heat gain quickly.
3. Add insulation or fix improperly placed insulation. In hot climates, having a well-insulated attic is crucial. This means insulation should have an “R” value (efficiency rating) of at least 30 or higher. Some homes in Arizona don’t have any attic insulation at all or have attics with insulation where it’s improperly installed.
4. Shade your windows. Windows are one of the things that are most to blame for heat entering your home. Help keep this heat out by closing curtains on the sunny side of your home or adding shade screens to your windows. According to the Electric League of Arizona, shade screens can reduce heat from the sun by about 50%.
5. Upgrade lights and appliances. Incandescent light bulbs add heat to your home and use far more electricity. Swapping them out for CFLs or LEDs can significantly reduce your energy use and has one of the fastest payback times of any energy improvement you can make.
Get a home energy audit to get an in depth view of how your home is using energy. Homeowners won’t know which energy improvement projects are the most cost-effective if they don’t know how well or poorly their home uses energy. Home energy audits help pinpoint energy leaks and malfunctioning systems, and provide cost-benefit analyses for various energy-saving fixes. This service can find up to 35% in energy bill savings.
We will go into detail about what our auditors have found to be the most common home efficiency recommendations around Phoenix.
1. Seal the ducts. SRP estimates that the typical Phoenix home loses 20% of its air-conditioned air through faulty ducts. Some installers will take shortcuts when it comes the dealing duct leaks but ENERGY STAR tells us that a duct system that is properly sealed can save up to 25% of heating and air conditioning costs.
2. Air-seal the house. Chances are, when your house was built, the builder ran wires and plumbing plates through holes in the wall that are much bigger than the wires themselves. That extra space around the wires can let your expensive, air-conditioned indoor air leak outside—and invite hot, summer air inside. This leads to heat gain quickly.
3. Add insulation or fix improperly placed insulation. In hot climates, having a well-insulated attic is crucial. This means insulation should have an “R” value (efficiency rating) of at least 30 or higher. Some homes in Arizona don’t have any attic insulation at all or have attics with insulation where it’s improperly installed.
4. Shade your windows. Windows are one of the things that are most to blame for heat entering your home. Help keep this heat out by closing curtains on the sunny side of your home or adding shade screens to your windows. According to the Electric League of Arizona, shade screens can reduce heat from the sun by about 50%.
5. Upgrade lights and appliances. Incandescent light bulbs add heat to your home and use far more electricity. Swapping them out for CFLs or LEDs can significantly reduce your energy use and has one of the fastest payback times of any energy improvement you can make.
Get a home energy audit to get an in depth view of how your home is using energy. Homeowners won’t know which energy improvement projects are the most cost-effective if they don’t know how well or poorly their home uses energy. Home energy audits help pinpoint energy leaks and malfunctioning systems, and provide cost-benefit analyses for various energy-saving fixes. This service can find up to 35% in energy bill savings.
