North Shore Home & Real Estate Talk

Last year, National Grid was offering a free energy audit to any customer who heated with gas. So, I decided to schedule one.  There was a couple of months’ wait, but finally the day came and I met the “energy advisor” at my house.  The entire process took a few hours, with me following the advisor around asking questions.  Our house was built in 1992 and is fairly energy-efficient, but there were some tweaks that could be made.  The big takeaway from the experience; seal air leaks.  In our case, gaps around two attic access doors were allowing air to escape into the attic and out of the house, an unused fireplace chimney was a source of heat loss, as well as uninsulated outlets on our outside walls. I was surprised when the advisor told me that the attic should be roughly the same temperature as outside.  It makes sense; if the attic is warm and the air outside is cool, it means that  heated air from inside the house is escaping into the attic, and then heating the outdoors.

People tend to think of replacing windows when they think about saving energy, but windows are very expensive and there are many other things you can do to save on heating costs.  Make sure your attic is well-insulated.  Insulate and seal any attic doors or hatches.  Buy insulation for the outlets on your outside walls.  Install a programmable thermostat.  Add an insulating  jacket to your water heater if it is a pre-2004 model.  Insulate your hot-water pipes.  Seal any leaky joints in ductwork.  Chimney “balloons” or “plugs” can stop warm air from escaping up your chimney.  Even insulated drapes or energy-saving honeycomb shades can help limit heat loss.  Finally, you may want to pay for an energy audit, if you don’t qualify for a free one, to find out where your house is losing heat.

Information on Home Energy Efficiency Improvement Tax Credits.

FineHomeBuilding.com  and Fine Home Building Magazine are great sources for articles on insulating your home.

Chimneyballoon.us a source for the Chimney Balloon, a draft stopper.

BatticDoor.com offers chimney draft stoppers, insulated attic access door systems, attic stair covers, and clothes dryer vent seals.