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Building Energy Efficient
Safe Homes
by Dean Minton
Tips for building energy efficiency
into your new home.
Everyone has heard of the energy crises
in California and the rising cost of electricity and gas. And as the
years go by it will get worse. Even if you can afford the extra money
it's no fun when the power goes off and your home loses its comfort
level quickly. New technology has come along to help but most must be
built into the home at the time of construction. If you are planning on
building a home than the following are things you should consider. Most
contractors unless you have a very good one will not build your home the
best it can be built. There are many small and big details, which can
make a big difference in the long run.
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Building energy efficiency into today's
homes requires much more than simply adding more insulation or energy
efficient appliances and windows. It requires a totally new concept of
building techniques. It requires innovation and creativity, the ability to
move forward into a whole new dimension of building tomorrow's homes
today. These super energy efficient homes will have the ability to
reduce our energy consumption by 50% to 90% making these homes extremely
Environmentally friendly by reducing the demands for more energy as
requested by the department of energy.
The real cost of owning a home is not the
construction cost, it is how much it costs you to own and operate your
home every month. The huge monthly savings realized by drastically
reducing your rate of energy consumption will result in a positive
cash flow from day one. With the high and ever increasing utility bills
this will accrue tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your
mortgage or in an interest bearing savings account.
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In addition to the money saving benefits
of your new home you will realize other very pleasant benefits, and
homes that are quieter and safer.
The following list should be considered:
- Have at least 8" thick, (I use
14") newer type panel extremely strong exterior walls. The
insulation value (up to R-50) and soundproofing of these manufactured
panels can't be beat. There are many companies that make these panels
and after much research I believe ®RASTA is the best and is the one I
use. You can even use them to soundproof a music room if you want.
- Make sure the home is constructed as a
sealed unit with vapor barriers, with adequate ventilation and with a
heat exchanger as required. Eliminates air leakage into and out of
your home.
- Have standard 10 ft. high Ceilings to
increase comfort.
- Include solar hot water heating but pick
a quality system.
- Have a Roof system with 97% reflective
air spaces vented from the Fascia to the continuous Ridge vent for
much cooler attic spaces.
- Most heat energy is transferred into and
out through the roof system and the only way to prevent this is with
reflective air spaces in the ceiling and roof.
- Use quality bath and kitchen fixtures
like ®MOEN. They last much longer and most important they don't leak.
A single drip can waste 400 gallons of water a year. Make sure air
chambers are installed in the plumbing.
The air conditioning and heating will be
much smaller in this home and in some locations none at all.
A home built like this will cost very
little to heat and cool.
These things will add cost at first but
will pay for themselves over and over again. With the addition of a few
solar panels (The Government will help pay for them!) you can actually
sell electricity back to the electric company!
For pictures please visit our website.
Web site address: http://www.energysaverpanels.com
EMAIL: mailto:Dean@energysaverpanels.com
Dean Minton is part owner of Western States Energy Company.
© 2001 Dean Minton
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