There’s a lot of talk these days about how to make your home “smarter,”
with everything from motorized draperies to voice-activated light switches to
automatic plant watering systems.
Lost in a lot of this excitement is the fact that many homeowners live in
“dumb” houses and would be better off focusing on making improvements that
pack a little less flash, but are a lot more cost-effective. For both newer
and older homes, there can be a surprising number of significant, if low-tech,
ways to save money, improve safety and perhaps raise your home’s IQ.
“After the energy crisis of the ’70s, homes got smaller as people became
more aware of the costs,” said John Katrakis, a Barrington-based energy
consultant. “Now people seem to expect more space, and houses are being built
larger than ever.”
As a result of the larger spaces, a home’s best opportunities for
improvements usually start at the top with the attic. Most older homes, in
particular, will have just 10 to 12 inches of cellulose (specially treated
paper pulp) or fiberglass insulation in the attic, with an R, or insulation
value, of about R-10.
“An attic should have at least R-30 insulation or more,” Katrakis said.
While the fiberglass rolls or stiff “bats” are popular among
do-it-yourselfers, experts say a far better method is blowing in loose
fiberglass or, better still, cellulose. The blowers are usually available to
rent at the hardware or home supply stores that sell the insulation.
“People need to understand the need to seal air as being as important as
insulating a space. When you blow in damp cellulose, you seal a lot of the
gaps that leak the most air,” said John Marley, director of the Illinois
EnergyWise Homes program. The program encourages builders and contractors to
utilize energy-efficient techniques in construction.
Marley adds that the value of fiberglass in general can be dubious at best
if air pathways are not sealed.
“Fiberglass can lose 30 to 50 percent of its R value when it’s cold. Voids
are a big issue because often an installer will not take the time to seal the
bats around every leak. That’s part of why we have so many of these new nice
new homes that still freeze. Blown in cellulose is easy to use and typically
more effective.”
In addition to blown insulation, expanding foam can also be used to seal
leaks. The goal is to stop air movement through leaks, also called “bypasses,”
which can lessen the effectiveness of insulation and bring harmful moisture
into the attic.
As Oak Park architect Paul Knight points out, some bypasses can be tougher
to seal than others.
“People really like recessed cans for lighting, especially in bathrooms,
but you can’t cover the cans with insulation. The result is warm, moist air
coming into the cold attic, and condensation on the roof which could be
mistaken for a leak,” he said. Knight says the best solution is to change the
type of fixture to a special air-tight lighting unit or do away with the cans
altogether.
Homeowners should also make sure bathroom and dryer vents do not vent into
the attic to avoid the same types of heat loss and moisture problems.
Katrakis adds that homeowners who do take the initiative to add attic
insulation should avoid overkill. “You don’t gain much by putting in more than
R-30. You’re better off paying more attention to the bypass leaks. Don’t
assume more insulation is better.”
That said, raising attic insulation can offer one of the faster paybacks in
the world of home improvement. Costs to go from R-10 to R-30 range from under
50 cents to $1 per square foot.
Katrakis says annual energy savings would run 8 to 10 cents per square
foot, paying for the project in less than five years.
The living area of a home also frequently offers room for improvement.
According to Knight, there are many small but significant leaks in a living
area that can usually be sealed up with latex caulk.
“Beneath the sinks where the water pipes and drain enter, and areas where
electric panel boxes are set into a wall usually leak air,” he said.
“Baseboards can also leak air when the drywall behind them isn’t sealed
properly.”
Electrical outlets also are traditionally a source of air leakage. A number
of low-cost gaskets are available for consumers to install themselves to stop
the air flow. Knight suggests adding child-proof inserts to stop drafts and
add a measure of safety. Some of the most serious sources of air leakage can
come from some of the most unlikely sources.
“Fireplace flues are not so bad, but some fireplaces are built in front of
a wall with a transition between the drywall and the brick that can leak a
large amount of air,” Marley said.
“Laundry chutes are nice,” he added, “but I’ve seen some that ran up to the
attic and acted like a chimney sucking warm air out of the house because the
chute’s doors weren’t air-tight. You have to look carefully sometimes.”
While windows are oft-cited sources of energy loss, experts say taking
steps to improve the situation rarely makes sense.
While new window technology like low-emissivity coatings and argon-gas
chambers have improved efficiency, the cost of installation makes it a tough
sell unless you’re going to make the change for aesthetic reasons as well.
“Installing new windows just for energy savings is not usually
cost-efficient unless you put in a smaller window. You can pay for an awful
lot of gas and electricity with what new windows cost,” Marley said.
The same can also usually be said for the cost of blowing additional
insulation into walls. While an attic may be tackled on a weekend, adding wall
insulation to living areas typically requires holes in your walls and the help
of a qualified contractor. As a result, the cost may be prohibitive unless
you’re going to be doing other renovation work that would involve recovering
or refinishing walls.
Again, surprising results may be had by simply sealing off some of the more
easily accessible air leaks for a given area.
“It’s very important to find the room that’s the coldest and focus on
fixing that first,” Katrakis said. “That room will usually determine how high
you set your thermostat, even if it means other parts of the house are too
warm.”
Other types of potential fixes are found in the basement, though sealing
off air remains a primary goal. “Sometimes the gasket between the foundation
and the wood frame isn’t totally sealed, and that’s usually easy to fix with
wrapped insulation or a special foam called icynene,” said Marley.
When it comes to replacing a basement’s furnace, the experts say every
homeowner has to weigh the age of their current unit and the time they will be
in the house against the energy savings of a new model.
Water heaters, however, have not evolved quite as far in terms of savings,
at least not yet. While Dallas-based A.O. Smith recently introduced a
hot-water heater claiming 94 percent efficiency, it runs about $4,000 and is
available only in sizes roughly three times the need of the average home.
Smaller, more affordable future versions are promised.
Another basement fix is the sealing of ductwork, particularly in unheated
areas such as a crawlspace.
“The worst thing you can use is duct tape because it will dry up. A metal
tape is available that’s similar to the material of license plate tabs, and
you should seal all the ductwork you can,” said Marley. He added that foam
insulation wrap for ductwork and water pipes may also be helpful for runs in
unheated areas.
For all the sealing and plugging, however, Knight reminds homeowners that
making a house too air-tight can be a significant health hazard. If appliances
such as furnaces, dryers and water heaters are not properly vented they can
release combustion gases back into the house.
For this reason, Knight and others strongly recommend the use of furnaces,
water heaters and other appliances that use sealed combustion systems or
special vents to force the gases outside. “Making a house too tight is
surprisingly easy to do, and the results are not always fatal. People can just
suffer flu-like symptoms all the time,” Knight said.
Safety is also an important factor when reviewing your home’s electrical
service. Older homes, in particular, should be checked to ensure adequate
power is available through the existing fuse or breaker box. Current housing
code requires 100-amp service, though experts say 200-amp service may be
advisable for larger homes.
“A lot of homes 40 years or older have 60- or even as little as 30-amp
service. With today’s usage levels it’s easy to overload the system,” said
Paul Michaelsen of Meco Electric in Chicago.
Michaelsen also suggests homes old enough to have wiring with fabric
insulation consider replacing it throughout. Upgrading an older home’s
electric service to 100 amps will run about $600 to $850. Replacing the wiring
in a midsize home can run anywhere from $1,200 to $2,000 or more.
“Cost-wise, these types of improvements aren’t made to save money onyour
electric bill. They’re done purely for safety,” Michaelsen said.
Before a homeowner undertakes any of the above, a smart step would be the
scheduling of a blower door test with a qualified professional energy auditor.
Among other things, such a test helps identify air leaks and air flow problems
within a house. The cost of the test ranges from $125 to $350, or about 10
cents per square foot. A list of qualified testers may be obtained by calling
the Illinois EnergyWise Homes program at 217-785-2007.
