Housing, Real Estate & The Green Revolution, Part 2 – Heating, Cooling & Electricity

Part 2 – Heating, Cooling & Electricity

High efficiency furnaces and/or heat pumps – replacing old furnaces with higher efficiency models or possibly converting from an older type of heating and/or cooling device to one utilizing newer technology can lead to significant energy savings. Many furnaces built just 15 years ago are quite inefficient when compared to models available today.
Insulation – adding additional insulation in attics, crawl spaces and exterior walls are all potential areas for reducing energy costs. Also, by sealing cracks in the attic around areas where ceiling lights and fans are installed or wires are strung can also cut energy costs substantially. When all these small openings are added together, they can have the same effect as having a window left open.
Horizontal Loop Ground Source Heat Pump System – this relatively unheard of heat pump system runs coils 4 to 6 feet underground to tap into the constant temperature of the earth’s soil to provide either heating or cooling depending upon the season.
Windows – installation of wood or vinyl encased triple pane windows significantly reduces heat loss and eliminates drafts.
Building Site Orientation – for new construction, orienting a building to utilize the southern exposure along with window placement allows for the exploitation of both natural lighting and solar heat.
Light bulbs – the days of the incandescent light bulbs may be numbered as legislators across the nation discuss legislation to ban their use in favor of the more efficient LED and CFL lighting technology as a measure to reduce energy usage.
Higher efficiency appliances – installation of high efficiency appliances will significantly reduce energy consumption, particularly for appliances that run all the time, are energy consumers or are used with high frequency.

Keep an eye out for part 3 of 5 in the coming days…

• Read Part 1 Here
• Read Part 3 Here
• Read Part 4 Here
• Read Part 5 Here