What to do about Home Energy Lose and protect our Wallet!

With the Current weather here in the Midwest (Artic Vortex) with cold snow showers and 2 feet of snow in our front yards, you would think that 1 week from March our conversations would be what spring will bring right? Not in Michigan just yet, with the 2^nd snowiest winter since the 1800s and weather that is going to be interesting for the next few weeks my focus turns to energy consumption and what can we do to lower those heating and cooling bills. Yes fellow Do-It-Yourselfers cooling is in the subject line since summer is just around the corner where we will be cooling our homes! Take a look below at the photo for additional information on where we lose the most heat and cool air in our homes.






Check out the loss of energy this is where we concentrate our efforts to decrease the loss and save money!

I think the attached video from outside the USA can show that this is an issue in every corner of the world take a look and enjoy this very entertaining heat signature video:



What to do well here are some easy or somewhat easy ways to get the energy loss under control: Lets assume most people have some insulation in their walls and move to the attic. AttiCat an Owens Corning product available at my favorite store The Home Depot! Increase your R-Value to improve insulation properties of your attic/roof. My house was built in 1946 and when we opened the walls guess what we found Cotton seeds and all in the walls and ceiling. My wife also found a Times Herald newspaper published on November 22, 1963 with the headline Kennedy Slain in Dallas. So this can be a historical hunt for treasures that some prior owner was saving.

 

Here is a short video showing just how easy the Installation process is when using AttiCat. The video is about 11 minutes long but has some great insight on how the product works and the ease of installation.



 

So you have seen the videos and see the solutions but please remember that the roof is only the start and that the loss of energy comes from pipes, wiring, doors, windows, A/C units, cracks, and the list goes on. Attached I have included a couple of informational charts for insulation and a product called Great Stuff! let me know what you think and maybe next week we can talk about something Spring!

 

The map shows the different zones which correspond to the chart below and gives the necessary R-Values for your area - jealous of Zone 1?

 

 Remember to use the appropriate product for your area with the right R-Value for maximum savings!

 

 

 Great Stuff is a great foam product used to seal and create a leak proof insulated product to make sure your loss in minimal. A Dow product which has several flavors including Fire Block, Door and Window, Big Gap, and Pond and Stone sealers. So good luck and let me know what you think!