Energy Efficiency for New Home?

Question

Hello All,

Sorry, for the double post. Initially I posted to a wrong category.

I'm Austin, Texas. Planning to purchase a new home. Wondering what best energy efficient features I should asked the builder.

Have you done anything yourself? Economical?
What should I target mainly?
Solar? Ventilation?
Windows are huge in family room with high ceiling. What windows should I go for to protect myself in Texas heat?

One of the builder was saying they added 'Tech Shield radium sheet' to the roof and says it reflects light, and saves electric bill. Are those effective?

Any rebates or incentives goverment offer?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Having just moved from Texas to PA there are a lot of things that you can do to help conserve energy. Windows are the #1 way that heat gets into or out of your house. Find out what type of windows are available; whether they have Low-E coating; are Argon filled; double, triple or quadruple paned (the more panes of glass, the more energy is absorbed). Post purchase I would certainly get them coated with a tint and you may also want to consider heavy drapes for the rest of the windows that you can close during the day. This goes a long way to keeping heat out.

Soalr would be a great way to lower your cooling costs in the summer, but it is usually quite expensive to install.

Ceiling fans are a must in all the bed rooms and in the living room.

A well insulated house will also go a long way to saving you money. Ask the builder how many inches of insulation were put in the attic and in the walls. Hopefully there is at least 6 inches in the walls and preferably 10-12" in the attic. If not, you can put more in the attic post purchase. Also, see if there are roof fans installed to vent the hot air from the attic to the outside. These are fairly inexpensive and easy to install and really make a big difference to cooling off the house.

A programmable thermostat will also go a long way to saving you some $$. I had one in my house and had it programmed to turn the air off at 8am when I left for work and turn back on around 4pm before I got home and then back down around 70 degrees around 12pm. This is also a simple post purchase fix.

As far as tax savings go, this past year the federal governement gave a $500 tax credit for certain energy improvements that you made to your house. It worked on a percentage basis. For instance, you got 5% of the cost for adding insulation (including labor) to your house; 10% of the cost for addign a more energy efficient boiler & also 10% of the costs for installing new windows. It's hard to tell if they will offer it again this year, but be sure to save your reciepts for any energey improvements you may make (even caulking around windows is considered an energy improvement).

Hope this helps somewhat! No matter what you do, plan on having at least a $200 energy bill from about May through September. Have some fun on 6th street for me!

Answer 2

There are some good answers posted here.

Let me add that if you have air conditioning (can't imagine a home in Texas without it), you should check into the cost of upgrading your air conditioning system from a basic 13 SEER to a higher rating.

There are economic tradeoffs, but I replaced a 13-year old 10 SEER air conditioner and went to an 18 SEER Trane unit with variable fan speeds. It has cut my utility bills by more than 50% in the summer heat in Arizona plus made the house more comfortable since the variable fan lets me run the air recirculation setting. This has largely eliminated hot spots in the house as some rooms had been getting warmer than others due to windows, high ceilings and so on.

I went a bit overboard perhaps (a SEER 16 unit would have saved nearly as much), but I was looking not only to cut my direct costs but also to reduce my personal electricity consumption with a view to reducing global warming.

Ceiling fans are absolutely great to have. They are cheap upfront and it is nice to get variable speed fan controls built in.

One thing that you may be able to do is improve attic ventilation before the roof is done. The builder may be able to give you a roof ridge venting system which is much more efficient than typical attic venting -- it helps keep attic cooler thus reducing heat transfer to your home. It is too costly to add after the fact, but shouldn't be terrinbly expensive at the front end.

Check with your local utility company about rebates. Many offer rebates for upgrades, but they may or may not apply to new construction.

Answer 3

Building envelope is the simplest passive method for saving big dollars on home energy use. I'm a structural engineer and have designed several types of structures. The most energy efficient method by far was from a company called Solarcrete (www.solarcrete.com). I'm not sure if they service your area, but you should at least check into them and other high energy efficient construction. Stud walls or masonry wall construction can't compare. I've seen some of the thermal images taken of different structures and it's comical how bad a typical house or building does. Spending a little extra money on the building shell will last the life of the structure, not just the few years you'll get out of an active saver, like tankless hot water heaters or high efficient A/C. Good luck.

Answer 4

Tinted windows will help, but trees will also help. Trees will provide shade in the summer help to cool your house and they will drop their leaves and allow light through in the winter helping to warm your house.

As far as heating, I'd recommend having your house sealed up extra good and having all the cracks sealed as they build it then have them do a thermal heat test. You can also use geothermal heating and cooling to help cool and heat your house.

Solar power can be very expensive, but you can use a solar water heater to help take care of your water heating costs. It should work real well, especially since you live in Texas.

Another thing you can look at is the R value of the insulation being put in your house. The sprayed in foam insulation has a high R value and will help insulate your home much better.

I'm not sure about the Tech Shield radium sheet. Haven't heard anything about that. Another good thing to do is check how the insulation was laid down in your attic. A lot of heat or cooling can be lost through that. A thermal test of your house can help denote where leaks are. And a programmable thermostat can also save you a bunch. If you have a two story house, oftentimes it can be best to have a heating/cooling unit for each story level.

Answer 5

Wow...I don't have anywhere close to as much information as the others to give but I thought I'd make a suggestion anyway. One thing you can do is purchase a tankless water heater. It only heats the water as you use it so that:
1] You don't use unneeded energy heating & storing water you are not using and,
2] You don't ever run out of hot water like on a traditional tank heater.

Also [this isn't anything you can build into your house but-] see if your area energy company offers green power. I just moved so I'm not sure if they offer it in VA but in WA they had an option where you could use green power instead of the norm. It costs a little more but not much if you're more concerned about the environment or just can afford it.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

We just purchase a new home in San Antonio as we are relocating there in a month. I knew nothing about the efficiancy of a new home until our house hunting trip. Our home has a radiant barrier (http://www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/radiant/index.html) in the attic space which reduces the amount of heat or cool lost. Something like 35%. Our builder also has some other methods. Here is a great site regarding our energy saving features and I think it also has some tax incentives or rebates:
http://www.buildsagreen.org/

Answer 7

The whole thing is a crock if you feel the need to help the planet fund some under privileged kid preferably in your home country or you can volunteer to help someone or somewhere dont waste your time or money on those silly things fact is there is always some they aren't telling you to get you to buy that junk do something that will actually help someone with something concrete don't try to save the world were just an infestation on the earth and one day the planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas help real people in a real practical way.

Answer 8

As a home owner this is what i have done recently

I bought an enviormental friendly AC unit and air filter system (cost 3,000 for everything). I got three containers for plastics, newspapers, and another for cans i have those in the basement for recyling.

I have started a compost pile as suggested I only have one trash bag a week with things i can't recycle

I am though working on finding bags that are degradable the bags i use currently dont degrade in the city dumps and will take over 1,000 years to disapear or more

Answer 9

Solar Panels on the Roof....in some areas, this is free for the homeowner due to laws and help from the energy company.
Get triple pane windows
Use rigid insulation on the roof and high value R rating insulation everywhere.

Answer 10

For the hugh windows if possible get them tinted to reflect the sun. The tech sheild I have heard is an excellant way to reflect the light. I think if you have solar panels installed there is some type of rebate. Look it up on the net for rebates on housing installations