All posts in: Home Insulation

Beware the snowpocalypse: Weatherize your home now

Home & Garden
By Monika Dziamka on September 15, 2012 in

Home Insulation

With temperatures reaching record highs this summer, it's hard to imagine cold weather just around the corner. According to early forecasts, however, an equally memorable winter is coming. Whether you are a renter or an owner, taking appropriate steps now to prepare your home can keep you warmer during the winter months and can significantly reduce your utility costs.

"Weatherizing your home is an important strategy, saving money by saving energy," says Lindsey Geisler of the Department of Energy. "On average, 15 percent of income goes to utilities for low-income families, so weatherization can really free up those funds for other important things." Read more

How green is your home insulation?

Home & Garden
By Saralyn Chesnut on June 23, 2011 in

Is your home insulation green?

Trying to decide what type of home insulation to use? Your primary goal should be to reduce the amount of energy it takes to heat and cool your home. But did you ever stop to think about the amount of energy that goes into producing insulation itself?

Green-building experts use the term "embodied energy" to describe the energy used to make any product, bring it to market and (eventually) dispose of it. To evaluate how green an insulation material is in terms of energy usage, you must weigh its embodied energy against the energy it saves when it's insulating a home. Using materials that save considerable amounts of a home's operating energy, even if the material's embodied energy is a bit higher, is a good direction," say the editors at GreenHomeGuide.com. "Using materials that save operating energy but have a low embodied energy is even better." Read more

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