Home Series Booklets

Home Tightening, Insulation and Ventilation

Checking into Things | Get the Most for Your Money | Eliminate Leaks

Download the the entire booklet here.
Book 1: Home Tightening, Insulation and Ventilation (1.5MB PDF)

A little effort can pay big dividends

The average Iowa family spends more than half of its annual household energy bill on heating and cooling. That’s a significant number, but you can dramatically reduce these costs—up to 30 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy—by making some simple energy-saving weatherization and insulation improvements to your home. In addition—with a little attention to proper ventilation—you can protect your home from moisture damage year-round, reduce problems caused by ice dams on the roof during the winter and significantly cut summer cooling costs. As a bonus, these projects can extend the life of your home and may increase the resale value of your property.

If you like to fix things around the house, you can handle many of the projects suggested in this book and make the most of your energy-improvement budget. However, don’t hesitate to call a professional for help if you’d rather not do the work yourself; the dollars gained through energy savings in upcoming years will be worth the expense.

Check with your utility or bank first
Although many energy-efficiency projects—caulking windows, weather-stripping exterior doors or insulating water pipes—will cost just a few dollars, others—insulating exterior walls, installing ventilated soffits or adding storm windows—will cost considerably more. Some utilities offer rebates on larger projects by giving you a discount on future heating and cooling bills or even sending you a rebate check when the work is completed. Call your local utility for details.

Your bank may be able to help too. Ask about a low-interest loan designed specifically
to cover the cost of your energy-saving projects, or consider a home-improvement loan to fund them.

Finally, be sure to look into the availability of government-sponsored assistance and grant programs designed for low-income and elderly homeowners. For more information, get in touch with the Department of Human Rights/Division of Community Action Agencies or a Community Action Agency in your area. (See page 24 for a list of contacts.)

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Get the most for your money
To help you decide which energy-efficiency jobs you should tackle first, consider more than just the increased comfort you’ll experience from your planned projects; analyze their return on investment too. In most cases, it makes sense to start with the ones that cost the least now but offer the most later in terms of energy dollars saved.

It’s easy to figure how long it will take for your energy-saving improvements to pay for themselves through reduced energy bills. Just divide the total cost of each project by the annual estimated energy bill savings—ask your utility for help—to find the payback period. For example, if a project costs $1,600 and you’ll save $200 per year, the payback period is eight years.

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Eliminate air leaks—then insulate
You may think that insulating should be the first step in making your home more energy-efficient, but consider this: Air leaks through the ceiling, walls, foundation and other areas typically are the greatest sources of heat and cooling losses in a home. So, controlling air leaks is the best way to extend the life of your home, as well as to conserve energy, save money and increase your home’s comfort. The bottom line is this: If you don’t tighten up your home first, money spent on insulation may be wasted.

Air infiltrates into your home throughevery hole, nook and cranny. About one-third of this air infiltrates through the openings in your ceilings, walls and floors.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, you can save 10 percent or more on your energy bills just by plugging air leaks in these places in your home.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Download the the entire booklet here.
Book 1: Home Tightening, Insulation and Ventilation (1.5MB PDF)

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