The need for Home Energy Improvement has never been more relevant than today due to the precarious situation regarding the fossil fuel supply, political agendas of various energy rich countries and the poor world economy.
What steps can one take for Home energy improvement?
Ways energy is lost from homes.
Energy is lost from homes through;
- Condition of Building Envelope including the roof and the floors
- Windows and Door sizes and orientation
- Materials used in the manufacture of above components
- Level of insulation
- Ventilation and lack of air tightness
- Type of Heating, Air Conditioning and water heating equipment and systems used and their inefficiency.
- Type, design and distribution of electrical lighting
- Water pumps, their selection and controls
- Fans, their selection and controls
One matter you must not fail to comprehend is that what ever the energy conservation steps taken the
ultimate decider lies with the occupants of the house and how they run it.
Measures that can be taken
- Make the building envelope more resistant to heat transfer by retrofitting with sturdy and modern material.
Finish with lighter shades of color. - Windows and Door if not totally replaced at least change glass to double glazing with inert gas fill or low emission coating.
- If necessary change the architectural designs to change the orientations. Weather strip (in order to seal gaps) doors and windows. Also seal with silicon based sealant where necessary.
- Retrofit the doors and windows made with low permeable material
- Replace or top up insulation in order to build up to the proper thickness.
- Ventilation system should be preplanned and not accidental.
- Proper regulatory devices with correctly selected fans must be used.
- Retrofit Heating systems with high efficiency gasification boilers, wood chip/pellet boilers etc.
- Use Air Source Heat Pump wherever possible.
- Use high efficiency CFL or LED lamps.
- Select all water pumps for the optimized energy consumption.
- Size your plumbing system too for optimizes energy use.
- Fans and ducting in centralized ventilation systems should be correctly selected for optimum energy usage.
The Human Factor
A well energy optimized house can still be energy wasteful. For example one can use electrical lighting even while day light is still available. A heating system may be set to a higher setting than necessary. Also windows or doors can be kept open while air conditioners and heaters are on. The list is not exhaustive. What is significant is that human action can be as devastating as poor constructional features when it comes to energy conservation.
ENTECH together with their business partners provide the following services with regard to your requirements.
We will provide:
- Free information on Warmer Homes, Greener Homes and HES schemes. Also information on HES grants,
BER certification and assessments, application for concessions etc - Design Supply and installation of wall, roof and attic insulation, high efficiency HVAC equipment, water pumps and controls
- Renewable Energy for home use and home energy improvement.
- All other related services