Dear Dave,
I have been reading your blog at utility bill busters for a long time now, and I wanted to ask you a question. I live in a small ranch style house in illinois in the south and as you may know the weather has been absolutely scorching! We have a window air conditioner in the bedroom and one in the living room, since those rooms are the most occupied. Recently I have noticed they seem to be running all the time but not making a difference! Should I replace …

For the most part, energy leaks or loss around windows (leaks that don’t have to do with the windows themselves: the panes, the construction, the actual unit itself) comes down to two main areas – the frame itself and the insulation around the frame.
Energy can be lost whether the window is brand new and just installed (and thus installed incorrectly) or if the window is older.
If the frame is compromised, the energy is lost through the frame itself, through the gaps in the wood or plastic. In most cases, though, …

Costs of constructing the sunroom vary according to the location of your home, quality of materials used, labor charges, size of the sunroom and other sunroom wall insulation costs if required. Some people prefer the two or three season sunrooms while others prefer a sunroom for all the seasons of the year. Cost for installing a two or three season sunroom is lesser. If you wish to install a four season sunroom then you will require insulation of a superior quality at least.
An enclosure of wooden frame is one type …

The single most cost effective way to make your home highly energy efficient is to have the right insulation
selected and installed correctly in your home. Doing this will make everything else work better. The design, money invested in your windows, and a better return on solar panels.

There are plenty of cheap and common insulation materials available on the market today. Many of these have been around for quite some time. Each of these insulations have their own ups and downs. As a result, when deciding which insulation material you should use, you should be sure to be aware of which material would work the best in your situation.
Recently, materials like aerogel (used by NASA for the construction of heat resistant tiles, capable of withstanding heat up to approximately 2000 degrees Fahrenheit with little or no heat …

Maximising the efficiency of your heating system is one method of ensuring of reducing the costs of your heating bill and cutting down on the environmental impact of heating your home.
However, there is another method which is just as effective at reducing costs and increasing warmth around the house.
Heating your home is as much about stopping heat from escaping as it is about maximising the output of your radiators and heaters. By reducing heat escape, you use less energy in heating the rooms.
The number one place to start with insulation …

By: Christiane Perrin
Maximizing the insulation for your green home is the most important step you can take towards reducing the heating and cooling energy requirements of your home and conserving energy. Many options are available to you, such as fiberglass batt, rigid or blown-in insulation. Let us look at cellulose blown-in insulation, which, in my opinion, is one of the greenest options available today.
The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Building Material and Wood Technology, Department of Natural Resources Conservation, considers cellulose insulation a smart choice and recommends its use.
Why Use …

By: Muna wa Wanjiru
If your home is freezing cold in the winter and blistering hot in the summer, then you need an effective insulation system for your home. Many homes have old insulation system or no insulation at all. Old insulation system looses some or complete effectiveness with passing years. There are many different types of insulation systems are available, cocoon insulation is one them.
Heat enters in or out of your home walls through cracks and crevices around electrical sockets, windows, light fixtures and cracks at wall –ceiling junction. …

Insulation terms can be quite confusing to anyone outside the industry. If you’ve ever bought insulation for your house, you know that insulation with a high R factor is better. But what, exactly, does that mean? Did you know that the R value depends on other factors?
When it comes to buying more specific insulation products like removable insulation jackets for pipes, understanding the particulars of the three measures of insulation is key.
The K Factor
In order to understand the well-known R factor, it is important to understand the factors upon which …

There is this almost fanatical belief amongst homeowners that their home must be energy efficient so they can reduce their energy bills. Unfortunately,this is the wrong approach to take. You improve your home, you increase energy efficiency so that you can live comfortably. Then the energy saving comes naturally afterwards. Think of it as comfortable living = energy saving.
The two paths two sometimes cross. For example, in the winter or colder months, if the weather is particularly cold outside one day, you may not be comfortable in your house with …