In these tight economic times, it seems everybody is looking for a way to pinch pennies. One of the best places to begin is in the home. But the commitment to lower utility bills requires biting the bullet and opening the wallet.

There are many home improvements that will start you down that frugal road - insulation, radiant barrier foil, and replacing your incandescents with fluorescents. But a huge ROI is installing replacement windows.

There are a lot of variables to consider. It’s a balance between budget, aesthetics, and the geographic area you’re located in. Another consideration is what you need to install in order to order to qualify for an energy tax credit. It’s not enough to simply have Energy Star products like it is with refrigerators or dishwashers.

Where you live is as important. What will qualify in Wisconsin is not necessary the same as in Texas. What wacky, goofy, out-of-touch guys those legislators up in Washington are.

Then there’s the choice of filler in double-pane windows. The most common choices are air (poor), argon (better), and krypton (best, and not just because it freaks Superman out).

The prices for these three fillers go from low to high along with their efficiency. Krypton doesn’t cost more just to clean out your bank account; the gas itself is expensive. Many experts will tell you that the price isn’t justified as the payback time frame is so darned long.

Read more about fillers, pros and cons of the different types of frame materials, the U-factor, and how the solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) applies to your choice. Education is key before you talk to a salesman.

Other related articles:

• Save Money with Door and Window Weatherstripping
• A Certified Home Inspector can Improve Energy Efficiency
• Save Money with Solar Window Film

I know; the first time I heard of soy-based insulation, I also had a what-the-heck moments too. It’s true though. It is available in both open-cell and closed-cell versions; the closed kind is best suited to exterior walls and the open for the interior.

One problem is that it is hard for the DIYer to retrofit because of things like, well, drywall, brick, and siding. But for new home construction it’s hard to beat. Read the whole article on soy insulation.

If this thing really takes off, I wonder if the same thing will happen to corn due to ethanol. What a misguided concept that is. Problem is, corn is one of those primary products. It goes into all kind of livestock and chicken feed. It goes into cereal and many canned and boxed foods

It’s the old law of supply and demand. When more of the available corn crops go to fuel initiatives, the price goes up. Ergo, food prices go up, up, and away, just like the old Superman show on TV. In fact, this morning on the news, it was announced that this summer the price on meat will be the highest in 20 years.

I suppose you could always go vegan. As long as you don’t include corn in your meager bottom-of-the-food-chain food lineup.

But back to insulation. Add it to your home. You will save money every month on your utility bills and you can claim an energy tax credit the next time you file your taxes. I know - I lowered my bottom line during the last filing for both attic insulation and radiant barrier foil, which is classified as an insulating product.

So, the bottom line is insulate thyself. And stock up on meat by-products while you still can.

You will also want to read:

• Radiant Barrier Foil and Paint
• Save Money with Door and Window Weatherstripping
• Great Ways to Get the Most out of Your Air Conditioner

It’s true that it’s still cold out there, but summer will be here before you know it. So what’s the rationale for a home inspection just now? For one thing, those income tax refunds are just around the corner. If you want to find out what you need to do to conserve energy next summer and have time to do it, a certified home inspector will give you a great deal of relevant info.

For example, you might get recommendations on adding insulation, caulking windows, or installing radiant barrier foil. But a home inspector will also load you down with other info - structural integrity of the structure, condition of plumbing, foundation damage; things like that.

Note that there’s a difference between home inspectors and energy auditors. An energy auditor is more tightly focused on energy conservation, so the only aspects of the structure he or she is interested in is how it relates to your energy bill.

For example, he’ll do a blower door test. This will tell how “tight” the envelope of your home is. In general, the tighter it is, the more AC or heater air is escaping.

You should also ask for that a thermal or thermographic imaging be done. You’ve probably seen one of these on a weather report on TV. It’s a colored picture where the redder an area is, the hottest it is and bluer, cooler. This will indicate both leaks and the absence of insulation.

So basically, what you pay one of these pros is like Karma; you’ll get paid back in the long run.

Related Articles:

Save Money with Solar Window Film

Install Insulation to Save Energy

I’ve got electric central heat here in my house, but the winters aren’t too severe here in South Texas so it’s not too much of an issue. But I know that readers here and over at Suite101 where I write the home renovation and repair articles live all over the place, and some have severe winters.

For that reason and because of the available energy tax credits, I’ve researched other methods of heating. It turns out that biomass fuel technology is a green and sustainable way to heat your home. Pellet stoves do a dandy job in this area.
Wood Pellets from $279, Free Ship Offer - get details

The stoves don’t come cheap and they do require some maintenance, but they are very efficient and economical to operate. The fuel (pellets) are made from things like corn stalks, scrap from cabinet shops and furniture factories. Since this is material that was destined for the landfill anyway, and will just be regrown again, it qualifies for a renewable and sustainable resource.

And we all know how hip it is to be green, long before Frank Sinatra sang that song. Boy, just knowing that song dates me, doesn’t it?

So, if you are looking to upgrade your home heating system, you might want to look into a pellet stove. They come as inserts for your existing fireplace if that’s the route you want to go, but you’ll just irritate Santa Claus.

Yesterday I got an email from a reader asking about emergency back-up generators. Like myself, she lives in a hurricane-likely area and is serious about hurricane preparation. Hurricane Ike kicked my butt last year, but hey, that’s the price I pay for living in the paradise that is South Texas!

The real question is having a method of alternative energy production that doesn’t rely on the commercial power grid. Here are a few choices:

Emergency Back-Up Generators

These are great, especially when fitted with an automatic transfer switch. There are two issues though. Price is the first one. A good one with a realistic capacity will set you back thousands of dollars to run your stuff what, two days? Once every few years?

The second issue is fuel. Your emergency back-up generator can have diesel, gasoline, or natural gas. The liquid fuels have a shelf life and the gas supply will likely be cut off in a natural disaster.

Wind Turbines

Wind turbines are fine in most cases, but they don’t play well with hurricanes. Of course, if you have the type fitted with a hinged mast, you could fold it over before the storm and put it back up afterwords.  Given that it wasn’t wiped out.

But in normal circumstances, wind turbines are a great way to supplement the power grid.

Solar Panels

Conventional solar panels made of silicone wafers are more hype and hope than a realistic alternative energy source. It’s a great idea, but they are just too expensive and cumbersome. They lack ROI. The good news is that they have ushered in the research that produced the new thin-film solar technology.

This is the way to go. It’s inexpensive to produce, and it’s malleable so the applications are really mind-boggling. The only issue is that it’s so new, it’s rare. It should be more available in a year or so.

Which way to go? That’s your call. Just don’t rely on the old hamster cage.

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Appliance Model Number

If you live in an area with a moderate climate, you can save a bundle on utility bills by using a heat pump rather than a conventional central A/C.

On the other hand, if you reside in the arid desert, you’ll be better off with a swamp cooler. Heat pumps and central or window units remove humidity from the air while swamp coolers add it in. Having the right amount of moisture in the air is the key to comfort.

We might get some welcome rain today. That would be nice since the temps have been going over a hundred degrees F. Whew. It was so hot yesterday that my dog was chasing a rabbit and they were both walking. Ha!

Modern heat pumps have been made even more efficient by incorporating things like dual-speed compressors and blowers,  desuperheaters (love that word), and scroll compressors.

I’m not due for a new unit yet, but you can bet I’ll be looking into these when it’s time.

One of the buzzwords that’s been going around the home energy saving aficionado crowd is “tight envelope”. What’s this? Basically, making the home’s exterior surface (interface to the outside world) as air-tight as possible.

It minimizes the transfer of hot/cold air to and from the home’s living space. Interestingly, or perhaps not, this way of saving money dovetails with green building and LEED certification, hopefully.

The Exterior Walls is Where it all Begins

The exterior walls are a major surface area, and it only increases when the home goes over one story high. One problem with homes over 30 years old or so is that they weren’t always built with insulation. Retro-fitting with loose-fill and spray insulation is possible but intrusive.

But for new construction, there are three great approaches:

• Conventional wood framing. Framing with wood studs is very economical. Once the sheathing, vapor barrier, and even siding have been installed, the walls can be insulated with spray foam or fiberglass batts before hanging sheetrock.
• Metal stud framing. The same as wood framing without the warping potential and fire hazard.
• Insulated concrete forms. ICFs are green and sustainable and work well in areas that suffer from wildfires, tornadoes, and hurricanes.
• Structural insulated panels. SIPS are also a green building option. They offer all the economy of labor and energy efficiency of ICFs without the concrete. SIPs are sandwiches of OSB and rigid insulation that are building blocks for modular construction.

Most of the current green building measures focus on energy saving items like creating a tight envelope, using the recommended amount of wall and attic insulation, using salvaged and sustainable construction materials, and outfitting with Energy Star appliances. But is there more to it? Sure there is.

Consider Water Conservation

Lately there has been a great deal of concern over the availability of clean, potable water. It’s always an issue in third-world developing countries, but there’s the occasional fluster in the Western US over water rights. Other parts of the country have their own woes during droughts when water rationing takes effect. No car washing, no lawn watering, no vegetable garden action, etc.

Now the folks that make water delivery in the home both possible and attractive are getting into the green business.

John Fitzgerald, who is the Director of Marketing of the Chicago Faucet Company, puts it this way, “We regard sustainability as an opportunity to travel down new roads with our customers. Sustainability and social responsibility are closely interrelated and are important subjects for Chicago Faucets in thinking and acting in research and development and in production.”

Of course, we’ve had it up to here with low flow this and low flow that. It works well when shower heads have flow restricters installed, but toilets don’t make the grade unless they are properly designed or have some kind of turbo accelerator to take care of business.

In any event, look for your plumber to become a more caring, sensitive, politically correct person.

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Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to run!

There’s no denying the fact that Barak Hussein Obama is a new kind of president. In the past we’ve always had presidents with executive experience, with a solid, concrete understanding of the reality of global political and economic conditions.

Obama breaks that mold. He has burst onto the scene wet behind the ears, singing Kumbaya, prostrating himself before a Saudi petrotyrant, and snubbing our historical allies. But the most disturbing of all might just be the unbridled enthusiasm with which he has embraced yet-unproven climate change theories.

Before you chastise me for the term yet-unproven, recall that when the presidential primaries began, the AlGorians were concerned about the “global warming” that was a “certainty”. Now that it has been established that we are in a global cooling phase, the inconvenient phrase is “climate change”.

This comes as no surprise. After all, on the campaign trail, he vowed to eliminate the coal industry.

That brings us to his energy “plan”. Embracing new alternative energy sources is a great idea. His plan is segmented into the two basic kinds of energy, geothermal and solar. Drilling down, each type is broken down into specific categories, with funding earmarked. For example, in the solar energy department, $51 million is going to photovoltaic technology development, $40 million to solar energy deployment, and nearly $26 million to concentrating solar power research and development.

“So, what does this mean to me?,” you ask. Plenty. Cap and Trade legislation will have the net effect of an attempt to strangle out conventional electricity production. This will be disastrous for workers in that industry, but the expense of that death will be felt by consumers when they open those utility bills each month.

An article published by the Heritage Foundation think tank not long ago estimates that your utility bill may rise as much as 50%.

As I said, new technology is a great idea. So what is Obama missing? The bridge between the old and the new. The Pickens plan has addressed this by proposing a shift from oil to natural gas, but so far, the president hasn’t exactly been running to embrace the plan.

The HR 1835 bill proposes tax credits to encourage the bridge plan, but as usual, Nancy “waterboard” Pelosi, Barney “boy brothel” Frank, and their band of bandits are sitting on their hands.

Once a Utopian, always a Utopian. You can lead a liberal to wisdom, but you can’t make them think.

Although there will be better times coming, this is the best time yet to build an energy efficient home. Well, from a green building practices standpoint anyhow, it not from a getting a construction loan standpoint. If it ain’t one thing, it’s another.

Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) are becoming more common in home building. It’s not only easy on the utility bills once the home is completed, it’s really an economical way to do the building.

SIPs are basically panel sandwiches made of OSB for the bread and rigid foam plastic insulation for the meat and cheese; plus pickles, if you wish.

So the panels are pre-engineered by an architect using using home design software and put together. They are assembled at the job site. This cuts down on the labor for construction (time), and waste to be hauled off to the land fill (scrap). The later is one of the tenets of green building practices accepted by LEED.

Now I must admit, if I was building a new home right now, I would go with ICFs (Insulated Concrete Forms). But then again, I live here in hurricane land. That’s one of the drawbacks. Things like the possibility of hurricanes are the trade off for living somewhere where I can be involved in long distance running all year long without dressing like Jerimiah the mountain man.

So if you have a new house on the horizon, do yourself a favor and plan to lower your air conditioning and heating utility bills before they even hook up the meter. This advice is free!