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.

Well, Thanksgiving is over, December has arrived, and Christmas in right there in the headlights. This has really been a super-fast year, and I don’t even know what happened to November. Zoom, whoosh, it’s outa here.

So we’ve had a bit of a cold, rainy spell here in South Texas this week. I’ve had to fire up the central heat for the first time. It made me think about when I was stationed up in Maine. Northern Aroostook County, it was. Since I grew up in Panama (South or Central America, your choice), the cold was a bit perplexing to me.

The heat in the barracks was delivered by radiators, supplied with heat from a hot water boiler system. I don’t know if it was gas or oil-fired.

We used to put pans of water on top of the radiators to humidify the room. I never did get used to the whole no-humidity thing. Every metal thing you touched delivered a static electricity shock. Kind of like that glaucoma test air-puff contraption — you know it’s coming but it makes you jump anyhow.

At home here, we still have plenty of humidity, so that’s not an issue. And it’s just as well, because we have a central forced air furnace, thus, no radiators on which to place pans. And praise God, no static electricity. Now if I could just do something about that glaucoma machine.

But back to the festive season that is upon us; have you decided what Christmas gifts you’re going to send me ;-?

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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.

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!

When it comes to making the home energy efficient, windows are a huge issue. After all, although they let in the light, they let in the light. What I mean to say is that on the one hand, we don’t have to burn every light in the house during the day, and on the other hand, they also let in heat. So they beg for energy-savings steps.

The question is, does it make more sense to replace the existing contractor grade windows with double or triple glazed argon-filled Energy Star windows (whew, that’s a mouthful!), or compromise budget and efficiency and install solar window film?

The Home Envelope

First, a bit of an overview to put it all in perspective. How efficient the home is depends on the entire home envelope. I love radiant barrier foil in the attic. It is more effective (in the big picture) in a one-story house than a two-story house. Why? Because with one floor, the roof is a larger percentage of the total envelope.

Conversely, on a two story, windows comprise a bigger envelope percentage than they do on a one story (Two stories = twice as many windows). What I’m trying to say here is that all renovation projects that lower utility bills are important, but each home’s priorities are different.

Let’s get this out of the way first - do your radiant barrier as a first line of defense. And do this job yourself. Labor charges double the price of the project and only the cost of the material is eligible for the stimulus package energy tax credit.

Now, Focus on Energy-Efficient Windows

Alright, how much money do you have left? In the real world, this determines what to do about the windows. Energy Star replacement windows are optimal, but boy, are they proud of them at the check-out counter. If you can afford them, go for it. Don’t forget to upgrade your homeowners insurance policy.

This is likely not a DIY project for most folks.

On the other hand, solar window film is a great DIY job, considering that you have patience. And it makes less of a mess than complete window replacement. It’s available in several shades, and if you’re after privacy, there’s a mirrored finish available.

As a further compromise, your remodeling budget might justify replacement windows on the side of the house that takes the sun’s hammer most violently, and apply film on the more docile sides.

So in answer to, “Window replacement or window film?,” the answer, like many things in life is, “It depends.” Don’t you love it when I’m ambivalent?

It’s already getting into the high 80s here, but I suspect where most of you live it’s not really time yet to crank up the central air conditioner. In fact, I spoke to my mom earlier this week. She lives in Arkansas and tells me the weather there is still cool.

Regardless, this is the time of year to get your home cooling system tuned up, be it central air, window unit, or an efficient heat pump. Most of this annual air conditioner maintenance you can do yourself, but if you have to add or recover refrigerant, you’ll need an HVAC technician with a license.

And this is the time to contact them, before the summer rush.

Or is it time to get a new unit? The energy tax credits for these types of Energy Star appliances has gone up, so it really is food for thought. The SEER ratings are so much higher today, that the energy savings plus the tax credit are a good justification to upgrade.

The rule of thumb is if your cooling system is 10 years old or more, you probably need to change it out, even if it’s still running fine.