Creating an Energy Efficient Home

Keys to a Green Home

Q: I keep hearing that energy efficiency is one of the key virtues of a green home. How can I tell what my home needs?

A: Start with your local utility company. Many offer a free energy audit, which should indicate problem areas such as drafty windows, an inefficient furnace, or weather stripping that needs to be replaced.

For a fee, some also will provide an infrared thermal scan that will show where your home is losing heat. That evaluation should tell you where improvements or upgrades are warranted, but also cover the basics. This means adequate home insulation, especially in the attic, and electrical outlets and switch boxes, which are notorious for allowing cold-air infiltration. Those can be sealed off with inexpensive gaskets behind the cover plates.

Swapping incandescent lightbulbs for energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs also helps, as does switching to Energy Star-rated appliances.

Also consider new or replacement energy-efficient windows with dual-pane sashes, and new siding with house wrap and a layer of rigid insulation board installed underneath.