Expert Advice on Winter Energy Savings

[Jeremy Services]

Hey guys I know we are getting out of winter, put this is a question I often get asked, especially in Kansas City where the winters can be brutal and really take a toll on a furnace or heater. We even wrote a blog post about it last year- https://www.jeremykc.com/blog/expert...nergy-savings/. We would love to hear others HVAC guys advice throughout different parts of the U.S. and anything you know or have discovered for energy savings during cold weather months for your area.

[lkapigian]

Well its shorts and flip flops in the winter where I am

[npern]

That is a fun and interesting question. From a home performance perspective air sealing and insulating are always the easy answer. How that is done is the tricky answer. After doing 100'sof energy audits I can tell you its all come down to the individual building. Becoming an expert at understanding your local building stock and knowing the subtleties of the home in you market will pay off big time.

[hvacker]

A problem with homes is the same as it's always been. Poor construction both the build and the mechanicals.
After the oil embargo in the 70's I thought for sure construction would change and become energy conscious. Never happened at least not in mainstream construction.
It took a code re-write and force feeding contractors to achieve what we have now.
I know there have always been contractors that don't fit that mold but they are few.
You will know that what's out there in new construction is sad. All that's needed is to list what you might want in a home build then ask where they are.

[sheljones]

You can use blinds for solving this problem of energy saving in winter. Like in summer blinds reduce the heating amount to enter inside, same thing apply for winter, blinds reduce the amount the heat going from inside to outside.

[heating_chicago]

Well I’m in Chicago winters are absolutely brutal here are some times last year was the first one for a while that it was actually pretty bad the two winners before that were pretty warm so it was nice to see some cold weather again I would say for energy efficiency would be just recommending insulation in the attic windows and high efficiency furnace is where boilers of course thermostat settings and things like that automatic thermostat programmable’s and etc.

[tedkidd]

That is a fun and interesting question. From a home performance perspective air sealing and insulating are always the easy answer. How that is done is the tricky answer. After doing 100'sof energy audits I can tell you its all come down to the individual building. Becoming an expert at understanding your local building stock and knowing the subtleties of the home in you market will pay off big time.

Yup. Need a blower door for this, after that the ability to think slowly is helpful.


5 Priorities to Home Performance:

Air seal
Air seal
Air seal
Insulate
Install MUCH SMALLER equipment to improve comfort and cut cycling losses.

Quickest/easiest answer is to send them the link to this free chapter of the Home Comfort Book -
http://www.natethehousewhisperer.com...mfort-101.html

Ask them to contact you back when they've read it.
(Might help you sell some really big jobs...)

[motoguy128]

Focus on air leaks first, insulation second.

Replacement Windows have a horrible payback (100+ years) and some historic windows on older home are of high quality and can be nearly air tight when refurbished.

On taller homes, stack effect is tremendous. Focus on air leaks at the top of the home as much as the bottom. Air leaks out can cause moisture issues.

Be careful modifying homes build before 1950. Unintended consequences can occur.


Look at the complete system, not just combustion efficiency. Air/Water/Heat distribution, balance, radiant heat, register location, air mixing, stratification and thermostat placement.

Right sized equipment heat more evenly and less air leaks, close less to install.

[kdean1]

You can use blinds for solving this problem of energy saving in winter. Like in summer blinds reduce the heating amount to enter inside, same thing apply for winter, blinds reduce the amount the heat going from inside to outside.

I disagree. Blinds only reduce the light entering the house. They make the room darker but do little to reduce heat gain. Light which strikes the glass enters the house and raises the temperature between the glass and the blinds (or curtain or even blankets). That heat radiates into the house in spite of interior window coverings. Awnings which shade the windows provide much more reduction of heat gain.

A case in point is a customer who had a large south facing window. In the summer the room was too hot for them to use. They had hung a large grey blanket over the inside of the window in an effort to reduce heat gain. It did not help. I advised them to find a way to shade the OUTSIDE of the window. They bought a bamboo shade which they hung over the outside of the window and the temperature of the room became the same as the other rooms.

Would you explain how blinds can reduce heat loss during the winter?

[lkapigian]

Blinds effect SHGC not U ( unless blinds are internal ) Not sure where a 100 year payback on windows comes from, I would never quote that # .....Like said above, it breaks down to the individual home, Does the home have Exposure Diversity, Does the homehave Wall Insulation--Take a home with 12A Walls ( no insulation) and the windows ( new) outperform the walls