Building Science

In the United States, we currently use half of our total energy consumption in our buildings. This includes all buildings; homes, factories, school, hospitals, etc. The majority of this energy is used for heating/cooling and lighting.

It is vary easy to see that if we could reduce the energy we use in our buildings, we could greatly reduce the amount of we need to produce. Reducing energy consumption as well as conservation will reduce the number of power plants we need to build.

A large portion of this energy consumption goes toward conditioning the air in our buildings to make us comfortable. This is primarily through heating and cooling (HVAC). There are a few ways in which we can reduce the energy consumption for HVAC systems.

One way is to improve the efficiency of our HVAC systems. New systems such as geothermal systems require much less energy to operate. They do cost more initially, but you typically recoup the difference within 8 years. After this time, you would be saving money on every monthly energy bill for the life of the system.

Another way to reduce energy consumption is to build more efficient buildings. Buildings with higher insulation values require less energy to condition the air. The building may cost slightly more to build, but it will have reduced energy requirements over the entire life span, maybe 50 to 100 years.

Small changes in how we construct our buildings can have a great impact as we move forward. It is simply not acceptable to build as cheap of building as possible. Over the life span of the building, this practice is incredibly wasteful. Increasing the efficiency of our buildings will provide returns today as well as in the future.

For our children's sake, it is important that we start investing in their future today.

Simple ways to save energy

Here is a short list of simple things you can do today to reduce the amount of energy you use.

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The Sun and Your Home

Designing your home to work with the sun and the wonderful light and energy it provides is not rocket science. But, if you look at houses in your area, you will be surprised by how many of them do not take advantage of the sunshine. Some are even designed so that the sun makes parts of the home uncomfortable. To learn more, click on the link below.

Click here to go to the document: The Sun and Your Home

Alternative Building Materials

The use of alternative building materials can improve the energy efficiency of our homes as well as conserve natural resources. There are many alternatives available, but local building codes may not allow the use of all of these options.

Click here to go to the document: Alternative Building Materials

Air Infiltration

Air infiltration is the slow but constant exchange of air into and out of your home. Some homes leak more than others. Excess air infiltration increases the cost for heating and cooling your home. To learn more, click on the link below.

Click here to go the Air Infiltration page

Building an Energy Efficient House

Building an energy efficient home is not rocket science. It may require variations to traditional building techniques or even the use of alternative building materials. It also requires the use of good quality windows and doors as well as an efficient HVAC system. This may cost a little more than the typical "cheap" home, but you will save money on every energy bill.

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