| Building your own home gives you a tremendous | | | | comfortable and energy-efficient home. |
| opportunity to make energy efficiency one of the | | | | Furnaces should have an Annual Fuel Utilization |
| main goals of your house design. Here are some | | | | Rating between 80% for conventional furnaces to |
| things to think about when choosing your design. | | | | 94% for condensing furnaces. Central air |
| First of all, consider the insulation. The design | | | | conditioning units should have a Seasonal Energy |
| should incorporate sufficient insulation for your | | | | Efficiency Ratio of 12 or better. In milder climates |
| climate in the roof assembly, the walls, and the | | | | heat pumps can perform both heating and cooling |
| floor. This will naturally be different for house | | | | economically. Choose a heat pump with a Heating |
| plans than it will for garage or barn plans. The | | | | Season Performance Factor greater than 7, and a |
| thermal performance of the walls is most | | | | Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio at least 12. No |
| important in those northern climates where indoor | | | | matter what heating and cooling system is chosen |
| heating needs are driven by the big differences | | | | a programmable thermostat (and an adaptive |
| between outdoor and indoor temperatures. The | | | | recovery thermostat for heat pumps) can help to |
| R-values for walls usually range between R-11 and | | | | automatically turn equipment on or off as needed |
| R-23; and R values can be increased even more | | | | to create a comfortable and energy-efficient |
| by adding layers of foam sheathing and by using | | | | environment. |
| higher-density insulation between wall studs. | | | | Apart from house plans, you should choose |
| R-values for floors usually range between R-11 | | | | appliances and lighting which are energy-efficient. |
| and R-25 and R-values for ceilings usually range | | | | Great strides have been made in the past fifteen |
| between R-19 and R-50. Appropriate R-values will | | | | years to improve the performance of clothes |
| not be attained without correct insulation, so you | | | | washers and dryers, refrigerators, and |
| should choose an insulation contractor carefully. | | | | dishwashers. Always read the EnergyGuide label |
| Another important factor to take into account is | | | | on an appliance, since this will give you and |
| high performance windows. Installing double pane | | | | estimate of the annual operating cost. Light |
| windows which have high performance glass and | | | | fixtures which are in use for more than two |
| which are filled with gas will help you downsize | | | | hours per day should be fluorescent rather than |
| your home's heating and cooling needs, since | | | | incandescent lamps. The savings on your energy |
| these energy-efficient windows reduce heat loss | | | | bill will more than pay for the difference in initial |
| during the winter months and heat gain during the | | | | cost of these lights, and you will have to replace |
| summer. And whether you are considering a | | | | them less often since fluorescent lamps can last |
| luxury home or simple cabin plans, you should | | | | ten times longer than standard incandescent lights. |
| choose heating and cooling equipment which is | | | | Finally, if you live in a sunny part of the country, |
| energy-efficient. Almost 50% of the typical | | | | consider using the sun's energy to heat your |
| home's utility expenses go towards heating and | | | | water and reduce your electricity expenses. Solar |
| cooling. By installing the proper amount of | | | | hot water heaters can meet all your family's hot |
| insulation and properly sealing your home, as well | | | | water needs and photovoltaic panels can be an |
| as installing correctly sized heating, air conditioning, | | | | attractive long term investment as the rates of |
| and ventilating equipment, you can create a | | | | utility-supplied power go up. |