How to Make Your Home Energy Efficient in 6 Simple Steps

Modified date: November 18, 2012

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For most DIY lovers, having the chance to design and build their own house is like a dream come true. Now imagine you do that, but together with the pleasure of actually constructing your home, you can also make it energy efficient and save some extra cash!

Today we decided to give you a few simple tips that will help you realize that goal. We took advice from a fellow enthusiast, who tested each one of the stages and succeeded in making his dream home as energy efficient as possible. Here they are:

	1. Sunny in winter, shady in summer. In order to have an energy efficient house, the first and foremost condition is its positioning. If the west side gets full exposure to sunlight in winter, you are guaranteed to collect every bright spell that is on offer during this dark season.
	2. Blowable Insulation. Not an easy task to accomplish if you are on your own. But difficult does not mean impossible. It should be made from either fiberglass (R19 or R30) or shredded paper treated with Borate so it is fireproof. A good place to fit this would be a west-facing room where the chimney passes through. This will keep the flames contained in case of a possible fire.
	3. House fan and Woodburner. To maintain a stable and pleasant indoor temperature, the weather conditions outside would not matter if you simply have a house fan and a woodburner. The house fan should be run with the two windows on the top floor opened to cool off the summer nights, while in winter simply lighting fire in the woodburner would do the job. Of course an exceptionally hot day, would call for a constantly working fan day and night, but this is also slightly related to personal preferences.
	4. Efficient way to direct the air from the fan. To prevent any turbulence as the air from the fan enters the attic, use some luan glued and bent in the shape of an arc. The fan should blow across the insulated ceiling, so that it goes above the heat barrier.
	5. Prevent radiant heat from reaching the ceiling. There could be quite a temperature difference between air measured above the floor and above the radiant barrier. The key is to limit yourself to the use of a house fan and woodbutner (in winter) whenever needed, and refer to the electric room heater only when very necessary.
	6. “Sink or swim” With a furnace turned off, stack the woodburner with 6 inch thick layers of flyers and old newspapers. The firebox should be very hot. To achieve this burn some pieces of wood first, then spread coals out horizontally and put the paper on top. This will guarantee burning time of up to 14 hours. And to dispose of the ashes, why not use them as an additive to acidic soil? They will definitely balance that essential Ph, very important in order to have healthy peach trees.