mrzoom Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Tell me your stories. Worth it, did you save on energy costs?? With utilities prices on the up swing I wonder if savings are worth the cost of more insulation etc.Yes, just go last months gas bill. How do you find a honest firm?? oh wait, i'm doing that here. Link to comment
enfoman Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I did my own.. I knew the 1950 era windows with storms were sub par and changed them out with Paradigm windows made in Maine. My radiators have never been cooler. What a savings! I am sure I can find other ways to stop the cold air infiltration and will do those improvements in time. I felt that to get the most bang for the buck was to replace those old drafty windows first! Here in NY, the state has a special program for energy audits where they will set up shop in your house and evaluate. The trouble is that I really do not need more government intrusion coming into the house (NYSERDA). I think they know too much already! I found my contractor for the windows through ANGIE'S LIST. It took some time to weed out the hi pressure I need your business front men and then meet the guy that gave me a great price on a great set of windows for about 1/3 - 1/2 less than the other with comparable quality ( Pella, Anderson ). I felt the Paradigm windows fit the bill for me. Short of gutting your house to the bare walls and super insulate with a spray foam, you must consider the outlays to prevent cold air intrusion. My 9 windows cost a few grand or more, It will take a long time to reap the savings but one has to start somewhere I suppose. Solar is popular right now and I am not discounting it but IMO the cost outlay is enormous compared to the time of year here when you really need it in the winter. For example, I can monitor the effects of the sun's rays by placing a simple solar floodlight up. This last month, due to the typical overcast we have in my area and the cold, it performed poorly if at all. I do not think that solar is a great sell at least by me for heating a house in this market that I live in or any where north of the Mason- Dixon line. YMMV. Link to comment
Bill_Walker Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 You might find the following article of interest. The thermal imager found that the windows were far from the only major source of heat leakage. Why the caulking gun (and the thermal imager) are the best weapons in the war against energy waste Link to comment
tallman Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Our city does that for free and links you up with free, rebated, low interest, or similar programs to install the needed improvements. We can even pay it off on utility bill at zero or low interest. Check yours and inquire. We insulated attic, switched to gas water heater, replace ac/gas heat, and done various upgrades at reduced cost and no interest for 60 months. For us, yes, worth it. Link to comment
mrzoom Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 I've done everything over the last few years to make the house more energy efficent except move it to a better climate. I spent yesterday afternoon during the snow storm searching for a company that will do a full ck to see if I have missed anything. Found one local with good reviews that will do a complete ck for free and then proby try to sell me new everything. Ha, I want them to use the thermal camera to ck and see if my "enough insullation "is in the right places. Other contractors have just poked their head up in the attic and said "looks good". That was before cameras were used. 3 yrs ago I worked on getting the garage in shape. Found one outside wall with no insulation. My painter had a "cousin" who was a drywaller and he tore out the drywall, insullated and put up new drywall for silly cheap.That made a big diff. I also spent time on the big door adjustments so it fits tight to the wall as possible and weather stripped it. Also replaced the 30 year old GE house furnace I had in there with a ceiling hung which is 90% efficent and that gave me enough extra floor space to fit another roll cab tool box. It seems energy costs go up faster than the savings from the improvements bring them down. Link to comment
Selden Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Tell me your stories. Worth it, did you save on energy costs?? With utilities prices on the up swing I wonder if savings are worth the cost of more insulation etc.Yes, just go last months gas bill. Really? What part of the country do you live in? Natural gas prices have collapsed in Georgia, and it seems like every month we get a solicitation to switch to another company offering a lower rate. Our gas bill for December was less than $30 with a gas hot water heater, gas cooktop, and dual fuel heat pump/furnace. Link to comment
mrzoom Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 This is good old cold snowy IL. I used to get those solicitaions but not for at least 2 yrs. My lovely city owns the electric system and recently installed "smart meters"which if to be believed can monitor consumption and tell you when to conserve. The rates are up there. We already run dishwasher and a load of clothes during off peak hrs. And water rates will go up this year too. Link to comment
Rocer Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 This is good old cold snowy IL. I used to get those solicitaions but not for at least 2 yrs. My lovely city owns the electric system and recently installed "smart meters"which if to be believed can monitor consumption and tell you when to conserve. The rates are up there. We already run dishwasher and a load of clothes during off peak hrs. And water rates will go up this year too. Our experience with smart meters: Our province, which is our power provider, went to smart meters a few years ago for the same reason you stated. They now find that there has been no significant shift to using hydro in off peak time and are now increasing our peak rate. One has to wonder why they went to all this expense and end up in the same place. Salt added to the wound, today I read in the news that the province paid $1 Billion to dump excess electricity in 2013 which translates to ~$220/yr/rate payer. I hope you fare better with your power provider. Link to comment
Bullett Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 I can't answer your question about energy auditors, but I can say that replacing our electric hot water heater with a hybrid has saved us about a third, on average, on our monthly electric bill. Link to comment
mrzoom Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 I have the expert coming next week with the camera to ck out the insulation. Had 54 mph winds Sunday nite and found the front door and side light area needs to seal better. Cold air !! Only 15 below right now where is my Gerbing's ?? Link to comment
upflying Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Sorry for a slight hijack but those of you who have iPhones will be able purchase a FLIR app and camera for the phone in the very near future. You can do your own energy audit. Link to comment
philbytx Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 We had a guy come in to check our attic insulation. He said your insulation is fine but your air CIRCULATION is not. He said we needed better ventilation. We then installed two solar attic vent fans on either side of the roof peak (replacing two "turtlebacks". Noticed a difference right away. When I went up into the attic (we have BIG attic with our HVAC air handler and ductwork in it) it was noticeably cooler, even when in the 90's outside. Got a nice energy tax credit as well ! Link to comment
mrzoom Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 Update.. Went to the big Home Show last weekend and ckd out the many firms that do insulation. We picked 3 to come out and inspect. None used a camera but after discussion found that a thermo camera is not the perfect tool. All 3 said I had an R25 rating with air leaks where the bats had not been installed correctly around pipes etc. The new rating is R60 so I need to have 13-15" of blown in insulation on top of what is there. Good news is no mold or mositure problems were found. All 3 were the same price Instalation is next Wed and the energy savings will start. 20% is the average so the story problem is..remenber those?? If MrZoom saves 20% on his energy bill how long will it take him to save enough to buy a new RT ?? remember to factor in his base cost, his trade in, possible energy cost increases and additional projects his wife may want. Show all work. Using the above I figure I won't live long enough to make that happen!! Link to comment
tallman Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Use the $$ for the new insulation as a down payment, buy a down snowmobile suit to wear inside, turn heat off, ride to dealership with down payment and trade, return on new bike. Link to comment
mrzoom Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 Sounds like a plan Tim but the wife has other ideas. I think I'll fix the house and then use the old "my bike broke on the way to the UN so I had to buy a new one" trick Or maybe "it caught on fire". If I wait long enough all the 14's will be sold and I can stop wanting one till next year. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.