What’s in YOUR Attic?
One of the first things we think about with energy efficiency is heating & cooling. That naturally leads us to a discussion about HVAC equipment.
We aren’t going to focus on the brand or rating of particular equipment, but instead, we want to talk about proper installation. You can always upgrade the equipment to a higher SEER or efficiency, but your dollars can be better spent simply by installing the system with energy efficiency in mind. This is one area where construction codes don’t do much to protect the homeowner. The minimum HVAC code that many municipalities enforce is not nearly enough to keep your utility bills low and prevent energy loss.
Here is a sealed duct with all seams covered with mastic.
Let’s start with the duct work. This is what distributes the air throughout the house. In a typical new house today, the duct work is wrapped in R-6 insulation and is located in the attic where temperatures can reach more than 150 degrees in the summer. It’s estimated that about 20 percent of the air that moves through the ducts in a typical home is lost due to holes, leaks and improper installation.
Another sealed duct. Notice the R-8 label on the duct.
Unlike many builders, McAlister Construction prevents these potential losses by wrapping our ducts in R-8 insulation and sealing the ducts with mastic at all connection points. This makes them air-tight. And our ductwork is, in fact, air-tight. Each of our houses is tested and our leakage is less than two percent, which is much lower than the average home’s twenty percent loss.
In addition, we install LP TechShield, which is a radiant barrier (roof sheathing product) that offers a variety of benefits including:
* Potentially reducing the tonnage of the HVAC system
* Cutting monthly air conditioning bills up to 17 percent
Studies have shown that this radiant barrier can reduce your attic temperature by 40 degrees on hot summer days.
The next area of focus should be the proper sizing of the HVAC system. Choosing the right size of equipment is essential to achieving the highest performance and comfort. A common myth is that the bigger the equipment, the better the performance. This notion often leads builders to oversize the HVAC system, which results in frequent on/off cycling. This puts stress on the equipment and shortens its life as well as increasing utility bills. To avoid this, every one of our homes is evaluated by both our HVAC contractor and a local energy consultant to determine the proper sizing through the home’s heat loss/gain calculations.
View from below of all the ducts tying into the system.
Touchscreen programmable thermostat
Another detail we focus on in every one of our homes is the installation of a programmable thermostat. This allows you to adjust your home’s temperature by your schedule. For example, during the winter months, if no one is at your home from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., you can set the programmable thermostat to cycle down to 64 degrees during the hours you are gone and automatically return to 70 degrees when you are home. A properly-used programmable thermostat can save you another 10 percent on utility bills throughout the year.
Just imagine how much more efficient an HVAC system can be when it is properly-sized, controlled by a programmable thermostat, and composed of R-8 sealed duct work in air that is 40 degrees cooler than in attics of other homes. All of these things add up to save our buyers money.
See what a big difference these decisions can make when purchasing a new home? It is so important to make the right decision the first time.
