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Home Retrofitting

Home Retrofitting

If your home is now over 5 to 10 years old now may be your time to go for a energy system retrofit. Home retrofitting is today a hot topic because of the ever escalating energy bills and universal power shortage.

Home retrofitting for energy conservation is of prime importance because it amounts to wasting away valuable earnings in these times of economic turmoil. Retrofitting for energy saving can be affected primarily in 6 categories. viz;

• Roof and Attic Insulation
• Wall Insulation
• Glazing
• Boiler and Controls retrofits
• Leak Sealing
• Improvement to Home Lighting System

How does poor Insulation waste home energy?

Thermal Insulation provides a barrier between the colder side of your building wall and the comfort condition maintained interior of your house. The property of insulation which is called its "U" factor tells you how effective it is in saving the wasteful thermal energy. The Lower the "U" value the better the insulation is. If your home insulation has a higher value there it is certainly responsible to a high degree for your high energy bills.

What Areas need to be insulated?

In short the whole building envelope has to be insulated. This indeed will include even the glass areas. Insulating glass as every one knows is not practical by conventional means for obvious reasons. But on the other hand all the walls and the Roof certainly can be insulated for very good results.

Roof and Attic insulation is one of the easiest insulations jobs and does not cost that much. As a matter of fact in some countries this is mostly DIY. (How ever here if you are thinking of HES grant aid you'd best go for a properly SEI listed contractor as this is a prerequisite).

On the other hand wall insulation is a different kettle of fish altogether. The walls can be insulated from inside or outside. Interior wall insulation will involve a lot of removals of fixings and also be messy. You may encounter a few irregular shapes to insulate as well. But the insulation it self is simple because your insulation will go in timber battens fixed on the wall and Gypsum or Plasterboard could be fixed over it to be finished in plaster and paint of your choice.

The outer wall insulation is easier because of the simple profiles. But these wall need to be weather resistant and also be able to weather a bit of abuse as well. Generally preferred materials are Expanded Polystyrene Foam Slabs, Mineral or Rock Wool, Fiber Glass batt etc. A wire or Fiber Glass mesh would hold the plaster finish (that also gives mechanical protection) in place.

Windows and Glazing

The Thermal Energy is lost from the conditioned space (or gained as the case may be) in a house in the 3 all too familiar routes of heat transfer, Radiation, Convection and Conduction. With your glass windows all these three processes will take place. Depending on the geographic location of your home exposure of the glass areas to receive the best of solar radiation may be one way to improve home energy efficiency.

Another effective step is the use of double glazing with inert gas filled spaces .This will minimize the transmission losses. Also the use of curtains will reduce the heat loss.

Leak sealing

Leak sealing is a simple measure which generally can be easily undertaken by anyone even as a DIY project. Attic spaces, around windows and doors are common locations for leakages. However small the gaps are, the leakage through them could account for heavy losses of energy. Leakages around windows can result in soggy insulation. Moisture increases the "U" value of the insulation and accordingly the heat losses as well.

Boilers and Controls

If your home is fitted with an older version of a boiler and also with no zoning in hot water distribution you have come to one other major cause of energy wastage. Even the gas or oil burning boilers are highly efficient these days. Zoning of the hydronic system, use of programmable timers, solid state thermostats, precise microprocessor controls etc are very effective in optimizing the energy usage and will not cost you the Earth either.

Lighting System Retrofitting

Lighting will account for about a quarter of your annual energy bill. Any reduction here therefore will result in a huge saving. Use of CFLs, Solid State Lamps, solar power, use of better control systems and programmers are ways to cut down your electrical energy spent on lighting.

What ever it is make sure you have the best guidance in these matters from those who would know. It is always better to make use of the HES grant aids while these are available.

You can ask ENTECH who will advise you or guide you to their best qualified associate for your requirement.

About the Author:

John Mahoney is a freelance author who writes about various renewable energy through technology related subjects including home energy management systems. For more information about John visit his website: http://www.techstore.ie/Renewable-Energy/Energy-Management-Systems.html