Design Comfort Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Salt Lake City’

What Is LEED Certified?

Monday, May 9th, 2011

If you’ve been looking into purchasing a home or having any type of major construction done, you may have run across the term LEED Certified. Of course, contractors boast of so many certifications these days that it can be tough to tell which you should pay attention to and which you shouldn’t. But the LEED certification is definitely one that’s worth taking into account when you’re choosing a contractor and planning out your project.

The Benefits of LEED Certification

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The standards and guidelines for obtaining LEED certification were put together by the U.S. Green Building Counsel in order to improve construction practices and help buyers find property that meets higher standards in a variety of environmentally significant categories.

For instance, a LEED certified home boasts better water and energy efficiency than the average home that is not LEED certified. It also was put together using techniques designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve indoor air quality, making it both the healthy choice for you as the consumer and the environmentally responsible one.

When you purchase a LEED certified home, you’re not just helping the environment either. You’re also helping yourself in a variety of ways. That’s because a home that meets LEED certification standards for energy and water efficiency will help you generate smaller energy and water bills each month. That translates to huge saving over time, so even if you pay a bit more initially for your home, you’ll get that money back many times over as time passes.

LEED certification isn’t just something you should pay attention to when you’re buying a new home. Any construction project you undertake for your existing home can also benefit from these guidelines and standards. For that reason, it’s worth seeking out a contractor who can provide services in line with LEED standards. These types of improvements and techniques need to be incorporated in your home improvement project from the initial planning stage, and a contractor familiar with LEED standards will have no trouble doing just that.

You can also have confidence in the contractor you pick if they carry LEED credentials because they’re not easy to get. Anyone who is LEED certified has put a lot of time and energy into obtaining those credentials and is likely just the type of contractor you’d like taking care of your next home improvement project.

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Evaporative Coolers

Friday, May 6th, 2011

If you’re looking for an effective alternative to a traditional air conditioning system for your home, an evaporative cooler is a great option to investigate. This is not new technology by any means, but evaporative coolers are rapidly gaining popularity these days for several reasons. While these aren’t the perfect solution for every home, they’re definitely worth taking a closer look at if you’re interested in cutting your cooling costs.

Here are some of the benefits of evaporative coolers:

• Energy Efficiency – Because they cool air through evaporation, evaporative coolers use much less energy than traditional air conditioners to achieve the same results. This will take a big chunk off your energy bills each month.

• Competitive Pricing – You can buy just about any size evaporative cooler for less than a comparably sized air conditioner. And just like air conditioners, evaporative coolers are available in a wide variety of sizes so you should have no trouble finding one to fit the space you need cooled.

• Easy Installation – Whether you opt for a smaller window unit or a larger centralized one, evaporative coolers are at least as easy to install as air conditioners if not more so. The smaller units are made to fit into windows just like a comparably sized air conditioner, and central evaporative coolers operate through the same air ducts as your central heating system. They’re easy to integrate into your home and often less labor intensive than a central air conditioner to install.

• Complete Air Circulation – With an air conditioner, you need to have your windows and doors sealed up tight to keep the cooled air from escaping. But because evaporative coolers work by cooling outdoor air as they bring it into your home, they require other doors and windows in the house to be open to function efficiently. As the evaporative cooler blows cooled air into the house, it pushes hotter air out, leaving you with a comfortable environment and a constant supply of fresh air.

Of course, evaporative coolers aren’t the right choice for every situation. They work extremely well in areas with hot, dry climates, but they have a harder time cooling your home when the air outside is hot and humid. They also require water to keep their cooling pads moist, and if you live in an area where drought conditions are common, it may be difficult to keep up with their water consumption.

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Why Install a Ductless Air Conditioner?

Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

As you explore your options in terms of a new home air conditioning system, you will probably have to decide whether you want a system that uses ducts to get the cooled air around the house or one that is considered ductless. Each type of air conditioning system is appropriate in certain situations, so it is important to understand the benefits of each before you can make a decision.

Duct air conditioning systems are the more traditional type on the market today. They generally consist of an outdoor compressor and condenser unit and an indoor air handler. The outdoor unit passes the cooled air through ducts to the air handler, which then takes over circulating the air through the house and back out to the condenser again.

It makes sense to install this type of air conditioning system if you have a large house or if you have ducts already in place. Duct air conditioners can cool a moderate to large sized house quite effectively and they can also be coupled with zone control systems to give you multiple climate zones within your house.

Ductless air conditioners, as their name suggests, do not rely on a system of air ducts to get cooled air distributed throughout your house. Instead, these types of systems use refrigerant lines to transfer coolant from the outdoor compressor to the indoor, wall mounted units. Each of these indoor units can take care of cooling one or two rooms, but in order to cool an entire house with one of these systems, you will need to install multiple indoor units.

However, these multiple indoor units can all be connected to the same outdoor compressor, and they can also be controlled independently. That gives you much greater control over which parts of your house are cooled and how much energy you are using to cool areas that may or may not be occupied.

Ductless air conditioners are generally more energy efficient than ducted ones, but their real advantage comes from the facts that they can be installed even in places where air ducts do not exist or cannot go. If you do not already have ductwork in your house, installing a duct system will add considerably to the price of installing a ducted air conditioning system. In a case like this, a ductless system is much easier and cheaper to install and certainly makes more sense.

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What Will an Energy Audit Do?

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

With costs constantly on the rise, homeowners are looking for new ways to save money on their energy bills, such as conserving electricity, using less heat and exploring alternative energy sources. One great way to see how you and your family can use energy more efficiently is to get a home energy audit.

The goal of an energy audit is determine how energy is being used in the home in order to identify and correct any inefficiency. By finding ways to use energy more efficiently, you can reduce the energy used in your home without sacrificing comfort. Efficient use of energy reduces costs and environmental impact.

How It Works

To conduct an energy audit, a professional will use special instruments to inspect various aspects affecting energy use in your home, including construction, occupancy, appliance use, number of windows and doors, and so on. In this way, you can see how well your home is retaining heat and note any places where inside air may be escaping, making your home cooler or warmer than desired. For example, since a lot of heat can be lost through them, upgrading windows and skylights is an inexpensive way to gain a lot in terms of efficiency. Making sure windows are properly sealed, repairing worn weather stripping, and installing new windows with energy efficient certifications (such as LEED or Energy Star) are simple but effective first steps to making your home more affordable and eco-friendly.

Another aspect of energy audits includes prioritizing energy needs in order of importance, in order to reduce the use of energy on less critical functions. This may include collecting data on the local climate and past energy use. This data can be analyzed in order to identify and predict times when higher usage may be necessary, so that you and your family can prioritize according to your budget. For example, if the results of your energy audit show that July is historically the hottest month of the year and the month when you use the most electricity, you can make up for increased cooling costs by using other electrical appliances less. This way you can stay cool without going outside your utility budget.

Other solutions stemming from your energy audit may include installing insulated curtains, unplugging “vampire devices” like cell phone chargers, and avoiding the use of large appliances during warmer times of the day.

If you are one of the many interested in cutting energy costs, while helping the environment, a home energy audit is the first step.

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Save Money When Using Appliances and Home Electronics

Friday, April 29th, 2011

As you are looking around your home for ways to save money on electricity, it is only natural to linger on the big things like your heating and air conditioning systems. However, there is also a lot to be saved in other areas if you know where to look and how to go about cutting back. Both the type of appliances that you buy and the way that you use them will directly impact your total electric bill every month, so it is certainly worth paying attention to what you are doing and what you could do better.

For one thing, it is almost always worth it to go with an Energy Star certified appliance whenever possible. It does not matter if it is a coffee maker or a washing machine. Every little bit helps and so you will be setting yourself up for much lower electric bill over time when you figure total energy usage into all of your purchases.

Using power strips is also a great way to make saving on electricity easy. No matter what you do, many appliances will draw a small amount of power even when they are switched off. So as long as things like your laptop, TV and toaster are plugged in, they are draining energy whether you are using them or not.

Of course, you could just go around and unplug everything you are not using, but that can get pretty tedious. Plugging these types of appliances and home electronics into a power strip makes it easy to just cut their power supply completely when you do not need them. And switching them back on again is just as easy. You do not even have to go crawling around on the floor looking for the plug.

There are certainly many items that you cannot or do not want to unplug or completely cut the power to at any time. For appliances and electronics that fall into that category, simply make sure you turn them off completely when they are not in use. Many home electronics will automatically switch to a standby mode rather than shutting down completely and it is easy to forget they are still on. However, you will save a lot if you make sure to shut them down completely when they are not in use.

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LEED Accreditation – What Is It, and How Can I Get It for my Home?

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally-recognized green building rating system based on standards developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The LEED system is voluntary and offers homebuyers third-party verification that a home is sustainable, water efficient, and energy-saving; is designed to conserve construction materials and reduce pollution; and has clean indoor air.

Homes that are candidates for LEED accreditation are rated on a 100-point scale. The home must satisfy all minimum requirements and earn a minimum number of total points. Key areas of evaluation include:

  • Sustainability of Building Site. The home’s impact on ecosystems and waterways must be minimized, as must erosion, light pollution, and construction-related pollution.
  • Water Efficiency. The home must have water-efficient appliances and fixtures and regionally appropriate landscaping.
  • Energy and Atmosphere. The home must have energy-efficient design, appliances, systems, and lighting. More points are awarded for use of clean and renewable energy and other innovative strategies.
  • Materials and Resources. The home must use sustainable materials, and construction and operating waste must be minimized.
  • Indoor Environmental Quality. The home must have high indoor air quality, good indoor acoustics, and access to natural daylight and views.
  • Locations and Linkages. The LEED standard promotes building in previously-developed, “infill”, or “brownfield” sites and away from undeveloped and/or environmentally-sensitive sites. Points are also awarded for building near existing retail and transit infrastructure and outdoor recreation areas.
  • Awareness and Education. Home builders are encouraged to teach new homeowners about the green features of their home so that they can be maximally utilized.
  • Innovation in Design. Points are awarded for home design that is innovative and goes “above and beyond” existing LEED requirements, and for including a LEED certified professional on the design team.
  • Regional Priority. Bonus points are awarded for taking into account the regional environmental concerns that have been identified by USGBC’s regional councils.

LEED accreditation doesn’t just make sense from an environmental standpoint. It also makes good financial sense:

  • LEED accreditation offers great ROI for new construction – some studies have shown that an upfront investment of 2% in green building design can result in long term savings of 20% on total construction costs.
  • LEED-certified homes generally have lower operating costs.
  • LEED-certified homes are more attractive to buyers and renters (according to studies, commercial LEED-certified buildings have higher occupancy rates, higher rent-per-square foot, and higher per-square-foot sale prices than comparable non-LEED buildings).
  • LEED certification may provide some protection against indoor air quality lawsuits.

LEED accreditation can only be granted to new construction or major remodeling projects. To apply for LEED accreditation, contact a LEED for Homes Provider organization in your area. The LEED for Homes Provider organization will work with your builder to ensure that your home qualifies and will guide you through the accreditation process.

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The Energy Efficiency Rating of Central Air Conditioners: What Is it and Why Is it Important?

Monday, April 25th, 2011

When you are shopping for a central air conditioning system, you will have to evaluate your options based on a number of different factors. For instance, you will need to decide which type of system is the best match for your home and for your particular cooling needs. It is also important to make sure that the central air conditioner you choose is the right size for the cooling load it will have to take on.

However, it is also very important to evaluate your central air conditioning options based on how energy efficient they are. This will have a great deal to do with how much you pay in terms of cooling costs each month, which makes it easy to see why you should take it into account before you make a purchase.

The energy efficiency of a central air conditioner is generally expressed as a seasonal energy efficiency rating, or SEER. The SEER numbers you will typically find on the latest air conditioning systems range from eight to 19.5 with the higher numbers signifying a more energy efficient model.

So it is pretty easy to figure out that a central air conditioner with a higher SEER will save you some money monthly because it will use less energy to get the same job done. But central air conditioners with high SEERs also typically have high price tags. So to determine how high of a SEER you need, you will need to know more exactly how much more money you will save as you move up in the rankings.

You can do this by comparing the SEER of the system you currently use with the new system you are considering and compare how much your current energy usage would cost you with each model. Basically, you want to pick a central air conditioner that will save you enough to offset the purchase price of the unit.

Often, this means that you will be best off with a SEER 14 or SEER 16 because these units save you a considerable amount over older models without carrying too high a purchase price. However, the amount you save will be directly related to how much you use your central air conditioning system, so if you live someplace that is extremely hot for a large chunk of the year, it may be worth it for you to buy a very high efficiency air conditioning system.

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What Is a Whole House Pressurization Test and Should I Get One?

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

If you have a forced air heating or cooling system in your home, you also have a system of ducts through which that heated or cooled air circulates. And most people don’t give a second though to those ducts. After all, if your heating and cooling systems are working, the ducts must be doing their job, right?

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. If ducts are not working properly, the whole system will be in trouble, even when you don’t realize there is a problem. That’s why a pressurization test is so important – it provides peace of mind knowing that your home’s ductwork is not only properly installed, but that it doesn’t need any special repairs.

Why Pressure Matters

Your duct system depends on proper pressurization to evenly and efficiently distribute air throughout your home. Leaks, cracks or clogs in the system can disrupt that pressure and lead to uneven or inadequate movement of air through your ducts. This causes problems you may not notice, so if you haven’t had your ducts checked for proper pressure in a while, it’s worth looking into.

Improper pressurization causes symptoms like hot or cold spots in your home or an overall drop in the effectiveness of your home heating and cooling system. When loss of pressure is due to a leak that lets in unfiltered air from outdoors it can also lead to a decrease in indoor air quality. Often these symptoms are easy to ignore. But by doing so, you only allow the situation to get worse.

A whole house pressurization test is the best way to determine the state of your home duct system. By using high tech diagnostic equipment, home HVAC professionals check over your entire system to determine whether you have a pressurization problem. If so they can then quickly pinpoint the source. Once that’s done, the repairs are usually quite simple and you’ll get much more out of your home heating and cooling system than you did before.

Even if no symptoms of improper pressurization in your ducts have presented themselves, it’s worth having one of these tests performed. Especially if you don’t know when the system was last checked, a whole house pressurization test can help uncover small problems before they turn into bigger ones. And the peace of mind this provides is well worth the day it takes to perform the test.

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Save by Caulking Crevices and Penetrations

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

They are nothing to be ashamed of. Really, everyone has them. You know – those little cracks and crevices that you always mean to get around to caulking but just have not found the time for yet. But they are so small, they cannot possibly be causing that many problems, right?

Well, not exactly. In fact, any small space that can let air in or out of your house could be costing you money – and a considerable amount too. The truth is that, next to inadequate insulation, leaks and drafts are some of the biggest drains on your home heating and cooling system.

After all, you are paying to heat or cool the air inside your house in order to keep the indoor environment comfortable all year round. But you do not want to be paying more than you need to be. That is why you bought the high efficiency HVAC system in the first place. If you have lots of drafts and cracks in various places throughout your house, however, you are almost certainly spending more than necessary to keep your house comfortable.

And the solution is so simple. You do not need to go out and spend a ton of money on an even more expensive heating and cooling system. All you really need to do is make sure that your home is sealed up as well as possible. And that means sealing up all of the cracks.

Caulking is an extremely effective way of doing this, and it costs very little, particularly if you take on the job yourself. But even if you hire a professional, the amount that you have to pay out will be returned to you many times over in savings on your monthly heating and cooling bills. There simply is no substitute for sealing up your house tight when you are trying to save money on heating and cooling costs.

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The Energy Star Label

Monday, April 18th, 2011

The Energy Star program is a joint program of the US environmental protection agency and the US department of Energy. The program’s goal is to help consumers save money and protect the environment through energy-efficient products and practices.

The best-known aspect of the Energy Star program is the Energy Star label, which is awarded to appliances and other items that are significantly more efficient than average. Energy Star efficiency guidelines vary depending on product category, but in general, Energy Star products use 20%-30% less energy than minimum federal standards.

The Energy Star guidelines were designed both with energy efficiency and performance in mind. While low energy use is one of the most important criteria for selecting Energy Star appliances, product performance, features, warranty, safety, and durability are also taken into account. Price is also a factor: if a product costs significantly more than other products in its category, it will only receive the Energy Star label if the up-front cost will be recovered through savings in operating costs within a reasonable amount of time.

The first Energy Star labels were given to computers and monitors in 1992. Now labels can be found on many other products, including:

  • Furnaces
  • Hot water heaters
  • Air conditioners
  • Dishwashers
  • Refrigerators
  • Light bulbs (florescent and LED)
  • TVs

Energy Star products can be found wherever appliances and electronics are sold. Look for the blue and white Energy Star label. You can also look for the yellow EnergyGuide label that is affixed to most heating and cooling systems and household appliances. This label is created by the Department of Energy and shows a product’s annual cost of operation compared to similar models. It will often indicate whether a product is Energy Star.

It’s important to note that while an Energy Star label indicates that a heater, air conditioner, or household appliance is more efficient than the minimum guidelines, it does not always mean that you are getting the most energy efficient option on the market. If you are making a major appliance purchase, use the Energy Star label to be sure every model on your “short list” is energy efficient. Then, look carefully at the EnergyGuide label to compare the efficiency of the models you are considering.

The EPA has also extended the Energy Star label to cover new homes and commercial and industrial buildings. To qualify for the Energy Star rating, a new home must use at least 15% less energy than standard homes (built to the 2004 International Residential Code). Energy Star homes usually include insulation, high-performance windows, energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, appliances, lighting, and water heaters.

The Energy Star standards and label have been recognized in many other countries, including Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan and the European Union.

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