A Solution For Hot Garages

After months of consideration, I finally decided to do something about my hot south facing garage.  I'd previously insulated the doors and made sure my entry door was sealed well, but in the Arizona desert, it seems to take much more than that.

I'm not so concerned about how hot the garage gets, but rather the living spaces above the garage (my daughters bedroom in particular).

The solution - a through the wall ventilation fan operated by a programmable timer switch.

Paint It White - Can Paint Save You 10%, or even 20% on Cooling Bills?

Light Colored Roofs

There has been a growing buzz for the last couple of years about a new way to cool houses in hot climates.  The buzz has reached a louder tone lately since Steven Chu, the US Energy Secretary, brought the topic of money saving paint to the forefront.

So what is this magic paint that saves money?  It is light colored roof paint.  Yes, paint your roof and you may see noticeable savings of energy in your home (though reports of 20% are almost certainly overblown).

Now, this sounds crazy, and as of yet not many people have taken the leap.  So lets take a closer look and see what roof painting is all about.

You Don't Have to Be Perfect - Just Be Better

I've been around long enough to know that everyone has different personality traits.  I also know that everyone learns a bit differently and reacts to their environment differently. 

But at the same time, I've noticed that if I'm thinking something, questioning something, or encountering a specific problem, there are always others out there that are in the same boat.

That's why I'm writing today - I have a personality flaw that sometimes gets in the way of completing projects, or more accurately, even starting them in the first place - but I think I can fix this flaw!  And yes - this applies to saving energy and reducing power consumption!

How to Save 1000 Gallons of Water a Month With 5 Minutes of Work

Actually, not only can you save 500 gallons of water with just five minutes of effort, but you can reduce your water heating costs at the same time.

When I moved into my current house over four years ago, it was brand new construction meeting the latest building standards. Over time, standards relating to efficiency have improved greatly, so I felt good about the efficiency of the house.

Of course, as I started to get to know my house I discovered quite a few areas where the standards could be improved upon, and one area that could easily save 500 gallons of water per month with less than $20 to $40 spent, and only 5 minutes of effort.

Three Ways to Reduce Water Heating Costs

Hot water heaters are often the most overlooked appliance in ones home.  They sit in the basement (or garage if you live in a temperate climate) and just do their thing.

Most home owners only tend to them if the pilot light goes out (which is more and more rare in newer units), or when they spring a leak.

However, with minimal effort, you might be able to significantly reduce the costs of heating water in your home - without replacing your hot water heater.  After all, reducing your gas or electric bill is the ultimate goal of this site!

With winter knocking on the door, now is the time to expend this little bit of effort.

Mind the Gap - How to Find and Fix Energy Leaks

If you have ever traveled on the London Underground (The Tube) you are likely familiar with the "Mind The Gap" warning, telling passengers that there is a gap you must step over when entering the train.


While waiting for the tube on a trip last May, it dawned on me that "mind the gap" is also particularly important for homeowners when it comes to sealing your house, where even the smallest gaps can result in drafts and wasted energy.

Fixing gaps is a very simple project, but a thorough approach can take a few hours, if not a good chunk of a day or weekend. Today we'll look at how to approach DIY home sealing and what you'll need to save money on your electric and gas bill.

The Three Problem Areas of Windows

 Boarded Window

Windows can be a major source of drafts, and in some cases, an avoidable source. As windows age, as your house settles, and as materials warp and wear, gaps and cracks in sealants used to prevent air infiltration can occur.

The good news is that these problem areas are often easily fixed.


In general, there are three areas to check around a window. Some people like to wait for a cool and windy day and hold a lit candle or wet hand up around the window perimeter and check for any drafts. While that method is the most thorough, anytime is good for a plain old visual check, which can reveal some problems as well.

The three areas to check are:

How To Insulate Your Garage Door in Two Hours

Garage Door Insulation Kit

Growing up in the central/northern plains, my bedroom was on the north and west side of the house.  To top it off, it was over our garage, making for a very cold room.  A little garage door insulation probably would have made that part of the house much more tolerable.

Many garage doors these days are un-insulated and light weight metal that simply transfer heat and cold.  In the Arizona low desert, cold weather is only a concern for about 2 months, and hardly that if you live in an urban area.  But even here, garage door insulation often makes sense. In the summer the surface temperature of the garage door can reach 140 degrees!  That heat radiates into the garage, and if you have living space over the garage, it radiates straight up into your living area.

Luckily, it is very easy to retrofit insulation onto a garage door.  Fiberglass and polystyrene garage insulation kits can achieve R5 to R8 insulation values, providing not only excellent thermal protection, but also some noise reduction.  As simple as this project is, there are (as always) a few options and considerations to take into account.

News: Lowes 31 Ways to Save Energy

Lowes recently announced an October promotion focusing on 31 days to save energy, promoting a product each day of the month.  So far they cover some of the same topics as here - lighting and power strips.  But you can bet there will be a focus on appliances and other bigger ticket items.  Hopefully they will tie in some discounts to make this worthwhile.

My biggest concern is they will promote energy savings over good economical sense and being a good citizen of the planet.  One of the focuses of Home Power Saver is to attempt, when possible, to make it clear when a project makes financial sense through tools like our payback calculator and power savings calculator.  And if it can't be quantified, at least the considerations involved in a purchasing a product or embarking on a project should be discussed.

One factor that is too often overlooked is that when an appliance is replaced, that old appliance must go somewhere - and hopefully not the county landfill!  I am planning a number of upcoming articles about choosing new appliances to save money, but the focus is primarily for those who were planning to replace one already. 

However, there are certain situations where a new appliance does save so much energy that it is cost effective to replace a perfectly good older appliance.  In those cases please use Craig's List or Freecycle to get rid of your older appliance.

Adding Attic Insulation - Part II

In Part I we looked at the basics of attic insulation, including the primary types, pros and cons of each, R-values, and briefly touched on the fact that adding insulation have have a great 'return on investment'.

Before embarking on this project, however, we should look at the "return on investment" aspect with a bit more depth.  For most people, it will be important to have a general idea of how much insulation should be put in, and how much they will save.

Is This Project 'Worth It'?

The good news is that you can actually pretty clearly calculate the affect that adding attic insulation will have.  The National Weather Service calculates climatic numbers that can be used in this calculation.  These numbers, called Heating Degree Days and Cooling Degree Days, measure how extreme your winters and summers are by measuring how often and how much you deviate from 65 degrees. These values directly relate to how much you need to heat and cool a home.

Just in Time for Winter – 14 Inches of…

Cellulose Blow-In Insulation

For most of the country, combining the words “winter” and “14 inches” usually means one thing – a lot of snow.  However, as a rough guideline, 14 inches should be a minimum amount of insulation in your attic. More specifically, an R-value of up to 49 is recommended for most of the country.

We'll talk about R values in a minute, but the important thing to be aware of is that many houses - especially older houses (10 years and older), could GREATLY benefit from a little extra insulation.  As time progresses, many insulation types settle and compact and lose some of their efficiency.  Many older houses never had enough insulation to begin with.

As an example, a typical home in Phoenix, AZ could achieve a 12% return on investment by increasing their insulation from R20 to R35.  7% can be achieved going from R30 to R40.  And in a more extreme climate like Boston, MA, 22% and 13% can be achieved.  Move to Minneapolis, and the numbers get better still.  Good luck getting ROI's like that in any other investment!  Part II will look further into the payback and return on investment of this project.  Needless to say, this is one project worth strongly considering, even if you already have a good R30 base of insulation.

And the great news is that with the help of a friend, a little knowledge and planning, adding insulation can be a half day project in most homes, so long as a few precautions are taken.