IntelEfficient

A thermographic image shows cool winter air coming in an outlet on an exterior wall

Did you know that in the average home, about half of the energy consumed is wasted?  There are a number of contributors to this phenomenon, including inefficient lighting & appliances and bad habits, but the main culprit is the shell of your home.  Your biggest energy expense it heating and cooling your home, so the more you can do to minimize heat transfer, the less work your furnace and air conditioner have to do.

Many homebuilders are now much more aware of the importance of creating a tight building envelope, and some homes are so tight that they need a ventilation system to bring in fresh air.  But if you’re in an older home, you probably have the equivalent of a two- or three-foot square window open, bringing heat inside in the summer and letting it out in the winter.  This hole is the sum total of all of the poor seals around doors, windows, pipes, ductwork and electrical outlets.  There are a variety of ways to seal these leaks, including caulk, weatherstripping and expanding foam.  This is an important first step in tightening up your home. Read the rest of this entry »

When Gary Pawelko and his partner Diana Figueroa built their home in Wentzville, they carefully considered the many options available, doing their best to imagine this new space and how things would fit together.  Unfortunately, they didn’t realize until the home was finished that the kitchen, where they spent a large portion of their time, was always dark and required artificial lighting.  They spent a year and a half regretting the missed opportunity to include skylights in the original design, and finally concluded that this add-on project would be necessary to open up the space to provide the natural light they were yearning for.  

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