What's In Your Attic?

Winter is on its way and, with it, so come the frigid temperatures. Do you know what’s in your attic?…or walls?…or floor? Hopefully the answer is insulation. In the United States, heating and cooling account for 50 to 70% of all energy used in the home. A lot of that energy is being wasted because of inefficient building practices. Ensuring proper insulation in your home can make you more comfortable, save money and reduce the burden our limited energy resources. Here are a few things that you should know about insulation.

How Insulation works

Heat naturally travels from warm to cold space through conduction, convection and radiation. In winter, heat moves from our living spaces to wherever it is colder, typically outdoors. This lost heat must be replaced by a heating system to maintain comfort. In the summer, heat moves from outdoors in and must then be removed by an air conditioner. Insulating decreases the heating and cooling that is needed by providing an effective resistance to the natural flow of heat. This thermal resistance is known as the R-value. The R-values vary widely depending on the type of material, its thickness and density. The higher the R-value, the more effective the insulation.

Types of Insulation

Blanket or Batt insulation is traditionally made of mineral fibers or rock wool, but are now available in cotton, sheep’s wool and hemp. They are available in a variety of widths and are available with or without vapor retardant facing. Because of its availability and ease of installation, blanket insulation is a great choice for the homeowner.

Loose Fill insulation is typically made from cellulose (recycled paper), fiberglass or rock wool. These loose fibers are blown into walls and attics using pneumatic equipment, usually by professionals. Loose fill can be packed in to existing walls and irregularly shapes areas, making it an excellent option for retrofits on older homes.

Foam insulation is sprayed in liquid form using special equipment by professionals. This insulation comes in open or closed cell varieties. Open cell foam allows water vapor to pass through, but has a lower R-value. Closed cell foam is a better choice when space is limited.

Rigid insulation is made from plastic foams and is molded into board forms. Rigid foam is often used on foundation walls.

Insulation Fun Facts

• Insulation reduces average home heating and cooling costs by around 20%. [1]
• Insulation currently in place in U.S. buildings reduces the amount of carbon dioxide by 780 million tons each year. [2] This is the equivalent to the electricity use of over 90 million homes for one year [3] 
• For every Brittish Thermal Unit (Btu) consumed in the production of insulation, 12 Btus are saved each year by the use of insulation. [4]
• All insulation products installed in U.S. buildings save consumers about 12 quadrillion Btus annually, or about 42% of the energy that would have been consumed with no insulation in place. [5]
• This is the equivalent of 40 million Btus or 7 barrels of oil per person per year. [6] This is the equivalent of 28 barrels of oil saved by each U.S. family of four per year. 
• Energy efficiency through insulation is the simplest and most cost effective way to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.  [7]

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[1]  “Insulating Your Home: Save Energy and Money,” Better Homes and Gardens (Better Homes and Gardens Home Information System, 1995), p.1

[2]  Green and Competitive: The Energy, Environmental and Economic Benefits of Fiber Glass and Mineral Wool Insulation Products. Energy Conservation Management, Inc; The Alliance to Save Energy; Barakat & Chamberlin, Inc., June 1996.

[3] EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator – www.epagov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html

[4] Green and Competitive Report: Energy Conservation Management, June 1996

[5]  Green and Competitive Report: Energy Conservation Management, June 1996

[6] EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator – www.epagov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html

[7] A Cost Curve for Green House Gas Reduction, The McKinsey Quarterly 2007, Number 1.

About the Author
Tim DeLuca is Weatherization Inspector for 4CORE, is native of the planet earth and has been living in Colorado on and off since 1995. After studying Business at the University of Cincinnati, he moved to Fort Collins, were he studied Fine Arts and Design at Colorado State University. He then began to pursue his love and fascination with carpentry, construction, design, engineering, and energy efficient building techniques. Most recently, Tim was the Crew Leader for a group of Weatherization Installation Technicians through an apprentice program offered in partnership with Americorps, the Southwest Conservation Corps and 4CORE. After one successful year, he was hired on as an Inspector at 4CORE. In his spare time, Tim enjoys spending lots of time with his family, preferably outdoors.

Senator Bennet Announces 4CORE's USDA Grant

Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today announced that the Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency (4CORE) has won a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Housing Preservation Grant program. The grant will be used for home repairs and energy efficient improvements for low-income rural residents.

“This grant will help Coloradans save money on their monthly energy bills while improving housing conditions,” Bennet said.  “4CORE’s work with local communities is another example of Colorado’s vision and leadership on energy conservation and sustainability.”

"This funding will complement our existing Weatherization Assistance Program and allow us to better assist low-income residents, many of whom work full time, but still qualify as low-income,” said Gregg Dubit, director of 4CORE. “In addition to improving energy efficiency for families, we'll be able to repair and resolve health and safety issues, such as indoor air quality, leaking furnaces, and other potentially unsafe problems.”

4CORE serves southwest Colorado by helping communities conserve energy and integrating energy efficiency and renewable energy into the daily lives of Coloradans.

The Housing Preservation Grant program provides grants to sponsoring organizations for the repair or rehabilitation of low- and very low-income housing.  The grants are competitive and are made available in areas where there is a concentration of need.

Home Spotlight Event Provides Glimpse of Net Zero

Home Features Geothermal, Solar, and other efficient qualities 

The first Home Spotlight event takes place from 4 to 7 PM on November 3rd as part of a quarterly series hosted by the Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency (4CORE). La Plata County homeowners Richard and Jill Hoehlein will open their home to educate the public and raise awareness about the value and comfort of a sustainably built, net zero home.

The Hoehlein’s home was designed as a prototype with plans available at a discount so renewable energy and energy efficient features can be easily replicated for other homeowners. Passive solar design is used, along with natural day-lighting techniques, solar photovoltaic, and solar hot water to take full advantage of the 278 days of sunshine in our region. Home comfort and low heating costs are ensured by a geo-exchange ground source heating and cooling system, combined with quality air sealing, superior insulation, and a heat recovery ventilation system. A Growing Spaces Growing Dome® provides food year-round, with xeriscaping and native landscaping maintained around the home with drip irrigation. Finally, universal design features accommodate people with physical disabilities.

Register here for the Tour ~ It's FREE!

"We are delighted to share our experience in building the county's first LEED platinum home and our commitment to living in a way that is highly energy efficient and environmentally responsible,” said Richard Hoehlein, the homeowner. “Hopefully it will serve as a model for others who share our concern about the long-term sustainability of our planet's resources and would value living in an essentially net-zero energy residence."

The home is located at located at 602 Powder Horn Trail just outside of Durango and the event is free and open to the public. Suppliers and builders will be on-hand to explain the products and processes used to construct the home. A Road Runner Transit shuttle bus will run from the Durango Transit Center to the home between the hours of 4 and 7 PM. 

“We are pleased to showcase this relatively modest home,” said Mark Galbraith of Galbraith Builders. “The mix of geothermal, solar and energy efficient attributes makes this home the ideal solution for anyone who wants to minimize their impact while living in the utmost comfort.”

This Home Spotlight Event is sponsored by Galbraith Builders, Growing Spaces, Smart Enterprises, Boss Mechanical, Water Furnace International, Sherwin-Williams, and Road Runner Transit, a program division of the Southern Ute Community Action Programs (SUCAP). Please visit www.fourcore.org, e-mail info@fourcore.org, or call 259.1916 for directions to the home or for more information.

Plug Loads = Opportunities for Savings!

Our households and offices have more plug-in devices than ever before. The use of home electronics, mobile devices and computers has increased rapidly over the years.

We often think of space heating as the main energy gobbling culprit. Much less attention is given to the plethora of devices that plug into the wall sockets. Current information shows that these “plug loads” can contribute anywhere from 9 – 20% of a home’s energy usage.

For instance: A single workspace can consume 1,500 kWh each year. 

That's an average cost of $175!

Common plug loads:

• Televisions
• DVD players
• Computers
• Stereo systems
• Printers
• Remote controlled devices

Many of these devices, such as set-top boxes and computers, are left on even when unused. Others are “turned off" but still use a significant amount of standby-power, like televisions and stereos.

How do you identify and manage the worst abusers? What can you do to curb your plug load consumption? What tools are out there to help?

Join us for a free Brown Bag Session October 17th from noon – 1:15 pm at the First National Bank of Durango, in the downstairs training room.

Our presenter, Erica Lighthiser, from Ecova, will cover the following topics:
1.      What are plug loads?
2.      Why are they a problem?
3.      Simple steps to save energy and money at your home or office.
4.      Alternatives to the gadgets you can’t live without.

When we save electricity, we save money and decrease emissions from power plants.

Remember, the cheapest (and cleanest!) energy is the energy that is never used!

Grand Prize Winner of HomeRx Energy Efficiency Makeover Contest

4CORE is proud to announce the grand prize winner of the HomeRx Energy Efficiency Makeover Contest. Launched in May 2012, the HomeRx Energy Makeover Contest has now awarded three local families with home energy efficiency improvements to enhance comfort and reduce energy consumption.

4CORE’s selection committee chose La Plata County homeowner Emily Lloyd as the grand prize winner for the contest. Lloyd will receive a free comprehensive energy audit by WeatherCo to identify potential energy savings and other areas of improvement. Insulation is provided by ProBuild and air sealing services will be provided by 4CORE. The Grand Prize is valued at $1,500.

“My daughter and I were fortunate enough to receive assistance from the Regional Housing Alliance to purchase our town home, but our electric baseboard heat costs over $300 in the coldest winter months,” said Emily. “We are really looking forward to having our home 'made over' with energy saving, bill-deducing solutions.”

The HomeRx Energy Makeover Contest was created to help raise awareness of 4CORE’s energy efficiency programs. 4CORE provides resources for homeowners to save money on rising utility bills, while addressing common health and safety risks for occupants. In addition to providing certified weatherization services, 4CORE helps local residents reduce the use of natural resources, save energy and costs, and enjoy a better quality of life.

“4CORE’s programs and activities have directly helped residents save thousands each year in utility bills,” said Gregg Dubit, Executive Director of 4CORE. “The HomeRx Makeover Contest is an extension of our commitment to promote and maintain a vibrant, resilient and thriving community through expanded programs and partnerships.”

4CORE would like to thank its partners and supporters of the HomeRx Makeover Contest, including WeatherCo, ProBuild, Treehouse Communications, Energy Check LLC, 810 Pixels, Annadel Building Solutions LLC, and Verified Green.

For additional information, please contact 4CORE at info@fourcore.org or (970) 259-1916.

True Story: Healthy Rental Home

Duct before and after cleaning

My landlady is a saint. Or at least, she has me convinced she is.

As an employee of 4CORE I know the dangers of radon and dirty furnace ducts, and as the mother of a one-year-old, I want to minimize the risks of poor indoor air quality to my family.

So when I brought the scary results of two radon tests (one done in February, one in May) to my landlady and asked her what could be done, she didn't bat an eye. She called up a radon mitigation company and ordered the work on our basement to take place within a month.

Similarly a few months later, my husband noticed a nasty black residue inside our ducts and told our landlady. She ordered work from a company that specializes in duct cleaning, and had her home serviced, as well. Now both furnaces are working more quietly, efficiently, there is no burnt smell from dust settling in the system over the summer, and I'm betting our bills will be reduced, too.

Saint or Savvy?
Is our landlady really a saint, or is she savvy by maintaining the value of her rental investment? Is she protecting our family's health because she loves the way my daughter waves and smiles at her, or does she realize that:

Unhealthy Indoor Air Quality + Taking Action = Doing the Right Thing

I'm betting on a bit of both - the canned pears she gave us last week would indicate she is a caring person, but she also owns a large ranch, a home in Silverton, and three homes in Durango and maintains all of them with an eye for a bargain and frugal spending.

Rental Property Owners: Food for Thought
If you own rental property, the first thing that might cross your mind is "I don't want to know if it has radon or a dirty HVAC system, because then I'll have to fix it."

However, there is a movement afoot in our region to educate home buyers (you probably won't hang on to your rental forever), and home renters too, about the dangers of unsafe air quality.

Why not do the right thing now and maintain your rental investment by ensuring a safe, clean Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system, and gain peace of mind by testing your rental (and home!) for radon. A healthy and efficient home helps to ensure comfort for the occupant and the budget!

About the Author

Teresa Shishim is a Colorado native who is dedicated to improving where we live through collaboration. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science at Western Washington University and has significant experience managing and coordinating projects and programs, including marketing campaigns, volunteer programs, and events. She gained this experience through a variety of positions, including serving as the Director of a non-profit river restoration group and as Marketing Manager for a start-up software company.

Teresa is the designated Community Energy Coordinator for Archuleta and San Juan Counties.

Standby Energy

At 4CORE our first path to improving our efficiency is through reduction of the resources that we use. Sometimes it can be water or gas.  But one of the most effective ways to reduce our carbon footprint is to reduce our use of standby power, or vampire watts. Many are not aware of the amount of energy that is lost just through charging our cellular phone and other devices that help us with our regular routine. Examples include coffee makers, fridge/freezers, CD  andDVD  players, and game consoles. These can equate to about 10% of your average electric bill. About 1% of the U.S. ‘s CO2 emissions were from stand-by power. That’s about 16000 pounds a year.

Wattage chart by Responsible Energy

The allotted items listed by Responsible Energy you can save an annual $65-100 and over 1,000 pounds of CO2 emissions per year. In the United Kingdom the average power bill  is $136 and a reduction of 10% sounds pretty good right? By utilizing current methods of standby energy containment we can reduce those bills! Some say that it takes an hour a day to make sure all standby items in the house are turned off but a lot of people don’t have an hour to dedicate to un-plugging all of our appliances- and most of us wouldn’t know how to tell if a product like a TV even consumes energy while idle. There are many solutions to this issue such as smart outlets, which will cut the power supply to product if it is fully charged, or just not being used (check out this review for smart outlet options). Also by using ENERGY STAR rated products you can pick the product that has the lowest standby consumptions.

Electric hot water heaters can be the largest culprit of standby energy due to the need to keep water warm. It is possible to reduce the number of times a day the heater kicks on. A timer that shuts off the water for the time you are not in the house is good way to save on gas or electric water heaters.

Many governments have implemented some voluntary and mandatory guidelines to reduce electronics that require standby power to one watt power consumption in stand-by mode. California was the first to establish a mandatory law for electronics with a standby mode to be a low wattage. An example is the creation of a law- selling of TV’s with a standby wattage of more than 3 watts is illegal. This significantly reduces CO2 emissions. In the U.S. we have an ENERGY STAR designation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which a surprising amount of people haven’t heard of. These items were designed by all you’re favorite companies like Sony and Samsung, but they are rated energy savers, and will be a better investment in the long run through energy saved on your bills. Find more ways to save at Energy.gov.

Follow this EPA link to find more tips and tricks on reducing standby energy use.

At 4CORE we have all our computers on power strips, and we turn off lights, printers, and copiers at night.
What do you do to reduce your plug load?

About the Author

Brian Catanese was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has studied at Kent state University and Fort Lewis college and will receive a degree in environmental studies at the end this upcoming year. He is an avid mountain biker, skier, fisherman, and hiker. He chose this internship because 4CORE is improving our way of life through energy efficient practices.