Dear Mr. Energy, I have an energy audit scheduled for next month, but in the meantime ere there any quick and cheap things I can do around my house to be more energy efficient? –Want to Save in Wendell Dear Want to Save, You are speaking Mr. Energy’s language with this question. First, you’ve scheduled [...]
Dear Mr. Energy, I know all about the federal tax credits for energy efficiency, but what rebates are available for home weatherization projects in the Triangle area? I have to do something about my heating bills, but it’d be great if I could get a little money back in my pocket sooner than next year’s [...]
This grand announcement is long overdue: Home Performance NC has an insulation rig! Woo hoo! Big excitement! Cellulose or fiberglass – take your pick! And housing the insulation rig is a box truck…and housing the extra insulation is a shop space in beautiful downtown Pittsboro – grand opening announcement for that will be coming soon! [...]
More than cutting down on your meat consumption, more than any re-use or reduction of various products, more than recycling, composting, or growing your own organic produce, more than driving a hybrid vehicle, and more than saving the rain forests! Seriously. Not that the previously mentioned efforts are bad things to do. Au contraire. We [...]
Dear Mr. Energy, What’s this I hear about Cash for Caulkers? I know you’re probably excited about it, because it will mean business for you, but what does it do for me? Seems like the government is just throwing money down the drain. –Disgruntled in Durham Dear Disgruntled, My, my, sounds like someone has low [...]
Here’s a super-simplified made-for-CNN version of how Cash for Caulkers will work, if/when/once it’s passed into law (sorry, commercial first…then video): What I like about the video is the end, where the homeowners say that they’ve calculated their payback and it’ll be sooner rather than later. This is a very important point to make – [...]
Dear Mr. Energy, A while back I had a home energy audit and per my auditor’s suggestions I reduced my home’s heating and cooling costs by sealing my attic, testing and sealing my HVAC ducts, adding insulation, and closing up gaps and cracks all over my house, but is there any way to reduce my [...]
Dear Mr. Energy, I’m trying to figure out how much money I spend heating and cooling my house. How to I separate that cost out from the rest of my energy bill? –Pittsboro Papa Dear Papa, To figure out your heating and cooling costs you need to calculate your baseload energy consumption. Baseload energy consumption, [...]
Dear Mr. Energy, My husband and I are in an argument about something. I love my whole house fan! There’s nothing like fresh air circulating through the house on a beautiful spring or fall day. But my husband says he read somewhere that a whole-house fan is a big source of energy loss when its [...]