Home energy woes

Buying a house is a huge investment...buying a home with a bad energy structure is a big investment too. Usually older homes are built with poor insulation, drafty windows, and appliances that are anything but energy efficient. This forces the home owner to either throw away money towards their energy bills, or remedy the situation with costly repairs or improvements. Too often people go home hunting in search of the perfect home with the white picket fence out front and end up buying based on emotion. The house looks great inside and out, and the happy homeowners move in. When purchasing a home, I wonder how many people consider energy efficiency factors over selling points like the wood flooring or the size of the living room?

It may not seem like a big deal, especially to a first time homeowner, but it is a very important portion of deciding on a home. When cold or hot periods of the year roll around, the homeowners quickly realize that they need to deal with replacing windows, insulating attics, sealing cracks, making sure doors are snug, etc. From my experience, home inspectors check out the whole house but they don't emphasize the energy efficiency needs of a home. Home owners need to get educated and check out windows, doors, heating ducts, insulation thicknesses, airflow, and anything that may downgrade the energy efficiency of the home. Yes, you can get that nice looking colonial with the den that you always wanted, but for goodness sakes, make sure it is not an energy nightmare.

Written by: Ethan K.