You work hard to save money; why shouldn't your Maine house do the same? Enter the concept of energy efficient house design.
An idea that has been around for some time, energy efficient house design puts the focus on making your house as energy friendly as possible. An energy efficient home has many advantages - the most obvious is, of course, saving on power bills. Other benefits include increased comfort thanks to improved ventilation and the use of natural light, better resale value of your house (believe it or not, more and more homeowners are looking for energy efficient homes), and the satisfaction you get from knowing you are helping out the environment by decreasing your use of fossil fuels.
Any home can be made energy efficient. Typical features of such a house include:
a carport placed on the south side (this creates pockets of cooler air, which will come handy for cross ventilation during summers);- quarry tiles or dark ceramic used for flooring;
- minimal glazing on south and east walls (plus no glazing whatsoever on the west wall);
- plants, particularly dense evergeen, planted next to the west wall (this provides barrier against those cold winter winds and protection from the hot summer sun);
- large windows that face the north (these capture free solar energy from the sun);
- air sealing (great air-sealing alone may reduce power costs by 50%!);
- controlled ventilation (this reduces the risks of exposure to indoor pollutants and at the same time, lowers the odds of structural damage caused by moisture build-up).
Many Maine homeowners take the concept of energy efficient house design further by investing in their own generator.
But if you think you have to be wealthy to own a wind or solar generator, think again.
