Reasons to Insulate Your Home During the Summer

Many people think that an investment in insulation will only yield a great return in winter months. Yet these improvements can offer a great impact in the summer as well.

The number one benefit is keeping your conditioned, cooled air inside of your house. By bolstering your homes insulation, and performing selective air sealing and other weatherization practices, you effectively contain a maximum amount of your homes conditioned air.

Cool air can escape your home through drafty windows, doors, poorly insulated ducts, and other knooks and crannies in your home. Furthermore, a poorly insulated attic space will cause your top floors to be warmer as heat radiates through. These problems can not only be uncomfortable, but also cause your air conditioning system to run harder and longer. And the harder and longer your equipment is running, the higher your utility bills will be.

A properly insulated, sealed, and ventilated home will also take far less time to reach the optimal temperature in summer months. All of these are great reasons to consider assessing your home's needs sooner rather than later.

Green Space Construction Co. is a general contractor and energy efficiency firm in St. Louis with a focus on green building and renovations, weatherization, energy efficiency improvements, as well as traditional building practices. Our core values are composed of eco-friendly building, superior craftsmanship, and dedication to excellent customer satisfaction. Visit our website at GreenSpaceConstruct.com.

The Property Assessment Clean Energy Act (PACE)

Missouri's House of Representatives just passed the Property Assessment Clean Energy Act, known as PACE. So what does this mean for you and your home or commercial property?

Let's start with what the bill specifically provides for. The bill initially authorizes municipalities to establish "clean energy development boards" that will be charged with establishing "property assessed clean energy programs" within their communities. These programs will finance energy efficiency or renewable energy improvement projects. Interested property owners will have to apply to the board, to have their project financed through a special annual assessment levied against their property tax bill. The property owner will enter into a contract with the board, in order to gain financing for the cost of their project, and will require a lien against the property being assessed.

So, again, what does this mean for you? It means that you will be able to finance energy efficiency improvements to your home, over a 20 year term with annual payments made with your property taxes. The PACE program will finally make energy efficiency upgrades available to the masses. With 20-year financing available, homeowners can more than pay for the improvements with the savings created from lowered utility bills. Most weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades offer financial paybacks between 2 and 15 years, so you can see how powerful this program will be in saving Missouri residents money, lowering our energy usage, and creating more comfortable homes!

Let's look at an example for a homeowner with a 1,500 square foot house that currently pays $300 per month in heating and cooling bills. Let's assume that they have an energy audit conducted for $500, and subsequently invest in $4,000 of energy efficiency improvements. The total amount assessed and financed through PACE will be $4,500 over a time period of 20 years. Let's assume that the interest rate on this financing is 8%. Under this scenario, you would pay approximately $458 annually for twenty years.

For a typical house of this size, it could be reasonably expected that the improvements would yield 20% energy savings. In other words, this homeowner would save $60 per month or $720 per year on their energy bills. Comparing this with the cost of their financing, the homeowner would profit $262 annually. Not to mention living more comfortably and reducing their carbon footprint!

As more details become available on the specifics of the PACE program in Missouri and St. Louis, Green Space will keep you up to date. For more information on the PACE program, please visit www.pacenow.org.

Green Space Construction Co. is a general contractor and energy efficiency firm in St. Louis with a focus on green building and renovations, weatherization, energy efficiency improvements, as well as traditional building practices. Our core values are composed of eco-friendly building, superior craftsmanship, and dedication to excellent customer satisfaction. Visit our website at GreenSpaceConstruct.com.

Weatherization Essentials - Caulking & Weatherstripping

Many homeowners immediately think of attic insulation and window replacement when it comes to energy efficiency improvements. But one of the most cost effective and impactful solutions is good ole fashioned caulking and weatherstripping. Many times window replacement isn't even necessary, the windows and exterior doors are simply in need of caulking and weatherstripping to provide an effective seal.

Many homes, new and old, are inadequately caulked at the exterior and interior which will undoubtedly result in air infiltration, higher energy bills, and a less comfortable living space. St. Louis, with its hot, humid summers, is the last place you want to live without properly sealed windows and doors.

The caulking process involves installing a bead of flexible caulk to the joint where different materials (wood/brick/siding/drywall/etc.) meet. There are different types of caulks for different applications, and you really need an experienced contractor to steer you in the right direction. Installing the wrong kind of caulk can leave you with a failing seal within a year or sooner. Some homes also require caulking at the interior, where door and window trim meets drywall, as this step is sometimes skipped by builders. This is a critical part of the caulking process, and necessary to keep drafts from getting into your home. In addition to windows and doors, a thorough energy efficiency contractor (such as Green Space Construction) is also careful to caulk at electrical and gas service entrances, dryer exhaust vents, cable and phone lines, water faucets, air conditioners, and other vents.

Weatherstripping provides the same thermal benefits as caulking, by sealing the seams between operable doors and windows and the interior of the jamb/casing. Properly installed weatherstripping will allow the window or door to seal tightly when closed, but will allow it to open and close freely. Weatherstripping is available in foam, rubber, vinyl, and metal materials. Each of these materials has a place, and we recommend the right materials for your home's needs. After a number of years, old weatherstripping can become worn and ineffective, requiring replacement. Green Space Construction will assess your home's conditions and make the right recommendations to balance cost with potential savings, insuring that your home is comfortable and efficient.

If you're interested in assessing your home for caulking and weatherstripping needs, in addition to a complete weatherization assessment, please contact us for a free consultation.

Green Space Construction Co. is a general contractor and energy efficiency firm in St. Louis with a focus on green building and renovations, weatherization, energy efficiency improvements, as well as traditional building practices. Our core values are composed of eco-friendly building, superior craftsmanship, and dedication to excellent customer satisfaction. Visit our website at GreenSpaceConstruct.com.

Webster Groves Attic Insulation & Weatherization

Green Space Construction recently performed a weatherization audit on a home in Webster Groves (St. Louis, Missouri) and assessed the following issues:

• Attic knee wall spaces were poorly insulated.
• The interior walls exposed to the attic spaces had insufficient, old fiberglass batt insulation.
• The attic floor joists had a small amount of old fiberglass insulation, providing very little impact for the home's comfort.
• The exterior walls exposed to the attic spaces had exposed masonry units with many holes, gaps and cracks. These exterior walls were a main culprit of air infiltration into and out of the home.
  
• Attic spaces did not have adequate ventilation.
• Penetrations of plumbing stacks, electrical wiring and outlets, skylights, etc. were not properly sealed between the attic/exterior/floor joists and between the attic and the finished interior spaces.

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As a result of this analysis, Green Space recommended and performed the following improvements:

• Remove all old fiberglass batt insulation from the interior walls exposed to the attic spaces.
• Install fiber mesh at interior wall studs, and dense pack with blown cellulose insulation.
• Install blown cellulose insulation in floor joists to a thickness of 16", providing an R-value of 30.
• Install rigid foam insulation over exposed masonry units. Sealed all air penetrations, gaps and seams with spray foam insulation.
• Installed roof turbines at each attic space, allowing for proper ventilation at each space.
• Sealed all penetration of plumbing stacks, electrical wiring and outlets, skylights, etc. between the attic/exterior/floor joists and between the attic and the finished interior spaces with spray foam insulation.

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The end result of this project was substantially increased efficiency and comfort. In addition to providing a more comfortable living space, and lowered utility bills, this project was also eligible for tax credits. Contact us for a free assessment of your home's energy efficiency!

Green Space Construction Co. is a general contractor and energy efficiency firm in St. Louis with a focus on green building and renovations, weatherization, energy efficiency improvements, as well as traditional building practices. Our core values are composed of eco-friendly building, superior craftsmanship, and dedication to excellent customer satisfaction. Visit our website at GreenSpaceConstruct.com.