While governments around the world race to switch from fossil fuel energy to renewable energy sources, less attention is given to the importance of making gains in increased energy efficiency. While most people now know that simply switching from incandescent bulbs to LED lightbulbs will save massive amounts of energy in your home, there are several other strategies to increase the energy efficiency of your home.
Energy Efficient Alternative for New Home Design and Construction
If you are considering building a new home, there are several things you can do to increase the energy efficiency of your home. Passive solar design focuses on orienting your house to maximize the capture of the solar energy entering your home. By facing your home to the southern hemisphere, through large windows, you will capture large amounts of sunlight and heat during the colder (and darker) winter months when the sun is lower in the horizon.
Passive solar also focuses on incorporating thermal mass into the materials used for construction. This could include rock, adobe, or other solid materials on walls and floors that capture the energy of the sun during the day, hold that heat, and then radiate that heat into the house during the darker and cooler nighttime hours.
Lastly, passive solar design also strive to be completely airtight so that the heat captured by the sun cannot escape through cracks and crevices in the walls, attics, or around doors and windows. Because of the milder winters, several areas throughout California offer prime locations to take advantage of passive solar design.
The Legal Obligation of Energy Efficiency
Residential and commercial buildings account for 39% of all carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. As the threat of global warming becomes increasingly evident, many state governments have begun to implement laws to regulate energy efficiency in homes.
California has been a leader in regulating increased energy efficiency in homes. Title 24, also known as “The Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings”, was originally established back in 1978. The regulations, however, are continually updated to allow for the incorporation of new energy efficiency technologies and methods.
To make sure that you and your household are up to code, it is important to hire professional consultants who can guarantee Title 24 compliance. Quality energy consultants, like K2D offer complete energy analysis that not only will make sure you are in compliance with the law, but will also save you money through lowering your monthly utility bills.
For further information or to schedule a consultation with of our mechanical engineers in Los Angeles please contact the reputable K2D at 310.935.3773 or visit www.k2d.COM
