Your home is a system and your planning and design efforts should take that into account. When you build an ENERGY STAR home, Efficiency Vermont helps you and your builder evaluate options to create a home that works efficiently as a system. There's no simple formula for energy efficiency, just quality design and construction, and attention to details. The following are some tips to help you build an ENERGY STAR home.

The smaller the footprint and the less the exterior surface area of your home, the more efficient it will be. Larger homes use more natural resources for materials and more energy to produce those materials. Regardless of size, any home can be an ENERGY STAR qualified home.

Hot goes to cold. The greater the temperature difference between the two extremes the faster this heat transfer will occur. We can't stop the heat transfer but we can slow it down. We do that by building an insulated building envelope and stopping air movement through that envelope.

Moisture is the enemy of most building materials and is the staff of life for mold, mildew and unwanted critters. The design of your home must keep water out and must ensure that moisture you generate inside the home doesn't cause problems.

Keeping water out requires an effective unbroken drainage plane that uses a variety of materials installed in shingle fashion to shed water away from the building.

• Air transport (which follows heat transfer... remember hot goes to cold) - air leakage is the biggest concern because it moves the most moisture.
• Diffusion - vapor movement from areas of high to low vapor pressure through permeable or semi-permeable materials.

In cold climates during the heating season moisture levels in tight homes are almost always higher inside than outside. So moisture vapor transport is almost always from inside to outside.

Your building envelope (exterior walls and ceilings) must prevent water entry from outside, prevent interior water vapor from getting into them, and if the interior of the wall does get wet it has to be able to dry out. Does your plan do this? Ask us. We can tell you.

The less heat needed the smaller the heating plant and distribution system. Instead of spending so much on the big, expensive high efficiency heating system and the fuel to go with it, spend more on effective insulation, on windows, on air-sealing, and on a ventilation system.

To achieve higher R-values, less thermal bridging, and less air-leakage consider:

Advanced framing (less wood- more insulation)	SIP structural insulated panels	ICF insulated concrete forms

An uninsulated basement wall has an R-value lower than that of a single pane piece of glass (R-values describe resistance to heat loss - the higher the number the greater the resistance). Even though much of the basement is below grade, concrete walls and floors suck up heat and transport it out of your home. Insulate outside or insulate inside but insulate. Call us, we'll help you decide what's the best way for you. With more traditionally framed homes compare the different insulation materials available:

• Fiberglass batts and loose fill
• loose-fill, dense-pack or damp spray cellulose
• spray foams

More information on insulation materials.

A third or more of most heating bills is due to air leakage. Determine where and how in your building envelope you will create a continuous air barrier to ensure comfort and savings.

Air Sealing Checklist

They provide light and they connect us to the outdoors. No matter how good they are, windows are the weakest link in the building envelope.

• Frame your view to limit the amount of glass (decide what's most important to see out your window).
• Compare windows by looking for their NFRC U-value (U-values describe the transmittance of heat - the opposite of the R-value - the lower the number the better).
• You can also look for the ENERGY STAR qualifications that are specific to our region.

Download an Excel spreadsheet of U-R Value Comparison.

Make sure a heat load sizing is done and make sure that it is done with the understanding that you will be building a tight home. Many heating systems in Vermont are much bigger than they need to be. When a system is too big it never achieves the efficiency it was designed to reach which costs more in fuel, costs more to buy and may actually shorten its life.

• Compare heating systems by looking for the annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) rating.
• Look for ENERGY STAR - for boilers .85 AFUE or better, for furnaces .90 AFUE or better to meet the ENERGY STAR criteria.
• Most Vermont homes use boilers. Water heating can be accomplished efficiently with a storage tank with the water heated by the boiler. When a furnace is used, a separate stand-alone water heater is necessary.

Build tight and ventilate right. There is no such thing as a house that is too tight. There are, however, homes that have inadequate ventilation. Ensure good indoor air by considering three factors:

• Whole-house automated mechanical ventilation - a simple or sophisticated system to control indoor moisture levels. This provides fresh air, preventing growth of mold and building decay, and flushing out pollutants.
• Spot ventilation - fans to remove large quantities of localized moisture and pollutants.
• Combustion safety - attention to ventilation details, preventing exhaust fumes from spilling into our indoor air.

Look for ENERGY STAR on energy-efficient compact fluorescent lighting and linear fluorescent fixtures to overcome the old fluorescent drawbacks. You can have good color, instant start-up, much longer lamp life, energy savings, and aesthetically attractive fixtures. Start shopping earlier because you may have to order rather than buy off the shelf.

Look for energy-efficient refrigerators, dishwashers, clothes washers and room air conditioners. They're made by manufacturers you know and trust. ENERGY STAR qualified products meet high standards for energy efficiency and quality guidelines, which means they use less energy without sacrificing performance.

  More information on ENERGY STAR Appliances