.jpg)
It means looking forward to your power bill and annoying your neighbors with your savings.
This ‘APS comparison’ indicates a $126 savings when compared to the average home. That adds up to a lot of money over a summer.
The best part about these savings is that they are from a tract house that was easily modified by the homeowner to become greener than green. That means that most homeowners can do the same thing. They can become an annoyance to their neighbors by getting excited about their own power bills.
The transformation was relatively simple. It required $1,800 in materials and a few days of labor. First, double/bubble, foil-foil was added to the rafters. Second, Evaporation Aided Air Conditioning was installed around the air conditioners.
The first step, installing the double/bubble, foil-foil, was the hardest part.
Working in an attic is not fun, especially in the summer. The owner got help from his sons and 2 of their friends. They cut 2x4s to use as temporary places to stand. They moved the 2x4s from section to section as they progressed through the attic. They had to add a couple of 2x4s across some of the trusses where the roof was hard to reach.
Cutting the double/bubble with a razor knife and stapling it to the rafters with a staple hammer was easy. They followed the manufactures instructions as best they could. When they were done, they used a leaf rake to ‘fluff up’ the insulation matted down while working in the attic.
The good part was completing half the attic the first morning. They worked from 6:00 until 10:00 or 11:00. The sunny sides were done first. On the second morning, the attic was much cooler. It made finishing a lot easier. They even put double/bubble on the rafters over the garage. (The garage now stays 96 degrees or cooler.)
The results were instantaneous. The attic was 20 degrees cooler. In the mornings, the attic was actually cooler than the night-time lows. The cooling loss from the air conditioner was being contained in the attic instead of going out through the roof. The heat exchanger in the attic was more efficient because the attic was cooler.
The energy-saving excitement began. This first step reduced air conditioning and heating costs by 25%. That’s enough to make it fun to get your APS bill and annoy your neighbors.
The video provides more details and explains the science behind double/bubble.
The second step, installing the Evaporation Aided Air Conditioning, was easy. Achieving 50% savings in air conditioning was twice as much fun as reaching 25%.
Read about it in Saving 50% part two.
Comments