A Consumer Resource For Home Energy Savings

When it comes to improving energy efficiency, there are a lot of questions homeowners should ask first. Be sure that you are getting the biggest bang for your buck by doing some research before taking on a home improvement project.

Fortunately, several tools and calculators are available online to help people save energy and money. We've rounded up some of the best online tools to make your energy upgrade research easier. Start by asking yourself the questions below to figure out how to prioritize based on your personal…

Every month, the bills come and you spend quite a bit of money on them. Sometimes, they’re so high that they end up consuming a large chunk of your paycheck. A lot of homeowners have trouble with electricity waste, and are trying to find a way to reduce the consumption of electricity in their homes. The solution is not in reducing the usage of electrical devices, but using the right ones. Here are some of the best ways to save energy and your paycheck every month.

Double glazed windows

Start by double glazing your windows. Not only will you need less energy to keep your home warm, but you’ll be better protected from the outside heat during the summer months. Also, you will completely reduce the noise pollution coming both in and out of your home. They’re suitable good for any room in the house, and are a good choice if you live in a noisy neighborhood or have a baby. You won’t have to…

This blog by BPI CEO Larry Zarker was originally posted on BPIhomeowner.org.

I used to wonder why my athletic teenage children suffered from sinusitis in the Fall, then a colleague was in our basement one day and asked, “Is it always this wet in your basement?” We lived at the bottom of two hills. “Only when it rains,” I said. He said that we could be experiencing problems related to mold and that I should take steps to dry out my basement.

I was like the cobbler whose children had no shoes. I had been in building research all of my adult life and grew up in a home building family. But, I didn’t start to notice how the health of the house affects the health of the…

If you’re a homeowner, whom do you call when you find mold in a closet and on the ceiling of a bathroom? How about when paint starts peeling on your dining room wall? Whom do you call when there’s standing water in your crawl space? Whom do you think to contact when it’s getting harder and more expensive to keep the house warm in the winter?

The average homeowner probably doesn’t know where to turn. In my position as the program administrator for the California Building Performance Contractors Association (CBPCA), I have been intimately involved in getting the home performance message out to both contractors and homeowners. But I’m not a contractor myself, and my own home in Richmond, California, wasn’t performing well during the winter. Luckily I knew whom to call, so I enlisted the…