Get your Energy Tax Credit, while it lasts!

July 1, 2010

You can receive up to $1500.00 tax credit for eligible upgrades to your home.

You can upgrade the efficiency of your home and save money in the long term on your utility bills and receive a Federal Tax Credit for completing the upgrade.

Items would include HVAC, Insulation, Doors & Windows, Water Heaters & Roofing. There are other items eligible, including solar upgrades that are eligible for the credit.

Review the Energy Star website for tax credit @ http://www.energystar.gov/taxcredits or Contact Modern Homes, Inc. for any questions regarding eligible upgrades to your home.

Foam Insulation

April 15, 2010

When someone says “Green” or “Energy Star” there are a lot of things that most people think. Many are not sure exactly what it all means but most want to lower their energy cost/usage. When someone refers to insulation most think of the traditional insulation methods of batt insulation or blown in insulation for your attic.

Batt insulation can be effective when installed correctly with proper caulking. A typical 2×4 wall can achieve an R-13 or R-15. Most attics are blown in to achieve an R-38 or R-50.

The most common energy efficient methods today would be a sprayed in foam insulation. There are a few options for this, the first being a Closed Cell Foam. This adds rigidity to a wall and ensures all gaps and crevices of walls including around outlets etc. are completely sealed. Closed Cell Foam is typically installed 3″ thick in a 2×4 wall achieving an R value of R-18.6. Open cell is also a popular method due to cost savings and will achieve an R value of R-12.6. Even with slightly less R value than a batt it still adds significant energy efficiency due to the sealing of all gap a creating an air tight home.

Another popular method is to add an inch of closed cell foam and then installing the balance of the cavity with blown in fiberglass insulation. This option provides the air-tight seal at a more reasonable cost.

Spray foam’s ability to create an air-tight seal for your home is the most important factor in creating an energy-efficient, comfortable, and healthy home.

Contact Modern Homes, Inc. for any questions or to have our specialist review what may be best for you.

Water Heaters: Tank or Tankless?

March 17, 2010

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, water heaters consume 14% to 25% of a home annual energy use. For most consumers water heater replacement decisions are not an easy because of cost and a wide range of efficiency choices offered. There is also a tax credit if certain requirements are met for your new water heater, which could be tank or tankless.

The standard tank water heater is going to be the least expensive water heater and most everyone wants a bargain. Tank water heaters can come in ranges from 30 gallons to 120 gallons. Properly sized they can provided plenty of hot water for even a large family, but with too small of a tank will cause your hot water to be quickly depleted, leaving you with warm or even worse cold water. The largest downfall of a tank heater would be the standby heat loss, which is because the heater is also keeping the water heated weather you are using it or not. Also with a tank water heater, the water heater will cost you more over the life of the unit.

Tankless water heater is going to offer an endless amount of hot water. This type does this by eliminating the standby heat loss but does have a few draw backs of its own. It is key to properly size the tankless water heater to your homes use because if not properly sized you can test a tankless heater’s capacity. The incoming water temperature will affect the output and needs to be considered to properly size a unit. A tankless heater works in the manner that the water is heated instantly as it passes through the unit, which eliminates the need for a tank and offer endless hot water. The largest con to a tankless water heater is cost. The initial cost of a tankless is greater than tank models, although the life cycle cost is lower on tankless units.

There are a lot of things to consider when choosing a water heater. Lower upfront cost or lower long term cost? What size tank or tankless unit? Contact Modern Homes, Inc. for any questions or to have our plumbing specialist review what may be best for you.

Feeling the winter chill?

January 19, 2010

The cold months in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin are here. Is it not just cold outside but cold inside too? Making you not to want to leave the warmth of your cozy blanket.

The plus to this all is that you can get rid of the drafts and lower your heating bill. These upgrade will easily pay for them selves. There are options like solar, wind or even geo-thermal, and other leading technologies. Are these worth while?? Well they all need to be looked at dependent on home location and specific circumstances. Typically I would recommend to first focus on the shell of the home. The less energy that a home needs, is the less energy that there is to be saved.

First start with the shell of your home, which can include air sealing, insulation, windows, siding etc. Attic insulation and properly installed Energy Star windows are two of the easiest ways to increase efficiency. Air sealing is very important and even more important on older homes. Siding and sheathing the home with foam board can also help your insulating value and air infiltration to your home.

Once the shell of the home is preforming the way it should your mechnical needs can dramatically change. Then one can determine the proper mechanical needs for your home.

As additional incentive to increase the efficiency of your home, many of these options have tax credits right now too. If your liking the idea of the savings on your electical and gas bill, and getting some tax credits, contact us to find out what options may be right for your home.

Upgrade the Window, Improve the Efficiency

January 11, 2010

Single paint windows are one of the largest source for heat loss in a home. They have low insulating value, high air leakage and can be responsible for 25 to 50 percent of the energy use to heat or cool a home.

Almost any windows will improve over single pain and new energy efficient glass/window options can even significantly increase the insulating value of dual pain glass.

An easy way to determine window efficiency would be to choose a window with an “Energy Star” label. They do have a National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) energy performance label on all windows that will help you compare energy rating on windows. There is five factor used.

* U-factor measures how well a product prevents heat from escaping.
* Solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) measures how well a product blocks heat caused by sunlight.
* Visible transmittance measures how much light comes through a product.
* Air leakage measures how much air will pass through cracks in the window assembly.
* Condensation resistance measures the ability to resist the formation of condensation on the interior surface.

The optimal combination of U-factor and SHGC depends on the climate zone as well as direction.location of your home. Products with the Energy Star label will include a map to help you determine the right window for your area.

There are a variation of different glass types that can be chosen. Low E Glass is typically the standard in efficiency glass. A Low-E coating is a microscopically thin, virtually invisible, metal or metallic oxide layer deposited directly on the surface of one or more of the panes of glass. There are also argon gas than can be filled in the window to help efficiency as well as Super Spacer® solid silicone foam spacer to help reduce heat transfer. There are also Laminated Glass and Sun coatings that are available dependent on the windows manufacturer.

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