There are a number of factors that lead to energy use & loss from your house. In the building sciences, we tend to look at the exterior of the house (the ’shell’ or ‘envelope’ of the house) in terms of how well it blocks drafts into & out of the house (air flow) & how well it slows heat loss (commonly…insulation).
The first step in saving energy in your house is to keep your heat/cool in the house as long as possible…we airseal to stop the hemoraging of air you paid to condition & we insulate to reduce heat loss through the walls & ceilings.
The next step is to look at high energy USE appliances in the house: inefficient Heating & Cooling, hot water systems, electrical appliances, lighting, ect.
Click on the link below to see diagrams showing some of the principles of energy loss in YOUR house:
http://www.trueenergysolutions.com/energybasics.html
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Tony Karpovich, True Energy Solutions – August 8, 2010