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If you are looking to do tasks that will give you the best return on investment then you should check out this great Home Remodeling list. It has over 50 projects that you can do that will save you money, energy and the environment.
Start with an energy audit as stated previously. Many utility companies provide this for free. If not, you should be able to find one for $200-$300 and it's well worth the money. You will earn this investment back. You should have a blower door test done, which will tell you the leakiness of the home. Your air changes per hour (ACH) should be at about 1/3 per hour (that's recommended under ASHRAE 62). If it's less than that, fantastic! But you would need mechanical ventilation. Never let anyone tell you that the house needs to breathe (from unknown sources). You want to control that breathing with mechanical ventilation.
During the blower door test, the rater should be able to show you where the home is leaking. You may be surprised. That will direct you where to put that caulk, and not just be guessing where.
They should also have an infrared imaging camera. During the blower door test (while the home is depressurized) they can go room to room and determine leaks, and heat/cold conduction.
They should also be able to do a duct blaster test. If you have forced air furnace for heating or cooling, this will tell you how leaky the duct work in the home is, and you can address those areas as well.
What all that will do for you is to give you a blueprint of which areas to focus your attention on. Then after that, have the home retested to see how much you've tightened the home up.
Good luck.
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What energy efficient improvement should you do first to your house?
Zeta Cross, "ZetaCross"
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