Just a little tidbit I'd like to drop to those of you who are planning on stuffing the walls with R-21 fiberglass: Remember not to use fiberglass that is thicker than your wall studs, which means use R-13. As I'm replacing the old lathe/plaster with drywall I had intended to get the R-21, 8 1/2" thick glass. My aunt said no way, it won't fit. She said first off, compacting the glass to fit a 4 1/2" stud depth reduces its insulative qualities, second, when you put up your sheetrock, the fiberglass will pop it back off the wall. She said she learned this the hard way. So, please just keep that in mind.

Icynene is a great insulation option for those that don't want to open up their walls. The installer can use a small opening at the top and pour it in where it expands and seals the cavity to prevent air movement.

People with fireplaces may want to consider wood pellet or corn burning inserts. Both the inserts and the fuel are relatively cheap, with the advantage that the fuel is clean burning and renewable. Pellets make good use of what would otherwise be a waste product (sawdust from mills). Corn, is cheaper in the midwest due to the abundance but is more difficult to store than pellets since corn can attract rodents if not sealed up.

Finally, people might consider ground source heat pumps. These geoexchange systems use the fairly constant temperature of the earth to push heat around and can not only replace your furnace but your AC and hot water heating systems too. The pump and compressor of these systems run off electricity, so you'll want to take some measures to have backup electricity for the cold season or a backup heat source.

My personal opinion is that a heat pump supplemented with wood pellet fireplace in a well insulated and sealed house can be a cost effective cleaner alternative to what the majority of homes use. I'm looking for generators that will burn biodiesel for backup and solar/wind alternatives for electric that can offset reliance on the grid. Some of these items are quite costly in the initial investment, however many states offer assistance. Here in Illinois, it seems that coops are forming in the central and southren parts of the state to get discounts from equipment providers. If anybody in the Chicago area is interested in forming such a coop, let's connect through HouseBlogs.

Thanks for the Icynene tip, Steve. I thought that insulating my wall wasn't an option without opening them up. I'm thrilled to learn about this!

We're using a rock wool type insulation that I think is better than fibreglass. It's easier to install, it's r-14 for 3.5" and it doesn't have the problems of air flowing through it that fibreglass has. It's denser than fibreglass, so it's easier to work with. The stuff we have is called Roxul.

Ditto what derek said about the rockwool!

I just saw on the TOH blog that NPR's Talk of the Nation focused on this topic yesterday, which included an interview with Tom Silva. You can listen to the interview here.

Just listened to the NPR show and I'll say the most educational part for me was an interview with Betty Lynn Fischer (sp?) regarding purchasing natural gas under contract to lock in prices. (Note that this only works in states/locations with deregulated utilities, but it might be worth researching.) As for Tom Sylva, he talks about a variety of options for old windows, including "interior vinyl frame" windows that I've never heard of...

We're planning to finish insulating under the floors. Most of the house is insulated in the crawlspace, but some rooms aren't, and you can really tell a difference in the temp of those rooms in the winter.

One of the cheapest and easiest fixes is a programmable thermostat, so you can cut the temperature of the house when you're off at work, or curled up in bed. I also recommend closing off vents in little-used rooms.

Personally, I'm on a quest to replace all the lights in my house with compact fluorescents. It's been a big help on my electric bill, which was huge, thanks to a ridiculously hot summer.

Nothing fancy here, we just sit in the dark huddled under three sweaters and a couple quilts :) Not really. We occasionally use a couple electric space heaters but usually keep the furnace turned down to 62. Growing up with a wood stove for heat it wasn't uncommon to wake up and see your breath. We keep lights off when not in the room (some have commented about how dark our house looks). I also carpool into work. Really, it's all the little things that add up.

I have a brick 1957 house in Minneapolis, with, I believe, no insulation in the walls. I have heard that I cannot just pump foam into the space as I need to leave an air space against the brick to prevent condensation and mold. Any ideas as to how to insulate short of ripping the sheet rock off?

Here are some links to the geothermal install we did in our 1928 Craftsman last summer. The contractor predicted a 5-7 year payback with gas prices forecast to rise 5% per year. With current forecasts, we'll get it back by March??

http://foxcroft.blogspot.com/2005/06/im-old-pipe-liner.html

http://foxcroft.blogspot.com/2005/06/sewing-blowing-and-throwing.html

-Mike

We worked this summer to reduce our electric bill. It's down 70% with an outlay of about $1800 after some rebates. With a savings of about $150/month, we'll pay off the appliances in one year. We are on wood heat here and replaced our 20+ year old stoves with new ones. I expect to save a bit on wood, but I also plan to be much warmer this year than last. And just FYI, our propane prices are up about 20% over the last bill.

Here's the most recent electric post:

http://hilltop.typepad.com/irving_gills_williams_hou/2005/10/electric_down_n.html

Amanda

Energy efficient houses is a very complex subject. For our future house it is one of our most important objective. It actually means not only using good insulation, but also making good use of the sun, which is still the most powerfull and the cheapest source of energy.

Also, it's one thing to worry about your own energy bill, but what about the cost for the society in general? For example, glass fiber may isolate, but it costs a lot of energy to produce, and it is dangereous for the health due to the small particules that it has.

We keep the curtains drawn for the most part during the winter except when we have guest over. It's a small thing but it does help to reduce the amount of cold air coming in through the windows of our old house.

I've seen other houses in our neighborhood install storm windows, though of a style very different than the aluminum ones I grew up with in the northeast. These ones look like just sheets of glass or plexi over the window and you couldn't remove them if you wanted. I'd think they would be dangerous if there was fire.