Insulate and Weatherize: For Energy Efficiency at Home

by Bruce Harley

The appliances we use…the lights we turn on…these two items alone in our homes can account for upward of 40% of total energy dollars spent. For those who want to save money (and who doesn’t?) by becoming more energy efficient―and for those who want to go a step further and embrace the latest strategies in renewable and alternative energy systems― Insulate and Weatherize is about to lead the way. It's been 10 years since the first edition of  Insulate and Weatherize   was a smash hit. In this completely revised and expanded edition, the advances in science and technology shine brightly to walk homeowners through the many solutions for basic energy, air-flow problems, heating and cooling systems, appliances and lights, mixed climate issues, and alternative energy strategies that are doable and extremely efficient. With Insulate and Weatherize at hand, home energy costs won’t soar through the roof, especially if there’s a solar panel or two on it.

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[Kevin]

I am not quite the right audience. Probably good for people already handy and familiar with general house maintenance, but the wording was a bit too difficult for me to feel like it was worth reading.

[Steve Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insulate and Weatherize is a complete book on how to save energy! This book teaches you the easy way to make those energy efficiency improvements. I learned a lot of different ways to save on energy by tightening up the house and insulating with many materials! This is a must have book for anyone that wants to have a warmer house and some extra money in your pocket from the energy upgrades

[Sally Lopez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sheesh. I felt serious consumer guilt and unnerving need for professional energy-use help after reading this. To calm myself down, I reread the insulation and roofing sections of "A Hand-Sculpted House" and reflected that this entire book focused on the needs of woodframe/concrete/steel construction and may not apply to all parts of my planned natural build. Still...now I feel my wastefulness more keenly.
On the plus side, the book wasn't too jargon-heavy and did provide lots of clear instructions and pictures for home builders. I liked the sections on varieties of insulation (including blown cellulose, which sounds promising) and hot water heating.

[Andris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid book and gets me excited to improve our 60 year old house.

For the next version, I'd love to see a bit more on energy audits, blower door tests, and how to ballpark calculate improvements for your own house.

Is it worth doing the basement first? Or roof? How much energy does an air leakage rate of X actually waste?

Now I wish I had more time to do all the improvements!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat dry reading, but very informative!

[Mark]

Not so useful for us. Their projects are not our projects.

[Filjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

No reflection on the author, but I shouldn't have bought this as it is so American as to be virtually useless in Britain.