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locations is given in percentages.
If the home is air conditioned, the printout tells where heat is gained during the summer. If there is an unimproved fireplace, the computer estimates how much the owner will pay for heat loss each year.
“I’d like to wipe out fireplaces as a regular heating device, because they burn already heated air. They are only about 10 per cent efficient,” Bowen said.
The most important part of the analysis, he said, is a table of weather-proofing options, ranging from best or poorest investments. The table estimates cost of the improvement and the amount of money the owner will save in the first year as a result of the improvement.
The table also includes a "break-even interest rate," which compares the resulting savings with the interest the owner would earn if he or she invested the same amount of money in a savings account.
Improvements which save the most money, Bowen said, are caulking and weatherstripping, especially on older houses. It is not unusual for SI00 worth of repairs to save $500 worth of heat in one winter, he noted.
Other energy saving methods rated in the analysis include floor, wall and attic insulation, storm doors and windows. Improvements in each area are rated on a scale ranging from “excellent” to “no way.”
Another feature of the analysis is something called the "energy use index," which rates the overall energy efficiency of each house on a scale from 0 to 60.
Bowen says a rating over 30 is “equivalent ot living in a barn." From 15 to 30/ is highly inadequate; 10 to 15 is average for Virginia; and anything under 10 is good.
Brh«*f) foresees the day when real estate agents will adopt the energy use index as a selling feature for homes.
The immediate goal for the home energy analysis is to help families save on heating costs. But Bowen believes widespread use of the program can have a major impact on the energy crisis.
"With about 25 per cent of the nation's energy going for space heating, we think this can have a biff effect.”
Bowen said a first printing of 125,000 questionnaires has been ordered by Virginia Tech and the state energy office. The forms will be available in late August at the Rappahannock extension office, he said.
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