Reduce your home’s energy consumption to help cut your utility bills.

Did you know that the average family spends approximately $1,800 a year on energy bills*? With a whopping 45% of this total coming from heating and cooling costs alone*, it’s easy to see how improving the energy efficiency of your home can help put more money back into your pocket.  

Whether you’re looking to enhance the efficiency of your current home or planning for new construction, there are steps you can take to reduce the amount of energy you consume. The remainder of this article outlines the problem areas associated with energy inefficiency and the products you can choose to help alleviate them.

Take the heat off to control cooling costs.

Under the sweltering-hot temperatures of summer, it can seem as though your air conditioner never gets a rest. Since you can’t keep the sun’s heat from bearing down on your house, the key is to find a more efficient way to diffuse this thermal energy. TAMKO® offers several high-performance products that can help you do just that. 

Ventilation products

Attic space is a haven for hot, stagnant air. And without proper ventilation, this hot air will continue to build up—causing your air conditioner to work overtime in an attempt to cool it. Installing ridge ventilation is a more efficient way to battle the heat, and TAMKO offers three options that provide outstanding performance when used in conjunction with sufficient soffit ventilation: TAMKO® CoolRidge®, TAMKO® Rapid Ridge®, and TAMKO® Roll Vent®. Each can be installed quickly by a roofing contractor at a very reasonable cost.

TAMKO ventilation products are designed to be installed along the ridge of your roof, allowing heat and warm, moist air to escape from your attic. Reducing moisture will also help assure the integrity of your insulation’s R-value (which is the measurement of a material’s resistance to heat flow). 

“Cool” metal roofs

While allowing hot air to escape from your attic is a good thing, preventing it from entering your home in the first place is even better. One way to do this is through a “Cool Roof” solution.

So what exactly is a “Cool Roof?” It refers to the ability of a roof to accomplish two things: 1) reflect the sun’s energy (solar reflectance) and 2) quickly give off any heat that it does absorb (thermal emittance). The Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) oversees an independent rating process that provides a means for direct comparison of roofing products. The higher the CRRC reflectance and emittance ratings, the more “cool” a product is considered to be.

MetalWorks® Steel Shingles by TAMKO are available in several options that do meet Cool Roof standards. These premium shingles also offer the classic beauty of slate, wood or tile, creating a roof that is as attractive as it is efficient. Ask your builder or roofer to walk you through the options.

Prevent drafts to control heating costs.

Summer isn’t the only season to focus on energy savings. In the wintertime, cold air drafts become the primary concern with regard to utility bills. Applying an air barrier membrane can help seal gaps and block cold air—saving your furnace from having to heat this unwelcome guest.  

TAMKO offers several products designed to form a tight seal around windows and doors, wall-to-wall tie-ins and other areas susceptible to air infiltration. These products include TW Moisture Wrap, TW Flash-N-Wrap®-40 and TW Flash-N-Wrap®-25.

Naturally, the ideal time to apply these products is during new construction to provide a “whole house” solution. But you should also keep them in mind when building a new addition to your existing home.  

Add a few ounces of prevention.

When it comes to enhancing your home’s energy efficiency, every little effort helps. Adding ridge ventilation or applying an air barrier around windows and doors might not seem to make much of an impact today, but the efficiencies they provide can really add up over time. So can the savings you’ll realize thanks to lower utility bills.

Contact TAMKO for further information on products that can help you enhance the energy efficiency of your home. 

*Source: EPA Energy Star®

©2007 TAMKO Building Products, Inc. TAMKO, MetalWorks, CoolRidge, Rapid Ridge and TW Flash-N-Wrap are registered trademarks of TAMKO Building Products, Inc. Roll Vent is a trademark of Benjamin Obdyke Incorporated.