Introduction

Welcome to my blog! I am EnergyEfficiencyMan. I became interested in energy efficiency about 5 years ago, probably for the dual reasons of an engineering background and years of utility-bill-laden home ownership. In addition, I read a lot, both on the web and in periodicals. Much of what I have seen and experienced firsthand has made me realize that our society, in particular modern American society, has the following characteristics:

1. We have built a world which requires large amounts of incredibly cheap energy to maintain
2. We waste between half and 3/4 of the energy we generate without putting it to good use

With these two reasons, an alter ego and a mission have been formed. Investigate on, intrepid readers, for enthralling information about a man, his slowly-improving-in-efficiency single family dwelling, and a quest that continues to this day!

Executive Summary

For those who don't want to traipse through my entire blog, I'll summarize some of my key findings here along with links to the more detailed entries.

• In 2005 -2006 I got my ducts and house sealed for air leaks and improved my attic ventilation. Reduced energy usage by 40% from my 2005 value.
  
• In 2007-2009 I installed radiant barrier over almost the entire attic. Energy usage was now reduced by about 60% of my 2005 value.
• Along the way, I learned a lot about energy in human terms, attics, ridge vents, the three heat flow mechanisms, radiant barriers, and modeling to account for weather variations.