Effective Energy Efficiency Measures for Existing Residential Homes in the Florida Market

摘要

Over the past two decades the sustainability movement has grown by leaps and bounds. Fueled by growing social awareness of climate change and the financial benefits, residential home owners are looking to "go green" and reduce their energy consumption. However, home owners are at a disadvantage as they are generally not well educated on the specifics of energy conservation. Critical unanswered questions on cost, efficiency and return on investment keep many home owners from acting on their initial intentions. To address this problem this research took common retrofit energy efficiency measures and tested them on a computer-simulated model of a typical existing Florida house. Energy modeling software was used to calculate the effectiveness of the measures. Once completed a matrix that includes initial capital cost, effectiveness measured in cost per year, and pay back durations based on current finance rates were created. Home owners can use the matrix and extrapolate the effectiveness and pay back of each of the common measures on their specific residence. Providing residential home owners the tools to make informed energy reduction decisions is low hanging fruit that should not be ignored.