Lower Your Utilities Bills When Build a New Construction Home

Live Well Custom Homes

Birmingham, Michigan

Certified Professional Master Builder

2 Time ABC Extreme Makeover Home Edition Home Builder

            With energy cost soaring and incomes decreasing, we all need to learn how to save money. So, when planning to either purchase a new home for sale or when planning to build a new construction home, look for or plan for the following 10 strategies to help you reduce you utilities bills.

1.    Orientation of the home. How the home is orientate on the lot is probable the most single important factor when it comes to saving money on energy and the cost is FREE.  If the home is properly placed on a lot , it can take advantage of daylight and solar energy. Here in Birmingham Michigan , we have 8 months of heating and maybe 4 months of cooling. So here we are more concerned about using the solar energy to helps us heat instead of cooling . With that said here are the facts

a.    Southern exposure  has the most solar energy or light

b.    Western Exposure has the second most

c.    Eastern Exposure has the third most energy

d.    Northern Exposure has the least.

2.    Place Your Windows Appropriately.  Now that you know how to place the home on the lot , the second most important thing to plan for or look for is how and where should the windows be placed on the home. The right window placement will mean the difference between unwanted heat gains and lack of cooling and flattening light coming into a home.  Again the great thing about window placement is that it is FREE. So what you need to know is this

a.    Solar home are designed to face the south to take advantage of the solar energy, But you should plan for locating your southern windows under overhangs and roofs to block maximum direct light of the summer but take advantage of the warming winter sunlight which is lower in the winter.

b.    Plan for cross ventilation in all rooms if possible.

3.    Properly air seals the structure. To prevent unwanted heat loss or unwanted air infiltration , your builder should seal all areas that you can see light through. With the use of caulk and spray foam , your builder should have all joints seal to prevent air leakage. According to DOE’S Office of Energy , random air movement through out the building can account for 30%  of heating and cooling cost.

4.    Insulations is worth its expense.  Now that you have sealed your home properly, you need to insulate to take advantage of that good tight fit by using the proper amount of insulation. What you need to know is that insulation is measured in R-values. The higher the R-value, the better the insulation. Here in Birmingham Michigan I believe that a good builder should use at least an R-15 wall component and an R-38 in the ceiling areas.   Here are some facts you need to know about insulation

a.    Insulation does not stop air leakage

b.    Fiberglass insulation should cost you between 25 cents and 80 cents a square foot. Foam is 3 to 4 times that cost.

c.    The attic is a GREAT place to invest energy dollars. Why? Heat rises and you want to try to prevent it leaving through the attic.

d.    A good thing to know when you are purchasing a home that has been built for a while is to look at the insulation. Dirty insulation is a sign of air movement and  air penetration into a home.

5.    Install a properly sized efficient Furnace, Boiler or Cooling system.  In today’s environment you need your contractor to properly size your equipment. A furnace  that is to large will cost you money as while as a furnace sized to small. There need to being sized properly is very important. Other things to know is

a.    You furnace or any of you equipment needs to be at least 90% efficient.

b.    Standard today are a 13 seer air-condition is the minimum, you should look at the cost of a 15 seer unit.

6.    All Appliance need to have the Energy Star label before purchasing.  The Energy Star label is a certification that the appliance or light fixture is of good quality and is designed to save money while it is being used. So whether it is a Refrigerator or a light fixture, look for the Energy Star label.

If you have any other questions about buying homes, selling homes, building a new home or any new construction question here in or around Birmingham Michigan, feel free email me at   Thanks for visiting my blog.

Or Visit