Lynne Kiesling
Tim Worstall does some dynamic thinking about energy consumption and the price system.
If you want energy efficiency in the face of high natural gas prices this winter, here’s my suggestion: install new windows. In September we got double-paned, UV-coated, argon-gas-filled windows on the front and side of our house (north and west faces), and the difference is stunning. It’s cold and snowy here today, and I’m sitting in our (enclosed but unheated) front porch, which was uninhabitable all of last winter. I’ve also been able to turn down the thermostat 2 degrees and feel no difference in comfort.
For most houses, windows are absolutely the one easy thing to change that can make a noticeable difference in how comfortable the house is. This is especially true in older houses; more recently built homes tend to be poorly insulated even if the builder put in higher-end windows, so to save money and improve comfort insulation may be the first thing to look at.
We live in Southern California, so heating isn’t the concern, but summertime A/C costs. The new windows, beyond their energy efficiency, make a *huge* difference in the noise level in the house. We installed them ourselves (which cost us about $3,000 for materials), saving around $15,000 in labor. One of the best quality-of-life decisions I’ve ever made.