Tips on Saving Energy & Money

Course Outline

In recent years, energy prices have risen significantly as a result of worldwide increasing demand and shrinking resources. For industrialized countries, it is now more important than ever to conserve energy. For an average American home, heating and cooling expenses could account for more than 50% of the utility bill. Proper insulation for buildings is a key to conserve energy and can save homeowners a significant amount of money. This course provides tips and ideas on how to reduce your utility bill while maintaining a desired comfort level in your home. In this course, you will learn which parts of the house are taking a major toll on your utility bill and how to fix those problems using various types of insulations or sealents. Although the course materials are tailored for residential homes, many of the energy-saving tips and ideas discussed in this course are applicable to office and commercial environments. At the end of this course is a multiple choice quiz which is designed to reinforce what your learned from the course material.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

• Be familiar with different types of insulation;
• Understand where heat and cooling loss occurs;
• Be able to identify where major air leakage occurs;
• Know how to insulate areas such as the attic, floor, walls and crawl space properly;
• Be able to insulate the windows in an effective manner;
• Be familiar with the R-Value ranges of different types of insulations;
• Understand the impact of window's U-Values on heat loss/gain; and
• Understand how to conserve energy for a home office.

Course Content

This course is based on Energy Saver$ (an energy efficiency and renewable energy publication) published by United States Department of Energy. Please click the link (hypertext) below to access the course materials:

Energy Saver$ (36 pages, a PDF file)

You need to open or download above documents for your study.

Course Summary

There are many simple, inexpensive steps a home owner/designer can take to reduce our nation's energy consumption, which include sealing air leaks, properly insulating a house, selecting energy-efficient appliances and replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs. Energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy will mean a stronger economy, a cleaner environment, and greater energy independence for America.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following web pages:

A Consumer's Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
HOME BUILDING : Insulation and Energy Efficiency : Insulation Basics : DIY Network
R-Value Recommendations
DOE: Building Energy Codes - Insulation

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDHonline.org or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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