Hi everyone. I live in Dallas Texas. I am planning to purchase a new home. I was wondering what are the best energy efficient options I should ask the builder for? Have you done anything yourself? What worked for you that didn't cost you very much? What should be my focus: solar or ventilation?

The windows in the family room are huge. What is the best way to block out the sun and the Texas heat?

The builder was trying to get me to add a Tech Shield radium sheet to the roof because he says it will reflect heat and therefore save on my monthly electric bill. Has anyone tried this before and do they really work?

There are a ton of ways you can save energy with your new home. Probably the biggest way is to modify your windows. Heat gets into or out of your house through the windows. Ask the builder what type of windows are available; if they have low-E coating; are Argon filled; are double, triple, or quadruple paned. The more panes of glass, the more energy is absorbed. After you purchase, you should get them coated with a tint. You should also buy heavy drapes and keep them closed during the day. These steps will go a long way towards keeping the heat out (or in).

The next best thing you can do is to install solar panels. If you pay to have it done, it will probably cost you about $50,000. I recommend a do it yourself home solar approach. Basically this approach is to build one solar panel at a time and gradually get your home using more and more electricity from the sun. This is a good scale up approach. Each solar panel, deep cycle battery, controller, and inverter will cost you about $200. So when you have an extra $200, you say okay, I'm going to make my wash machine run on solar power this month. The best book that you can find that gives you easy, step by step instructions on how to do this is here: Do It Yourself Home Solar

The next best thing you can do is to install a wind turbine. Texas has some pretty good winds and so this will help. The solar power book mentioned above also has a chapter on how to build a wind turbine for your home for about $150.

Next, a well insulated home will go a long way towards saving money on your monthly electricity bill. Ask the builder how many inches of insulation were put in the attic and in the walls. The number you want to hear is at least 6 inches. If it is not too late, have the builder put 10 - 12 inches in the attic. Also, ask for roof fans installed to vent the hot air from the attic to the outside. These roof fans are really cheap and easy to install and will make a huge difference in cooling off your house.

Finally, have a programmable thermostat installed. This will help you money off your monthly electricity bill. You can program it to turn the air off at 8:00 am when you leave for work, and then turn it back on around 4:00 pm before you get home. You can also adjust the temperature so that at 1:00 am while you sleep, it turns the temperature down to 72 degrees.

Technorati Tags: do it yourself home solar, home wind turbines, tech shield radium sheet