HOW ENERGY EFFICIENT IS YOUR HOME?
Reducing energy use starts with knowing where you stand!
Your home's energy efficiency can be measured by the total BTUs per square foot of living space used per year or BTU/sqft/year. All that's required is the total energy consumed and the total area of heated space in your house. Energy used consists of:
Where does your house fall?
- Natural gas (measured in therms)
- Heating oil (measured in gals)
- Electricity (measured in kWh)
- Propane (measure in gallons)
This information is included in your energy bills. Both NSTAR and National Grid show one year of data on every monthly bill. Oil data varies on each bill, just add up the total number of gallons used in a year (you might want to use the average of gallons used in 2 years to reduce possible errors with fuel already in the tank).
How do I calculate my home energy efficiency?
To calculate your energy efficiency, just convert the energy used to BTUs and divide by the number of square feet of heated living space in your home. The conversion
factors are:
- Gas: multiply the number of therms by 100,000
- Heating oil: multiply the gals of heating oil by 139,000
- Electricity: multiply the kWh by 3,413
- Propane: multiply the number of gallons by 91,600
Or, we can do it for you. Just fill out the form below and we'll add your data to our database and send you a report with your energy efficiency and how you compare to other homes in the Boston area. Whether you do your own calculation or let us do it, we still want your data for the Green Decade/Newton's database of home energy consumption.
What is the database?
We are developing a database that shows how much energy houses in the Newton area use. The database will help us estimate how much reduction is needed in an average
house in order to meet CO2 reduction goals. This also helps us to develop quantitative measures of energy use reduction as a result of insulation and weatherization improvements made to houses. The database
records the average energy use of a house in terms of the total BTUs per square foot of living space used per year or BTU/sqft/year.
Be sure to include your email address, so we can send you a report with your BTU/sqft/year average and where you fall compared to other dwellings.
If you have questions or for more information contact the Kyoto Coordinator, Michele Davis, at 617-795-0546 or email ReuseRecycle@rcn.com.