10 commandments for energy optimization

These 10 points come from the Gesellschaft für Rationelle Energieverwendung e.V. – which roughly translated is the “Rational Energy Use Society” [don’t you just love those long German words….].  Lots of great information on this site, unfortunately all in German.

The 10 “commandments” given there sound like good advice, and a good set of priorities:

  1. Integrate planning (both new buildings and upgrading of old) and on-site quality control (including blower door tests)
  2. Saving energy shall take precedence over installing renewable energy sources
  3. Build compact houses and optimize the orientation
  4. Give it the best possible insulation
  5. Minimize thermal bridges, maximize the air tightness
  6. Use passive solar energy through windows
  7. Avoid energy use for cooling [This is OK for Germany, where arguably one can get away without aircon, but even in NE US states that becomes a marginal argument]
  8. Be intelligent about your plumbing – minimize pipe runs, insulate storage tanks and so forth
  9. Use ventilation systems
  10. Use renewable energy resources [Note this is #10…]

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