从太阳能电池板到竹地板，绿色建筑已成为一张海报儿童。虽然各个方面都是绿色建筑很重要，但迈向绿色家园的第一步是让核心系统正常工作。

At Sustainable Spaces, when we work with homeowners to develop a roadmap for retrofitting their houses, we emphasize getting the basics, or the infrastructure, done right. It might not be sexy, but it is the core of the house.After looking at the basics, we focus on major systems, such as heating systems, water heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. Once the house is operating efficiently, with good air quality and comfort, then we look at properly sized renewable energy systems such as solar and wind. These systems will be much smaller (and more affordable) because the house now uses much less energy.

But what can a homeowner do right now that will have an impact on their energy load, without involving a major home remodel? Here’s my top five list of improvements anyone can make to get on the path of energy efficiency, at a reasonable cost. Keep in mind that it’s important to accomplish the to-do list in the order they are presented below. For instance, there is no point in insulating before you’ve reduced air leakage.

1) Get a home energy audit– Start by evaluating your entire house as a system. It’s not about products; it’s about results. A building science-based audit will help you create a plan to fix your home based on what will have the maximum results. And PG&E will even help underwrite this audit! SeeEnergyStar.gov有关更多信息

2) Reduce air leakage –加热或空调空气通过家庭墙壁和天花板中的间隙，裂缝和孔泄漏，并意味着您的能量美元浮出水。密封这些渗透是节省能源的最具成本效益的方法。大多数泄漏都在你的房子和阁楼之间。阅读有关该主题的精细家庭建筑文章here.

3) Seal your ducts –In California, the average duct systems (the tubes that move heat from your furnace to your house), has 30% leakage. When you figure that 40% to 50% of your home’s energy goes through this system, you can see that it has a huge impact on your bill. This system is also responsible for your home’s comfort and indoor air quality. Leaky ducts bring in dirty air from all the worse places to replace the air that escapes. Poor design and leaks mean that there is imbalanced distribution that results in cold and hot rooms, and general discomfort. When sealing duct work, use mastic not duct tape.

4) Add insulation –在空气密封（或空气密封变得非常难以努力做）后，应发生绝缘材料。通常为阁楼添加绝缘是最简单的并且最快的回报。您应该有10英寸的绝缘或R-30 +。我们建议使用吹入纤维素（再生报纸）。如果你想自己这样做并使用蝙蝠，试着得到blue jean batts- 但请记住，您必须非常仔细地安装绝缘，因为大多数绝缘仅在其额定值的50％上由于空气隙，压缩等安装缺陷而执行。当向阁楼添加一层底座时，将其垂直于第一层铺设，以帮助减少空气间隙。

5) Replace light bulbs / appliances / plug-loads –Compact Florescent Bulbs (CFLs) use 25% the energy for the same amount of light. Replacing a 15 year old refrigerator with an energy star model can cut your bill by 60%. That’s a pretty substantial amount in two steps. Plug loads can be negated with a power stripplugged into a switchable wall outlet.

不是每个人都可以在��-very中使他们的家庭100％绿色和零能量，但通过创建一个全面的计划，房主可以开始实现可持续性的路径，并在几乎任何预算上看到真正的结果。

And remember, a green house does not necessarily mean it is full of fancy new technology. There’s usually 30% to 40% waste just in these fundamental issues that don’t need fancy solutions to resolve them!

-Matt Golden是总统可持续空间是加利福尼亚州旧金山的家居能源绩效公司