Blog
Home energy efficiency is a complex topic that affects our energy bills, comfort, and indoor air quality. As leaders of residential energy conservation in Northern Virginia and Metro DC, The Fifth Fuel team is dedicated to educating home and business owners about building science concepts and how these concepts influence our built environment. For example, homeowners commonly think their heating and cooling system isn’t performing properly, when in reality, a home performance issue is causing uneven home temperatures.
Our blog is designed to provide useful information that can be applied to gaining an understanding of home energy efficiency, helping our customers to make informed choices about energy-saving home improvements including insulation, air sealing, and crawlspace encapsulation.
Would you like a free estimate on a home energy upgrade? Call The Fifth Fuel today to get started!
Blog
August 17, 2018
Insulation and air sealing together have the power to improve indoor comfort, lower your utility bills, and so much more. Find out why these two energy saving home updates go hand-in-hand from The Fifth Fuel, Northern Virginia and DC's home energy efficiency experts.
June 12, 2018
Home insulation and proper air sealing can make a large difference in how comfortable your home is this summer. When Manassas, VA heats up, you want to know that heat is going to stay outside so your air conditioner can keep you cool. The Fifth Fuel has the expertise you need to stay comfortable.
June 7, 2018
If you’re experiencing discomfort or high energy bills in your Manassas, Virginia, or Metro DC area home, you’ve probably been wondering how you can increase your home’s comfort and lower those bills. We strongly suggest that you start with a home energy audit.
June 26, 2017
The nights are continuing to get warmer and if your bedroom is upstairs, you may have already experienced trouble sleeping due to the heat. Maybe you’re trying to get comfortable by blasting the air conditioner, shedding layers, or using multiple fans, but what if there was a way to solve the problem for good?
How Heat Moves Throughout Your Home
It’s first important to understand why heat gathers in your home’s upstairs rooms. Heat travels through radiation, conduction, and convection.
May 25, 2017
The weather is heating up here in Manassas and the DC metropolitan area, and for many homeowners, this means running an air conditioner constantly. When temperatures climb into the 90s and above, living and working in an environment that’s difficult to cool can be uncomfortable to say the least.
March 22, 2017
Homeowners in the DC metro area are rejoicing in the fact that the winter weather is almost gone. Most of us look forward to spending more time outside and ditching those extra layers, but now is also the perfect time to focus on improving your home’s energy efficiency. The problem? Most homeowners don’t know where to start.
November 18, 2016
The holidays are right around the corner, which means now’s the time to prepare should we end up experiencing a rough winter. One of the biggest headaches associated with home performance in the winter is that of ice dams, and Virginia isn’t exactly in the clear the way most of us would like to think it is.
Christmas lists and meal planning may be on your mind right now, but you owe it to yourself to do everything possible to keep ice dams at bay this winter, and the team at The Fifth Fuel is here to help.
October 21, 2016
Fall is in full swing, and many homeowners living in and around Manassas, VA are beginning to notice cold spots popping up once again. Summer often hides these issues, but once temperatures begin to fall, cold spots make themselves known in short order. It’s easy to assume that the problem is due to a faulty HVAC system, but this is typically not the case at all.
More often than not, cold spots or even entire rooms that are difficult to keep warm are the direct result of a leaky building envelope.
October 14, 2016
Fall is in full swing, and many homeowners living in and around Manassas, VA are beginning to notice cold spots popping up once again. Summer often hides these issues, but once temperatures begin to fall, cold spots make themselves known in short order. It’s easy to assume that the problem is due to a faulty HVAC system, but this is typically not the case at all.
More often than not, cold spots or even entire rooms that are difficult to keep warm are the direct result of a leaky building envelope.
September 6, 2016
We often go to great lengths to ensure that the health and safety of our families never ends up in jeopardy. It’s one of the reasons why we make sure that cleaning liquids and other toxic chemicals are stored away neatly and out of reach of children within our homes. There’s more to creating a healthy home than just this, however—what if the home itself is a risk factor?