Energy Efficient Homes For Dummies
Chapter One
Defining Efficiency
In This Chapter
* Looking at four types of efficiencies
* Recognizing inefficiencies
* Finding ways to increase efficiency
Efficiency is the production of a desired effect with a minimum amount of
effort or waste. That's the official definition, but you probably already
have an intuitive sense of what energy efficiency means. Maybe to you it means
using less. Maybe it means saving more. Believe it or not, those two goals don't
always mean the same thing. That's because there are different kinds of efficiencies - energy,
financial, pollution, and labor. (Yes, I know that the title of
this book is Energy Efficiency Homes For Dummies, and that angle takes front
and center, but it's not the whole picture. I think it's important to understand
some of the tradeoffs that are inherent in most of your decisions.)
To set and achieve your own efficiency goals, you need to be familiar with
the different kinds of efficiencies, understand how these can be at cross-purposes,
and g ... read full excerpt from Energy Efficient Homes For Dummies® ebook
