Well there's no silver bullets. If you're on HN you're probably more engineering inclined than 90% of the population anyway and could figure most of the big stuff out.
These types of articles are for the general population which may not realise things about insulation. Or energy, or phase changes etc. And generally sent interested in how things work, or efficiency, except to the extent it costs them money.
Basically none of us hackers out there saving 10-20% on this and that is going to make a difference whatsoever. It might make us feel good I guess.
What would help is higher regulatory energy standards and better enforcement. I’d settle for making sure builders actually use insulation and don’t leave obvious thermal bypass/bridging across it.
My 20 year old new build property leaks heat due to it being a “plasterboard tent” (thermal bypass due to missing sealing around dot-and-dab drywall). If a building inspector had actually checked this before signing it off, it’d have been rejected.
Yes but the point is you realise all this. And if it was important enough to you (v cost) then you would sort it. Most people wouldn't be interested at all.
Yes regulation and other stuff is sorely needed. But in the context of what an individual can do 10%-20% is nothing to be sniffed at. And I suspect that severely underestimates the savings compared to the average person, let alone the worst offenders.
> But in the context of what an individual can do 10%-20% is nothing to be sniffed at.
If collectively it means 0.00000001% change I don't find it provides much "I did a good thing" value and the time would have been better spent fundraising, petitioning politicians, or maybe even just raising awareness towards say... improving a law that makes a collective 1% difference.
The way my house is set up, I doubt it would be dramatic for me. My hot water is already turned down. It seems like a big project to install a heat exchanger given the space it would need to be in.
The best "trick" is to vote. Either with your actual vote if you're eligible, or with your wallet, by moving out of a failed state and thus no longer paying taxes towards it.
Short of getting a newer heat pump, nothing I do will impact my bill in any significant way. I already do most of the smaller stuff.