Home energy efficiency guide for North TexasYour home is one system. Treat it like one.
Your attic, walls, windows and doors form one continuous shell between you and the Texas heat. When part of it is weak, your air conditioner makes up the difference. Here's how heat gets in, what you can do about it today, and the order we'd fix it in.
Air conditioning is one of the three biggest uses of electricity in American homes, about 19% of household electricity nationwide, and homes in the South use more of it than the rest of the country. In a DFW summer, keeping heat out of the house is where the savings are.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, residential electricity use (2020 data)
Four ways Texas heat gets into your home.
Down through the attic
The sun heats the roof, the roof heats the attic, and the attic heats your ceilings. Thin insulation lets that heat straight through. Attic insulation
In through air leaks
Gaps around doors, windows, light fixtures and attic openings let hot, humid air in and cooled air out. Door systems
Through the glass
Sunlight through windows becomes heat inside. Older glass without a Low-E coating lets in much more of it. Window systems
Trapped in the attic
A poorly vented attic can top 130°F on a summer afternoon and keeps pushing that heat down long after sunset. Clear soffit intake and good exhaust let it escape. Attic venting
How much could your home save?
Tell us a little about your home for a broad estimate of the monthly savings from new windows and doors, a properly sealed and insulated attic, and solar attic fans.
How this estimate works
Your bill
If you don't enter one, we estimate it at about 0.55 kWh per square foot per month at 15¢ per kWh, in line with the Texas average of 1,096 kWh and 14.94¢ per kWh (EIA, 2024).
Attic
In a hot climate where cooling drives the bill, sealing and properly insulating an under-insulated attic can improve efficiency by up to 25%. We use 15–25% for little or no insulation, 7–15% for some, and 0–4% if it's already deep. This is Genview's estimate; ENERGY STAR's national average for sealing and insulating is up to 10% of total energy bills.
Windows
ENERGY STAR certified windows lower household energy bills by an average of up to 13%. We use 7–13% when replacing single-pane, 3–7% for older double-pane and 1–3% for newer Low-E, scaled to how many windows your home has for its size.
Doors
Doors are a small share of the total, so we allow 0.3–0.7% per door, capped at 3%.
Venting
In a Florida Solar Energy Center field test, solar attic fans cut peak attic temperature by about 22°F and air-conditioning energy by about 6%, with smaller gains in well-insulated attics. We use 1–4% of the bill for a poorly vented attic, 0.5–2% for some vents and 0–0.5% if it's already well vented, and about 40% less when the attic is (or will be) well insulated. Each fan covers about 1,800–2,400 sq ft of attic, which we take as your square footage divided by the number of stories.
Overlap
Upgrades overlap, so savings are combined rather than simply added: fixing the attic shrinks the energy the windows can save, and vice versa.
Sources: ENERGY STAR, Seal and Insulate; Florida Solar Energy Center, Performance Assessment of Photovoltaic Attic Ventilator Fans (2000); ENERGY STAR, Windows, Doors and Skylights; EIA, 2024 Average Monthly Bill, Residential.
Energy-saving tips, from free to full upgrade.
Advice from ENERGY STAR, the U.S. Department of Energy and the State of Texas, with the source on every tip. Estimate your savings
Free, starting today
No tools, no costSet the thermostat higher when you're away or asleep
Raise it a few degrees in summer when nobody's home or everyone's in bed, and lower it slightly in winter. Your system works less while you don't notice the difference.
Pair ceiling fans with a higher setting
Raising your thermostat by just two degrees and using a ceiling fan can lower air conditioning costs by up to 14%.
Run fans counterclockwise, and only in occupied rooms
In summer, set ceiling fans to spin counterclockwise. Fans cool people, not rooms, so switch them off when you leave.
Close blinds and drapes on the sunny side
Closing window coverings during the hottest part of the day keeps the sun's heat from reaching your rooms in the first place.
Low-cost fixes
A weekend and a hardware-store runKeep your AC in shape
Check the filter every month: a dirty one slows airflow and makes the system work harder, wasting energy. And have an HVAC contractor service the system once a year so it runs at its best.
Consider a smart thermostat
Smart thermostats learn your schedule and adjust automatically. ENERGY STAR estimates families with high energy use can save about $100 a year.
Weather-strip doors and caulk window gaps
Weather-stripping the perimeter of exterior doors and sealing gaps around windows are simple, inexpensive ways to stop drafts.
When a door needs more than weatherstripping →Keep soffit vents clear
Attic air should come in low at the soffits and leave high at the ridge or roof vents. Never cover soffit vents with insulation; baffles keep a channel open so air can reach the attic.
Attic venting →Add solar screens on west- and south-facing windows
Exterior solar screens block much of the sun's heat before it reaches the glass, a good fix for windows you aren't ready to replace.
The upgrades that change how your home feels
What we doSeal air leaks and insulate the attic
ENERGY STAR estimates that sealing and insulating can save up to 10% on your annual energy bills. In our climate zone it recommends R-49 for an uninsulated attic.
Attic Insulation & Venting →Upgrade to ENERGY STAR certified windows
Certified windows, doors and skylights lower household energy bills by an average of up to 13% nationwide. In Texas, look for a low Solar Heat Gain Coefficient, especially on east- and west-facing walls.
Windows →Replace drafty doors, and install them right
In ENERGY STAR's words, even the best windows, doors and skylights can be drafty if they are poorly installed. A properly hung, insulated door seals all the way around.
Entry Doors →Vent the attic the right way
Balanced venting, with intake at the soffits and exhaust up high, lets superheated, damp air escape and protects the roof. A solar attic fan can cut peak attic temperatures by about 20°F, but only after the ceiling is air sealed and the soffits are clear, so it doesn't pull cooled air out of the house.
Solar attic fans →Start where it pays back fastest.
We'll always tell you what we'd do first, even when it's the smaller ticket. For most DFW homes, that order looks like this.
Seal, insulate and vent the attic
Usually the biggest comfort gain for the money, and done in a day. Seal first, then insulate, then make sure the attic can vent its heat. Attic Insulation & Venting
Tighten up the doors
New weatherstripping or a properly hung insulated door closes the gaps you can feel. Entry Doors
Upgrade the windows
The biggest change in comfort near the glass, quiet and curb appeal, best done once the attic is right. Windows
Find out before you spend.
The U.S. Department of Energy calls a home energy assessment the first step before making energy-saving home improvements. Ours takes about 90 minutes, including measurements and a product demo, and you keep the written findings whether you hire us or not.
- Attic insulation depth, coverage and ventilation
- Air leaks at the attic hatch, lights and wiring penetrations
- Window condition, glass type, seals and operation
- Door fit, weatherstripping and threshold
- Rooms that run hot or cold, and when
- A written, prioritized plan with upfront prices
Home energy efficiency myths, answered.
Do solar attic fans really save energy?
How many solar attic fans does my home need?
Will a bigger AC fix a hot room?
Are new windows the best way to cut my bill?
Is there a federal tax credit for this work?
Why is my electric bill so high in summer?
Why is my upstairs hotter than downstairs?
What does a free home efficiency assessment include?
How can I cut heat through sunny windows without replacing them?
Don't see your question? Call 469.340.4780 or book a free home assessment.
- ENERGY STAR: Seal and Insulate
- ENERGY STAR: Recommended Home Insulation R-Values
- ENERGY STAR: Keep Your Cool and Save Your Money This Summer
- ENERGY STAR: Ceiling Fan Installation and Usage Tips
- ENERGY STAR: Residential Windows, Doors and Skylights
- U.S. Department of Energy: Home Energy Assessments
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: Electricity Use in Homes
- Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs: Home Weatherization Tips
- IRS: Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit
Find out where your home is losing energy.
A free, no-obligation assessment of your attic, windows and doors.