Dadla is turning this 1957 energy hog into an energy miser.

Twenty years ago, Dadla Ponizil and his family moved into this house in Encinitas. Built in 1957, it was pretty much a typical beach home of that era: energy costs were not a concern. That meant high energy consumption and high utility bills. The exterior walls did not have any insulation at all!

Now, Dadla is the owner and principal of Ponizil Energy, a home performance contracting and consulting service. Over the past few years, he has been applying the same energy-saving techniques to his own home that have proven so effective for his clients.

In his own words:

Project Info Builder owner Project Size 2,100 sq. ft. Sustainable Features Building Envelope Icynene foam drill and fill of exterior walls Active Solar Sun Siphon thermosiphon system, 80 gallon tank Passive Solar Clear dual glazing on south wall with tuned overhang; low-E, low-SHGC and low-U on others Windows/Daylighting Marvin and Loewen dual pane, high performance glazing; FSC wood in Loewen Water efficiency Takagi tankless water heater (backs up solar heater); Metlund hot water recirculation systems in kitchen and bathroom Water recycling Graywater irrigation system from shower Reused/recycled materials Removed much of concrete driveway and used broken concrete to build terraced flower and vegetable growing areas; kitchen and studio floors re-claimed lumber Landscaping Planted fruit trees and habitat enhancement trees such as Mexican Elderberry; all drip irrigation controlled by ETA timer

“We have taken the next steps beyond replacing incandescent lighting and buying Energy Star appliances. By having a home performance audit done on the home, we were able to address our major energy deficiency areas and improve them:

• Building air infiltration was reduced by sealing skylights, drywall penetrations and seams, and simple weatherstripping.
• Duct leakage testing revealed a large leak in one branch, which we repaired.
• Insulation was add to all exterior walls using Icynene foam.
• We replaced the last of the single-glazed, metal-framed windows with dual-glazed, tuned-to-orientation, units.

“The solar water heater saves us about 50% on gas bills and the combination of hot water recirculation, smart irrigation controls running the drip system, and graywater reclamation from the shower save lots of water.

Roof-mounted solar hot water heater saves about 50% on their gas bill.

“We hope to install PV in the near future. These green features not only saving money, but make the house more comfortable.”

If you’d like to learn more about home energy-efficient from an expert, stop by and visit Dadla.