Winter can be an extremely costly time for any homeowner, but owners of brick homes can realistically expect to spend less money on heating costs because brick is more energy efficient than other building materials. It will help keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Brick is a building material that has exceptional thermal mass properties. Thermal mass is the ability of a heavy, dense material to store heat and then slowly release it. During the winter, brick walls store your home’s heat and radiate it back to you during the cooler nights – with no input from you.
In the winter, brick effectively blocks cold temperatures and wind while retaining warmth generated internally. Brick veneer construction achieves even higher insulating results.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2008 Buildings Energy Data Book, residential buildings consumed 37 percent of all electricity produced in the United States in 2006. Space heating was responsible for the largest energy use at 20 percent, followed by lighting and space cooling. This data makes it clear that controlling internal temperature is an important way to reduce energy usage and, therefore, improve sustainability.