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Here's the breakdown for efficiency ratings: 95-100% efficient, 6 points; 90-95%, 5 points; 85-90%, 3 points; 80-85%, 1 point; and below 80%, no points awarded.

Finally, we need to add in the points you get for regular servicing of your equipment, and it's a simple calculation. If you have your heating system cleaned and serviced annually, 5 points to you. If you don't, the big goose egg again.

Insulation

As you may know, all insulation has an R rating and that R stands for resistance, resistance to heat flow. The higher the number, the more heat resistance and therefore the more heat retention in your home. Different materials have different basic R ratings and these are multiplied by the thickness of the application to give you your final numbers: R 38, R 26, R 11, etc. etc. etc.

If you hired an energy audit specialist, he or she would be taking pictures of your walls and ceilings with thermographic cameras and doing all sorts of calculus like equations for R ratings to assess your insulation scene.

We're going to be a little more nitty-gritty about it so you can get a simple idea of how much money you might be saving - or losing - because of the insulation that is in - or not in - your house.

Here goes. Attic first. If you have an unfinished attic, the insulation is likely to be between the joists in the floor of the attic. If your attic's finished, it'll be between the rafters under your roof. You get 5 points here if the insulation is thicker than 6 inches, 3 points if it's less than 6 inches thick, and if you have no insulation at all, you get ­ big surprise ­ no points. If you have no insulation, pray for snow. It acts as an insulating blanket while it's there and keeps off the pigeons that otherwise love the warmth of an un-insulated roof.

In the living quarters of your house ­ in other words not the attic and not the basement ­ if you have insulation in all your exterior walls, you get five points. If you don't have any insulation in them, 0 points.

Finally, your basement. If you have insulation in the walls and ceiling, add 3 points. If you just have insulation in your ceiling or in your walls alone, take 2 points. If there's none anywhere, no points.

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