But don’t take our word for it!
There is a great article in this month’s “Fine Homebuilding” magazine titled “Every House Needs An Energy Audit.”
The author does a good job explaining the tools and techniques used in the audit process including blower door test, thermal imaging cameras and combustion analyzers.
With his declaration that “most experts agree that air infiltration is the No. 1 cause of energy loss in any house”, author Jefferson Cole trumpets what we have known to be true since the day we started…
If you can find and fix the pathways that air follows to leak into and out of your house, then you can dramatically reduce the energy consumption of your home.
For too many years, homeowners (often aided by aggressive salesmen) have invested in the belief that insulation and windows were the key to energy efficiency. But today’s body of building science knowledge prove that is not necessarily true.
The reality is that although windows and insulation both slow the transfer of heat, the bigger culprit is the massive loss of conditioned air that escapes through recessed lights, leaking wall construction, and the many cracks and crevices throughout your house.
Give us a call. Using advanced diagnostic tools just like those featured in the magazine article, we’ll find your leaks and fix them. Your wallet and the earth will be appreciative of the effort.
We all know that having an adequate amount of insulation installed in our home’s attic is an important element of conserving energy and reducing energy bills.
For the most part however, we don’t have a way of assessing what we have. And even for the few brave souls that do pop their heads up into the attic, we don’t always know what to look for.
The first step is a simple assessment of quantity. Because insulation functions as a blanket to resist the transfer of heat, you’ll want to make sure the blanket is thick enough. For the St. Louis, Missouri area that amount would probably look like 12-15 inches.
The more important (and less appreciated) measurement is to carefully inspect every foot of the attic to make sure the insulation is sporead evenly and to determine if any areas have gaps or missing insulation.
While you might think that covering 98% of your attic perfectly while leaving only 2% exposed would yield you a 98% effective job, the surprising truth is that 98% coverage yields only 58% performance (according to generally accepted building science standards and as reported in ‘Fine Homebuilding Magazine’).
Shockingly, leaving just 1/2 of 1% of your attic uninsulated reduces the value of your insulation by 16%.
So, when you’re thinking about insulation, don’t just look for a lot of it, but make sure it is meticulously installed.
Or just call us… that’s what we do!
It is happy news that more and more people are choosing to order an energy audit of their home. By correcting issues identified in the course of an audit, homeowners can save a lot of money on utility bills while also improving the comfort of their homes and reducing their carbon footprint.
Unfortunately, with the popularity of energy audits comes the potential for deception. Nothing has energized this potential as much as the new Missouri Senate Bill authorizing income tax deductions for energy audits and related improvements.
While the bill clearly states that audits must be performed by an individual certified by the State of Missouri to perform Home Energy Audits, that has not stopped unqualified people from hopping on the bandwagon.
Here are a few tips for selecting an auditor for your home…
- Make sure they are certified by the State Of Missouri. This certification assures you of two big things…
- That the individual has extensive training in building science and has passed written and field tests.
- That the work performed will be eligible for a tax dedeuction.
- Make sure that the energy auditor will be performing a “full” audit of your home. Just because they have a certification doesn’t mean that they will use all of the tools and invest all of the time necessary to give you the full value of an audit.
Ask if the auditor will be conducting a “Blower Door” test. This test is required under the protocol endorsed by the state and is an important part of getting a good result. If the auditor does not intend to employ a blower door then you are not getting a complete energy audit.
Ask if the auditor will will using a thermal imaging camera. While not required under the Missouri protocol, thermal imaging is a huge “value added” procedure that helps the auditor provide you with the most specific and valid information.
Ask if the auditor will be conducting a combustion safety test. Required by the state protocol, a combustion safety test assure you that your combustion appliances (furnace, water heater, etc) are venting their exhaust gases properly to keep your family safe.
Also, ask how much experience the auditor has. While training and testing is important, experience is also a key factor. You really want to find someone that has completed at least 25 or 30 audits to make sure they have adequate field experience.
Or, just call Home Green Home. Our auditors are certified by the state and by the Building Performance Institute. Also, we’re members of the federal government’s “Home Performance with Energy Star” program and also partner with the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Earthways Center.
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