Posts from — December 2009

This morning seemed like the first morning this winter when it was truly COLD outside. The thermometer read 31 degrees at 7:45; no doubt it was even colder overnight. It’s warmed up some now that it’s mid-day, but this gave us a good taste of what’s to come: cold weather and probably the highest energy bills of the season.

I asked Mark, our lead auditor, what “good” heating/cooling bills looked like this time of year. Obviously, it’s going to depend on the size of your home, your personal comfort level, and your energy use habits, but he made a guess that less than $.10/sq.ft/monthly average sounded reasonable. $.10/sq/ft/monthly average being an acceptable amount of money to spend.

Of course, acceptable is relative. It largely depends on your pocketbook! But in our house, which is 100 years old, 2600 sq. ft. and fairly leaky (still…despite all the sealing and weatherization we’ve done), $260/month on average seems acceptable. But we’d love to spend less. And frankly, I’d love to turn the thermostat up a degree or two.

Here are some unacceptable scenarios we’ve seen recently:

• a co-worker lives in a 900 sq. ft. house – about 40 yeards old – that has a brand new (like 3 month old) HVAC system…their bills have averaged $150/mo.
• a new client lives in a 4000 sq.ft. home which was built within the last 5 years and their bills average $550/mo. And they’ve shut off the vents to a room that never gets above 55 degrees when the rest of the house is at 68. I haven’t seen the house yet, but I’m willing to guess the room they’ve shut off is the bonus room above the garage.

Both of these homes need energy audits, stat. I can guess what might be the problems (see comment re: bonus room) but to really know we need to get in there with our blower door and IR camera. For sure they need duct sealing, but beyond that? Home Performance NC to the rescue!

Recently we’ve gotten a lot of calls and e-mails inquiring about the cost of an energy audit. People are often taken aback at the price (which typically runs between $300 and $500, depending on the size of your home, the number of HVAC units you have, as well as a few other factors. It’s worth it to note that the fee for an energy audit varies throughout the country. We’ve heard that in some places auditors charge much more, and in some places, a little less.), and sometimes they seem surprised that we charge at all. After all, there are scads of articles and websites telling you how you can do your own energy audit, and some power companies are giving “free” audits as perks to their customers.

Here’s the deal, folks: you get what you pay for.

Now, I am not saying that the websites and articles that promote d.i.y. energy audits are not valuable. There are certainly plenty of things you can do yourself to make your home more energy efficient. I’ve written several blog posts to that effect, including

• How to seal electrical outlets and switchplates
• 4 cheap ways to make your home more energy efficient
• It’s not your windows

More will be forthcoming. Hopefully particularly helpful will be the series I’m working on about weatherizing our own 100-year-old house. Obviously, we’ve audited our house, but the majority of things we’ve done to it have been d.i.y. projects – the kind any handy homeowner with some stamina and free time can do for themselves.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand: why a professional audit costs money. It comes down to three factors: expertise, time, and equipment. You are paying a trained, educated, certified professional to evaluate your home over a period of several hours using expensive equipment.

First, the training. At a minimum, you should hire a professional auditor who is BPI certified. This means that he or she has been trained by the Building Performance Institute. BPI teaches its members to look at the house as a system, not just as individual parts. If something in your home isn’t functioning well, like it’s energy-inefficient, for example, then a BPI analyst won’t just look at your HVAC or your windows or your insulation (like a HVAC contractor or a window installation company or an insulation contractor might) but will look at the whole house for answers. Training includes coursework, a written exam, and a field exam.

Other certifications or trainings that are useful for an energy auditor include RESNET-HERS, which focuses on energy efficiency in the home. HERS raters are trained to rate a home Energy Star, which applies to new construction only, but a rater who has been through the RESNET-HERS training is well versed in home energy efficiency as it applies to all homes. Mark, our auditor, is also a certified Green Rater (through Resnet), which means he can rate a home “Green” per the standards set by BPI – again, a certification for new homes – and he’s also a NAHB verifier, another green home rating program with very high standards. In addition, he’s a verifier for Green HomeBuilders of the Triangle, which is a local organization (central NC) that is related to NAHB. These aren’t necessary certifications for an energy auditor, but the more education, training, and knowledge your auditor has, the better.

Next, the time. A professional audit takes a minimum of 3 hours, and usually closer to 4-5 hours on site. We always include the homeowner in our audit, so in addition to the actual tests and observations we are also conducting homeowner education. Since our audits also include a written report, you need to factor in at least 2 hours after the audit for this.

Finally, the equipment. At a minimum, a professional audit should include a blower door test, a duct test, and if you have combustible appliances, a test to ensure you don’t have any gas leaks. We also use an infrared camera in our audits, since we think the camera best pinpoints and illustrates energy leaks in the home. It’s one thing to know your home is fairly leaky, but quite another to have actual pictures that show you where the leaks are happening.

The problem with walk-through or D.I.Y. audits is that although they may find many of the common leaks in the home, they are going to miss the leaks that are particular to your specific home. Yes, windows and doors need weatherizing. Yes, electrical outlets and switchplates need to be sealed. And your ducts probably are leaking…but those things are the low-hanging fruit of energy efficiency. To really know what’s going on in your house and to really make a difference in your home’s energy bills you’ll need a professional audit. And for that you’ll need to spend a little money.

The good news is that if you get a professional audit and do the recommended weatherization, you will get your money back in savings on your power bills within a couple of years. It’s worth it to do it right.

When my husband took the better part of a day to seal up all of the switchplates and electrical outlets in our home a year or so ago I thought he was nuts.

That can’t possibly make a difference, I said. How small are those holes, anyway?

Patiently my husband (a.k.a. a professional energy auditor) explained to me that while one unsealed electrical outlet might not make a difference…all of them together added up to a pretty good sized hole. A hole the size of a baseball.

If we had a hole this size in our house you’d want me to seal it up, wouldn’t you? he asked.

Uh, yeah. I would.

That little scenario aside, I want to tell you a really inexpensive (like under $25) way you can seal up a possibly baseball-sized hole (or maybe a golf ball, depending how many outlets and switchplates you have) in your house. It doesn’t even really take elbow grease. Just patience and a nice tube of caulk.

In the world of home performance and energy efficiency, we like to think of the living space of a home as being surrounded by a giant envelope. Anywhere this envelope is breached is a way for air (and therefore energy) to get in or out. Every single switchplate and electrical outlet is a breach of the envelope. Even though the actual leaks are probably small, they can add up to a big hole in your wall when put all together.

To seal up your switchplates and electrical outlets, buy inexpensive foam outlet and switch covers at the hardware store – enough for every outlet and switchplate in your home – and a couple of tubes of caulk. Remove the outlet and switchplace covers and run a thin bead of caulk where the box meets the drywall. Apply the foam cover on top and press the cover so it connects with the caulk. The foam cover by itself isn’t airtight; the foam cover and the caulk have completely sealed the outlet.

You can further seal the leaks by buying baby safety covers for the electrical outlets you don’t use to plug up the little holes that the outlet itself makes.

Or…if you don’t want to do this yourself, you can hire us to do it for you! Better yet, have an energy audit and see for yourself how leaky your outlets are. They probably won’t make the top of the list for the biggest bang for your time and money, but they’ll be on the list. I guarantee it!

The people behind the HOMESTAR stimulus proposal (also known as “Cash for Caulkers”) have just announced that they will include BPI analysts in any recommendations for workforce and standards development in the areas of energy audits, weatherization, and the rest of this (we think) FANTASTIC retrofit program that will create jobs and help homeowners save money and save energy. 

Here’s part of the initial announcement, which we got straight from BPI:

A formal recommendation to the President…last week cited BPI as a key contributor to the proposed HOME STAR program by providing training and accreditation for the development of the new home performance workforce, as well as third-party quality assurance on the installed retrofit measures: 

“In addition to creating immediate jobs and economic activity, to provide long-term sustainability, we must ensure that companies deliver measurable and reliable results…. Standards for home performance contractor accreditation and Building Analyst auditor certification will be implemented by the Building Performance Institute (BPI) and through a national network of third party providers… Program standards will be maintained with the help of a robust program of third-party verification and inspection designed to ensure that homeowners get what they pay for under HOME STAR. Inspections will be calibrated to program performance and the adoption by contractors of front-end quality measures, such as BPI accreditation and use of a well-trained construction workforce in order to quickly address quality problems.”  

Obviously, us folks at Home Performance NC think this is a very good thing, as it looks like there is lots of work for us coming down the pike, but his is actually very good news for the homeowner who wants to take advantage of whatever this stimulus package will have to offer. By associating with an organization that already trains certified analysts to do this kind of work, this program will have a built-in guarantee that the work will be done correctly. Which isn’t something that actually exists in the building/retrofit industry right now, unless the homeowner specifically seeks it out by finding contractors with appropriate training or by employing a BPI-trained energy auditor to do an audit and a test-out after the work is done.

Here’s an example: you get new ductwork installed by a HVAC contractor. He/She comes highly recommended, does the job, you pay – and you’re sure he/she did a fine job. Why? Did you go under the house to look? Do you know he’s been trained to modern standards of duct sealing? How about his or her crew? Have they been trained? If your answer is: I don’t know…then that’s just it. You don’t know. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve gone into a home – a NEW home, or a home with ductwork that was installed JUST LAST YEAR – and found that they were poorly installed! It isn’t rocket science nor is it hard to take the extra measure to seal up ductwork but time and time again we find that contractors either didn’t know or didn’t care to do the job right. 

And I’m just talking about ductwork. The same goes for insulation, additions, renovation, plumbing, new construction, blah blah blah. Never assume that contractors know about energy-efficiency! I’m sure a lot of them do…but a lot of them don’t. Or maybe they don’t know that they don’t. 

Anyway, the point of this little rant is that it’s a very good thing that there will be some standards that contractors have to meet when doing this work. You want your contractors’ work to have to be checked by people who know what they’re doing. 

So, what is BPI exactly? Here’s a description direct from the BPI website. This says it all:

• certification of individuals in building analyst, heating, AC/heat pump, shell/envelope, and multi-family designations
• accreditation of contractors committed to delivering quality, home performance improvements
• quality assurance to verify conformance to BPI Standards and provide feedback for continuing improvement
• affiliation of organizations that deliver BPI services in their market
• open, transparent, consensus developed national technical standards based on sound building science      

Dear Mr. Energy,

Are gas logs an energy efficient way to heat my home in winter? I’m thinking about installing some, but I don’t want to waste my money.

– I Wannabe Warm and Toasty

Dear Wannabe,

There are two basic types of gas logs on the market today: ventless gas logs andvented gas logs. Ventless gas logs are 100% energy efficient but they’re alsodangerous: they emit carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide into your home. In fact, most package directions say to actually use ventless gas logs use with a window or damperopen – a vent – which negates the energy efficiency inherent to the product. A vent creates an updraft that draws heat out of your home and pulls cold air through any air leaks you may have.

Vented gas logs include the kind that vents through a chimney or an installed vent, drawing air from your home, or sealed combustion/direct vent gas logs. Vented gas logs are a safer option, but some types also require the chimney damper be open, again creating an updraft. This is not energy efficient at all. The best way to go, in my opinion, is sealed combustion, or direct vent gas logs. This is a sealed unit that has air intake and air exhaust built in, as well as a built-in blower to circulate air around the unit. The air inside the home does not mix with the air inside the unit, so there’s no danger of carbon monoxide or other gases infiltrating the home. You’ll get the ambiance of a fireplace and the energy efficiency of gas logs, but with none of the safety issues of ventless logs.

As far as money-saving or money-wasting goes, gas logs are mainly used to heat one room at a time, not the whole house. So if your goal is to have a warm and toasty living room with all the ambiance that a fire brings to a space, then go for the direct vent gas logs I just mentioned. But if you want the cheapest way possible to keep your whole house warm, then gas logs are not the solution.

Dear Mr. Energy,

I really want to make my home more energy efficient, but I have no money and no time. I can probably find a couple of hours this weekend and my budget is $50. Can I do anything that will make a difference in my home’s energy use with such a small amount of money?

–Busy but Broke

Dear Busy,

Good news! There’s plenty you can do to weatherize your home for $50 or less. Tiny steps add up to big changes over time. If you’ve read this column before you know that I think the very best first step for a homeowner to become more energy efficient is to have a comprehensive home energy audit to pinpoint exactly where you may be leaking energy, but since your current budget precludes an audit I can give you four different ways you can make that $50 and your free afternoon work for you.

Cheap fix #1: seal switchplates and electrical outlets. In the world of home performance and energy efficiency, we like to think of the living space of a home as being surrounded by a giant envelope. Anywhere this envelope is breached is a way for air (and therefore energy) to get in or out. Every single switchplate and electrical outlet is a breach of the envelope. Even though the actual leaks are probably small, they can add up to a big hole in your wall when put all together. To do this, buy inexpensive foam outlet and switch covers at the hardware store - enough for every outlet and switchplate in your home – and a couple of tubes of caulk. Remove the outlet and switchplace covers and run a thin bead of caulk where the box meets the drywall. Apply the foam cover on top and press the cover so it connects with the caulk. The foam cover by itself isn’t airtight; the foam cover and the caulk have completely sealed the outlet. You can further seal the leaks by buying baby safety covers for the electrical outlets you don’t use to plug up the little holes that the outlet itself makes.

Cheap fix #2: weatherstrip doors and windows. The size weatherstripping you’ll need will depend on the amount of air getting in or out (which you can determine by holding your hand up to the edge of the windows and doors on a windy day). Pay special attention to the bottoms of doors, as this is a place where previous weatherstripping may wear off more quickly than other places.

Cheap fix #3: seal up your escutcheon plates. Escutcheon plates are the metal or plastic round pipe coverings that are part of your plumbing. Anywhere pipes come out of the wall there is typically an escutcheon plate. Anywhere pipes come out of your wall, air can come in or out, too, so sealing these plates with a bit of caulk will prevent air, energy, and money seeping in or out of those holes.

Cheap fix #4: Using spray foam (you can buy cans of this at the hardware store), seal up anywhere your home’s plumbing enters the house in your crawlspace.

Dear Mr. Energy,

Do I really have to change my home’s air filters every month?

–A little bit lazy

Dear Little bit,

Yes. You do. Quit being lazy! It’s not very hard to do and it’s pretty cheap, and your home’s HVAC system will thank you for it. The air filters control the quality of air your family breathes – isn’t that worth the 15 minutes it takes each month?

By the way, we recommend the cheap disposable polyfil filters over the more expensive pleated kind or the reusable ones. The reusable ones, over time, retain dirt and can blow around your house, and, if not absolutely dry, the reusable ones can grow mold in your system . The pleated kind –the kind advertised for those people with allergies – can actually cause most conventional home HVAC systems to work harder. This can shorten the HVAC unit’s life and in many cases can also block air flow in and out of the house. If you have significant allergies you should talk to a HVAC technician, because in many cases your home’s air ducts can be reengineered so that they can accommodate the pleated filters.

Dear Mr. Energy,

I want to make energy efficiency improvements to my house, but I have less than $1000 to work with. What can I do to make the biggest impact?

–Champagne tastes on a beer budget

Dear Champagne,

You’re in luck! Between rebates, tax credits, and basic maintenance to your home’s systems, you can accomplish quite a bit with a budget under $1000. Provided your home doesn’t need a new HVAC system, which can run in the several thousands, most people can make significant improvements to their homes that will yield about a 30% improvement in their home’s energy bills.

The first step in making energy improvements is getting a professional home Energy Audit. An energy audit, done by a qualified professional (one who is a RESNET-HERS certified energy rater and a BPI Analyst) using specialized equipment, will pinpoint exactly the areas where your home is leaking energy. If you know where your home leaks, you will know where you’ll need to spend the money to seal it up. Some of the leaks, like those around doors or electrical outlets, cost very little to stop and are ones that the homeowner can do for him/her self. Others may be a bit more expensive to fix, but air sealing is not typically a huge expense and is well worth the savings in the long run.

In addition to checking the air leakage in the living space of your home, an energy audit will also investigate leaks in your home’s HVAC’s air ducts. Even new HVAC systems may not be operating with complete energy efficiency, so it’s always worth it to have your ducts tested. Once tested, ducts can be sealed fairly inexpensively. Industry experts estimate a 20-30% savings on most homeowners’ energy bills through duct testing and sealing alone. And the great news is that if you live in North Carolina (which is where we’re located) and are a Progress Energy customer, you can get a significant rebate on both duct testing (part of the Energy Audit) and duct sealing if you use someone from their providers list: up to $90 for air duct testing (applied towards the Energy audit) and up to $240 for duct sealing.

The best thing about using your hard-earned money to get an Energy Audit and following up on subsequent improvements is that within a year or two the money you’ve saved in your energy bills will have paid for the Audit and weatherization. This is really a no-brainer!