Posts from — May 2010

A couple of months ago I wrote that Home Performance NC was selected to do an energy audit of a historic home as part of a contest sponsored by the Raleigh Historic Districts Commission, Preservation North Carolina, Sustainable Raleigh, and us! The end result is a video targeted towards people who own historic properties.

We were very excited to be part of this project because we are passionate about historic homes and believe that they can be made very energy efficient without destroying their historic elements. Our owners’ home is 95 years old and has been weatherized to current Energy Star standards! It can be done!

Here is a slideshow of pictures provided by Raleigh Historic Districts Commission. Enjoy!

Dear Mr. Energy,

You are always going on about sealing this, sealing that. Seal your ducts! Seal your attic! Seal your escutcheons (whatever those are)! Is it possible to seal too much?

–Wondering in Wendell

Dear Wondering,

The answer to your question is no, it is not possible to seal too much. But it is possible to get a house so tightly sealed that no outside air comes in, which is a bad thing. Sounds contradictory, right? Not really.

Here’s the deal:  sealing a house keeps energy from leaking out or leaking in. You want that. It’s a good thing.  But a certain amount of fresh air has to circulate in order for the house to be safe. So it’s a balance. If your home is super-sealed (including the escutcheons, which are the little plates that surround where your plumbing enters your home), you need to install appropriate ventilation to make sure the home’s inhabitants get the air changes they need to be healthy.

Which is why it’s very important to enlist the help of a professional building scientist if your home is approaching super-tight status. Building scientists see the house as a whole system, and possess the appropriate skills, knowledge, and equipment to make sure that in addition to creating a very energy-efficient home, you are also creating a safe home.

You can find a building scientist by looking at the list of accredited analysts on the Building Performance Institute’s website: bpi.org. And yes, Mr. Energy is one. How else would he know everything he has been telling you?

Dear Mr. Energy,

What’s this I hear about Cash for Caulkers?  I know you’re probably excited about it, because it will mean business for you, but what does it do for me? Seems like the government is just throwing money down the drain.

–Disgruntled in Durham

Dear Disgruntled,

My, my, sounds like someone has low blood sugar. No need to be so upset! Cash for Caulkers, or Home Star, or HR 5019, or S 3177, will be very beneficial to consumers, if it passes. While it will definitely benefit companies like Mr. Energy’s – after all, we conduct energy audits and are a full service weatherization company, which is exactly the kind of business that will be able to add employees and expand once the program hits — it equally benefits everyone who pays an energy bill .

Basically, Cash for Caulkers is designed to stimulate consumer demand for exactly what Mr. Energy is always telling you about: energy audits and weatherization. It will do this by offering direct rebates to consumers for qualifying home improvements. There will be two types of incentive: a “silver star” program, where consumers get rebates for things like air sealing, insulation, duct sealing or replacement, insulation, energy efficient appliances and windows, and a “gold star” level, which is a plan more tailored to individual houses, and includes a comprehensive energy audit that lays out a plan of action. People who achieve “gold star” are going for overall increased energy efficiency, and the financial incentives are greater as long as the homeowner increases his/her home’s energy efficiency by up to 20%, with additional incentives for greater increase.

Here’s why this is fantastic news for consumers: Mr. Energy has already told you how an energy audit and subsequent weatherization pays for itself in just a few years. This will make it pay for itself much quicker! A super-fast return on your investment.

 As for the government, Mr. Energy makes it a policy to stay out politics, at least publicly. It is not his job to run the country, thank goodness! Bottom line: Mr. Energy thinks this is a worthwhile piece of legislation. He will be able to hire more workers  and help everyone in the greater Triangle area save energy and money. And you, sir , can be one of them.

Here’s a super-simplified made-for-CNN version of how Cash for Caulkers will work, if/when/once it’s passed into law (sorry, commercial first…then video):

What I like about the video is the end, where the homeowners say that they’ve calculated their payback and it’ll be sooner rather than later. This is a very important point to make – yes, you have to spend money to get an audit and weatherize your home – but you will get paid back by saving energy and money over time. Not next week. Not next month. In  most cases, not even next year. But two years out? Possibly. Three years? Definitely.

What our weatherization crew chief likes best about the video is the crawl space the company in the clip is working on. It’s rare that he hangs out in crawl spaces here in central North Carolina that are that high! Maybe it’s because many of the houses we work on are older…but he’s a little envious of a crawl space in which those workers are standing upright.

I’ve written a bit about Cash for Caulkers, or the HomeStar program before, and am waiting to write much more before it’s voted on in Congress. Suffice it to say that when HomeStar hits, Home Performance NC is well prepared to help you make your home more energy efficient. We are BPI Analysts, RESNET-HERs raters, and a full-service weatherization company, and as such can help you achieve the silver star /prescriptive path or the gold star/performance path – whichever you choose to pursue.  At Home Performance NC we believe  know that an energy audit and subsequent weatherization will pay for itself – many times over the period of only a couple years. Home Star will help this payback happen much faster, which is always a very good thing.

The Home Star Coalition has an excellent fact sheet outlining the proposed HomeStar bill, if you want all the details.