Energy Audit
An energy audit is a great way to identify how efficient your home is and what can be done to make it more comfortable, safer and more efficient. We offer multiple tests when it comes to our à la carte energy audit service. Every home is different so why pay for a full service when you only want select tests for your home? We also offer different packages so you can get the most out of our testing to dig deeper into identifying issues you may have.
Why select us for testing and what sets us apart? We don't look at individual issues on your home but rather look at the whole house as a system when doing a full audit. When only one measure is taken, it may cause another issue if the home system isn't considered. This is an example of cause and effect when the house isn't looked at as a system.
Contractor insulates but doesn't air seal the attic >>> Mold/moisture in the attic >>> Goes back and air seals and adds attic ventilation >>> Mold/moisture inside the home >>> Add in-home ventilation >>> Causes the furnace to back draft and dump poisonous CO in the home >>> Adds make up air from outside to stop CO leaks.
What value does this bring me? Why do I care? Fuel costs are breaking records, inflation is high and everything in the store continues to go up. Now is the best time to find out where you are wasting energy and fuel. By using state of the art equipment and technology, we can find those problem areas in a few hours and draft a report for each test you want us to do.
Here is a list of tests and packages we offer.
TESTS
Blower Door
A blower door is a diagnostic tool to test for air leakage/ air tightness of a home. It applies a constant but measurable pressure to the house so changes can be compared. This gives the auditor and the homeowner a very easily identifiable way to find out where the air leaks are. According to DOE, here are the reasons as to why you would want your home to be air tight. To the right, you will see a video of our owner performing a blower door test.
✔️ Reduce energy consumption from excessive air leakage
✔️ Avoiding moisture condensation problems
✔️ Controlling outdoor contaminants, pests, and odors from entering your home
✔️ Determining proper sizing and airflow requirements of heating and cooling equipment
As a home owner, what should you expect from us?
✔️ Plan to do a walk-through of your home with the auditor. Be prepared to point out areas you know are drafty.
✔️ Expect the auditor to request access to all areas of your home including closets, attics, crawl space, and any rooms.
✔️ The auditor will need to close all exterior doors and windows, open all interior doors, and close any fireplace dampers, doors, and woodstove air inlets.
✔️ If you heat with wood, be sure all fires are out, not even coals, before the auditor arrives. Remove any ashes from open fireplaces.
✔️ Expect the auditor to set controls on all atmospheric fossil fuel appliances (i.e. hot air furnace, water heater, fireplaces, and stoves) to ensure that they do not fire during the test. The auditor should return them to the original position after the test.
✔️ Expect the test to take up to an hour or more, depending on the complexity of your home.
What you will recieve from us?
We will provide a report that comes from our testing equipment stating the ACH (air exchanges per hour) of the home in the situation at which it is tested.
Thermal Imaging
Thermal imaging, also know as infrared imaging, is a key diagnostic tool to find hot and cold spots in the home. It detects heat radiating from surfaces. From missing insulation to finding air leaks, the thermal imager can find where your heat is escaping your home. Think of it as a digital camera with heat detecting capabilities. Even though heat loss is the main use for energy loss the detection of heat loss can discover other irregularities or abnormalities, like water penetration, humidity, or moisture. Building managers looking for thermal indications that can point to leaks of heat in defective insulation areas, and use the inspection outcomes to increase the efficiency of their HVAC systems. In the video above, you'll see how we use the thermal imaging device paired with our blower door test.
Why is it important?
✔️ It's a non-invasive, non-destructive technique
✔️ The imaging is in real time so you can see the difference immediately
✔️ It's safe. It's not X-ray imaging so there are no harmful radiation effects
✔️ It's a great way to find cold spots and heat loss
✔️ Testing areas that are not typically acessible like bypasses in the walls
✔️ Changes in the electrical breakers and pipes not normally seen
✔️ It's non-contact. It doesn't require the imager to touch the surfaces.
What you will receive from us?
We will take at least 15 pictures throughout the home with the thermal imager and create a report including the images of trouble spots for your records.
Combusion Analyzer- CO (Carbon Monoxide) Testing
Furnace/ Water Heater/ Oven- Gas Appliance
Using a combustion analyzer, our qualified team tests the heating system, water heater, and oven or gas appliance for CO leaks and efficiency. If your appliances aren't running at peak performance, you are burning your money in wasted fuel. Allow us to find out just how efficient your home is running and just how safe it is by testing CO levels. According to the CDC levels, around 50,000 people visit the emergency room every year due to accidental CO poisoning. To the right, you'll see a video of our owner performing combustion analyzer testing on a fuel oil furnace.
What do we test for?
✔️ Ambient CO levels in the home
✔️ Efficiency
✔️ Spillage/ back drfting (Exhausting and CO dumping into the home)
✔️ Worst case CAZ (Combustion Appliance Zone) to find out if appliances are venting properly.
Why is it important?
Finding out how efficient and safe your furnace, boiler, water heater, and/or oven is could help make the decision if it's worth keeping, repairing, or even replacing.
What you will recieve from us?
We will provide a report that comes from our testing equipment stating all the results listed above.
Indoor Air Quality
Bath Fan and Rangehood Venting- Ashrae 62.2 Standard
Indoor air quality is more and more important as we learn about the effects of air tightness of a home and COVID. If a home is too air tight because it was air sealed and insulated, it may cause a home to start creating mold. Testing for proper ventilation in a home is key to preventing mold or other health issues related to poor air quality.
What is ASHRAE?
ASHRAE 62.2 is a minimum national standard that provides methods for achieving acceptable indoor air quality in a typical residence. It was developed and is maintained by the American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
Personal Health Related Benefits
Having proper air ventilation is also important when it comes to your personal health. According to the CDC, improving ventilation in a home helps keep the occupants safer from diseases.
What you will receive from us?
We will test the bath fans and rangehoods for air flow. You will also recieve a report on air flow strength.
***If you combine this testing with a blower door, we will also provide a report with an ASHRAE calculation showing how much air flow the home needs in relation to the air tightness of the home. This is important as it may help identify if the home is susceptible to mold.***
Gas Detector/ LEL Low Level Detector
We offer low level gas detection with our LEL (Lower Explosive Limit) detector. Sometimes a gas leak is not noticable but it may still be dangerous. Our dectector finds the small amounts of gas before it becomes a problem or even a danger.
What you will receive from us?
We move very slowly over and around all gas lines and fittings checking for gas leaks. We will provide a report to our findings with areas of concern.
***This service is not for emergency gas leaks. It is precautionary maintenance measure only. If you believe you have a gas leak, please contact National Grid or your local Fire Department.***
Detailed Energy Audit Software Report
Using very specific energy auditing software, we have the ability to create an energy blueprint of your home. We will also analyze your energy bills and usage and compare that to the needs of your home. One important factor we focus on is a SIR (savings to investment ratio) rating for your home. When you look to make upgrades to your home, don't you want to know if the changes will make a financial difference? What is the rate of return for these changes? These are all important factors that a detailed energy audit report from specialized software will provide.
Why is it important?
We will analyze your home an the energy needs it has by comparing your energy bills to the inspector's assessment. This report is all about building an energy blueprint of your home. The report will include important information about your home to help you make an informed financial decision and help avoid wasting hard earned dollars on upgrades that don't actually save much energy....like in most cases, replace vinyl windows with other vinyl windows.
What you will receive from us?
We will provide you a breakdown of SIR ratings in your home to clearly show the greatest "bang for your buck" areas if you make upgrades. We will also provide an estimate of energy savings, both in estimates of annual dollar savings and actual reduction in fuel usage.
***All estimates are based on the current state of the home compared to the energy costs and bills. Even though they are generated through advanced energy auditing software, it is exactly just that....an estimate. There are many factors that affect the actual usage like fuel prices, number of residents, harshness of the winters and summers, changes in thermostat settings for comfort, etc. ***
