Evaluation

A thorough evaluation will always precede the installation of an energy upgrade. An energy advisor will come out to your house and begin with a short interview. We want to find out what your experience has been with the house. We want to identify problem areas . Since you will be the final arbiter of comfort in your home we want to know what issues you have had within its walls. For example, are any of your rooms too hot or cold? Drafty or stuffy? Do you have mold in the bathroom? High energy bills? Then we make a sketch of the home's floor plan and use it to assess ventilation needs. We will also ask for 12 months of utility bills in order to analyze the energy usage of the different household systems.

Tools We Use

We use a variety of tools to assess the efficiency of your home's energy systems. These include a blower door, a duct blaster, an infrared camera, a monoxor, manometers, an exhaust flow hood and a gas leak detector. We use them test for air tightness, duct leakage, combustion appliance safety, and bathroom exhaust fan flow rates. Additionally, we check humidity, insulation quality, shell integrity and HVAC efficiency. We also look for moisture issues that could impact air quality or building durability.

Before and after any upgrades are installed we will perform a thorough battery of tests on each combustion appliance to make sure that the appliance is operating safely.

The Report

After testing and evaluating we will provide you with a report detailing all of our findings. Once we have evaluated your home and understand how all of its systems operate together, we will recommend a specific course of action to improve comfort, health and energy efficiency. The report will rate your home in terms of comfort, efficiency, health, safety and durability. The report will separate out how much money you are spending on heating, cooling, lighting, and water heating. We will share our findings on the insulation levels, combustion appliance safety status, and leakage estimates for the shell and ductwork. We will report all of our general findings as well as all of our test results. Finally we will point out opportunities for improvement in lighting, heating, cooling, air quality, insulation, building air tightness, and ventilation. We now have the information needed to determine the next best steps to improve your home's performance, reduce your energy bills and carbon footprint, and make your home a healthier place for you and your family to live. The report will provide you with a "roadmap" that will assist you in charting your course to a more comfortable, healthier, efficient home.

Next... the Home Energy Upgrade