Sunday November 8th, 2009
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Get A Home Energy Audit
Posted by Philip Higgs on April 26, 2007 - 7:00am.
No more questions? Come on, people. The more you ask, the less work I have to do on my own house. Hello?
Alright, then, just one more topic I'd like to hit before we get back to whatever it was I'm doing to my house. A while back I mentioned prioritizing: How should we decide where to start when getting our houses greener? The answer isn't totally black and white; every house has different needs, and every homeowner has different means. But an excellent place to start - aside from basic stuff like monitoring your electricity use - is getting a home energy audit.
Basically, an energy audit consists of a trained professional energy nerd - also known as home performance contractors or house doctors - showing up at your house and telling you what's wrong with it. More specifically, where and why you use the most energy, and how you can stave that use. Do you have enough insulation? Is it in the right place(s)? How much air is leaking into or out of your windows and doors? How much heat is leaking through the walls or crawlspace?
They have an array of neat-o tools for all this, like a blower door - basically a giant fan that attaches to your front door and sucks air out of the house, measuring just how much air is moving in through leaks in the windows and doors and et ceteras; infrared temperature sensors can determine where that air is infiltrating. Then they break out the Kill-A-Watts to measure how much electricity your various appliances are using, and which ones you should consider replacing. These can also measure where the dreaded phantom loads are in your house - those little energy drains caused by appliances that use power even when they're turned off, a source of much consternation here at Lime Virtual Headquarters.
The good news: A number of utility companies offer these for free, or at least at a decent discount. Here in Boulder, the county subsidizes them down to $100 per audit for a 2,500 square foot home. The whole thing takes about three hours, but you'll learn exactly which problems warrant the most attention. And the house doc should be able to explain which ones are most worth your money. I'm trying to schedule one for next week; I'll let you know how it goes.
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One more thing: Oddly enough, I've been invited to speak on a green remodeling panel at BKLYN DESIGNS: Saturday, May 12, at 4pm in, of course, Brooklyn. Any New Yorkers in the house, please do stop by.
How exciting you're coming to the big apple!!
That sounds like an awesome idea and something we all should do. Good job. Who do I call to get something like that done-you mentioned my utility company. Who do I ask for? The specialist guy?
You can start by checking the DOE's Energy Efficiency pages; they have some advice on where to look, as well as how to conduct your own audit. (Me, I'd stick with the pros.)
You live in New York? Try these guys as well.
My Washer / Dryer (trying to convince my wife to adopt the clothesline instead) have big pipes jetting out from gaping holes in the wall.
I can't just "Stuff" insulation in the hollow wall, but the energy sucked out and cold air brought in must be fixed.
Question: Is it okay to insulate around wires and hot pipes? What special tools are required?
You can insulate around wires and pipes. The wires have to be in good shape -- make sure there are no cuts or splits in the casing.
Are the pipes hot water pipes? Or air ducts for the dryer exhaust? Are you talking about insulating them in the crawlspace or wall cavity, or just plugging the holes through which they enter/exit the wall? You can use expandable sray foam to seal those gaps. They have some specifically for large gaps, 2 to 3 inches, which is what it sounds like you might have.
Supposing we are stuck with electric cooking, is there any difference between the older style open-coil ranges and the newer smooth-topped models that use lasers or soundwaves or whatever EMF it is to radiantly heat things up? Assume for this exercise that the energy consumption ratings are exactly the same between two models.
Going beyond that, are there features to look for on electric ranges (or ranges in general) that mean the overall power consumption and/or heat loss to the atmosphere will be minimized? Insulation, wall thickness, particular materials, anything like that? Also, anything really bad to watch out for in this realm?
...is that you cannot (or really, really, REALLY should not) use cast iron on them. Both the weight and the heat distribution put the ceramic top at risk for cracking. Another disappointment, for me at least, was not be able to do the cool, flip-in-the-pan, saute trick. You can't let the pan scrape the burner. I have to lift the pan off the heat to be able to toss-and-flip.
I will also, apparently, not be able to use my giant stock pot to make beer on this stove. I'll have to borrow a propane burner/crab boil pot.
I'd never heard that before. That's like half my cooking arsenal. Even enameled cast iron? I guess so, if it's the weight that's the problem.
And no stockpots, and no saute flip . . . these would be some major impediments to my cooking style. Man, just when I had gotten over not being able to make fireballs shoot out of the pan.
If the energy ratings are the same, then they're going to be the same efficiency regardless. After that, it's all preference. I've read that the old-style coils are less efficient than the glo-top kind I think you're talking about, but the glo-tops have their own issues -- easily scratched, high maintenance, a bit more delicate.
There are no Energy Star-approved ovens and stoves, as far as I know.
No I don't live in New York anymore sorry to say. I am now a proud New Jersey resident. But I will check out the other site you sent me. Thanks.
You should definitely make plans to grab some good food during your visit. Brooklyn has some amazing restaurants and the best pizza, Grimaldis in WIlliamsburg.
No, it is just down the street from the River Cafe I think. I just saw it mentioned last night on a program on the Food Network (my addiction). The pizza looked amazing, brick oven style though, so be forewarned and the line was really, really long.
How did you get from Brooklyn to Boulder? What a change. I bet a woman was involved!!!
To find more qualified auditors check out www.resnet.org. They are the training/testing and certification organization for Energy Star. Energy Star Home performance is a great program, but you can definately go beyond what Energy Star sets as minimum standards.
We weatherized our basement (insulation and sealing)and cut our heating bills by over 30%, and we will do the attic next. It works, works, works to lower your gas and electricity usage.
I would definatley consult a professional, messing with the air flow in your house is about balance, and there are a lot of things to consider, it's not for the diy'er!