Home energy audit: do it yourself (or ask a caveman to help you)
- by Gary E. Sattler on Aug 7th 2007 10:30AM
- Filed under preventative maintenance, doors and windows, ventilation, DIY: Back to Basics, Mission Possible
According to the U.S.Department of Energy, there is a checklist of items which you can look at around your house to determine if you are doing your fair share to support your home in its energy conservation program. You see, your house wants to save energy. If you could ask, it would tell you so. Houses which have higher efficiency rankings also have fewer problems related to mold, mildew, rot and decay. An energy efficient house is not as prone to moisture damage caused by condensation as a poorly insulated house is. When thinking about water damage to homes, flooding is the first major cause, leakage from above is second and condensation due to poor insulation runs a close third.
The first thing you should consider doing if you want to address the energy efficiency of your home is to conduct a room by room walk through of your entire dwelling. Create a check list of potential problem areas and use that list to scrutinize each room. Air leakage can be a significant problem. The following list of trouble spots should be considered.
- Electrical outlets and switch plates
- Window frames
- Baseboards
- Weather stripping around doors
- Fireplace and chimney dampers
- Attic doors and hatchways
- Window mounted and through the wall air conditioners
When inspecting your attic, first make sure that the attic door is providing a proper seal. Check to see if there is a vapor barrier between the attic and the living space. If there's not one, you may wish to have one installed. The vapor barrier restricts the amount of water vapor which can escape through the walls and ceiling, preventing condensation damage and slowing thermal leakage. Make sure that all holes through walls and roof are sealed and be sure that all attic venting is working in the manner prescribed.
Checking the level of insulation in your attic is essential and generally fairly easy. It would seem that checking the insulation volume within the walls can be a different story. Thermographic inspection will provide a detailed look at how your wall insulation and other seals are performing but it is expensive and it can be difficult to find someone who does it. Arm yourself with current building code guidelines regarding recommended R-values and make as thorough an investigation of your insulation as you can. Then, reweigh your options and get opinions from a couple trusted insulation professionals. You should be able to reach a decision regarding the suitability of your current insulation coverage. For areas of floor under the living space which might be insulated, again I suggest contacting local inspectors or professionals.
All heating and cooling systems should be professionally inspected annually unless otherwise directed by the manufacturer. Heating systems over 15 years old should be considered for replacement. Over the last 15 years, efficiencies in heating and cooling units have risen by as much as 30%. Remember, if your air systems are 15 years old, you're using 1990's technology. It's a whole different world now. Even metered air wood furnaces are now returning efficiency numbers approaching 90%.
The inspection I have outlined here should provide some project inspiration for almost any homeowner. There are always dozens of little ways to cut your energy usage each day without having any negative impact on your lifestyle. Keeping your house properly sealed and insulated will not only make your house more energy efficient, it will also help to keep your house healthy. Just remember that a house also needs to breathe a little and so do you. Be sure you provide for fresh air intake as you weatherproof your house.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-09-2007 @ 12:45AM
batticdoor said...
How To Reduce Your Heating and Cooling Bills
Imagine leaving a window open all winter long -- the heat loss, cold drafts and wasted energy! If your home has a folding attic stair, a whole house fan or AC Return, a fireplace or a clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring in your home every day.
These often overlooked sources of heat loss and air leakage can cause heat to pour out and the cold outside air to rush in -- costing you higher heating bills.
Air leaks are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home. Air leaks occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, etc. Most homeowners are well aware of the benefits caulk and weatherstripping provide to minimize heat loss and cold drafts.
But what can you do about the four largest “holes” in your home -- the folding attic stair, the whole house fan or AC return, the fireplace, and the clothes dryer? Here are some tips and techniques that can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes.
Attic Stairs
When attic stairs are installed, a large hole (approximately 10 square feet) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed, leaving only a thin, unsealed, sheet of plywood.
Your attic space is ventilated directly to the outdoors. In the winter, the attic space can be very cold, and in the summer it can be very hot. And what is separating your conditioned house from your unconditioned attic? That thin sheet of plywood.
Often a gap can be observed around the perimeter of the door. Try this yourself: at night, turn on the attic light and shut the attic stairway door -- do you see any light coming through? These are gaps add up to a large opening where your heated/cooled air leaks out 24 hours a day. This is like leaving a window open all year round.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add an attic stair cover. An attic stair cover provides an air seal, reducing the air leaks. Add the desired amount of insulation over the cover to restore the insulation removed from the ceiling.
Whole House Fans and AC Returns
Much like attic stairs above, when whole house fans are installed, a large hole (up to 16 square feet or larger) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed, leaving only leaky ceiling shutter between the house and the outdoors.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a whole house fan cover. Installed from the attic side, the whole house fan cover is invisible. Cover the fan to reduce heating and air-conditioning loss, remove it when use of the fan is desired.
If attic access is inconvenient, or for AC returns, a ceiling shutter cover is another option for reducing heat loss through the ceiling shutter and AC return. Made from R-8, textured, thin, white flexible insulation, and installed from the house side over the ceiling shutter with Velcro, a whole house fan shutter cover is easily installed and removed.
Fireplaces
Sixty-five percent, or approximately 100 million homes, in North America are constructed with wood or gas burning fireplaces. Unfortunately there are negative side effects that the fireplace brings to a home especially during the winter home-heating season. Fireplaces are energy losers.
Researchers have studied this to determine the amount of heat loss through a fireplace, and the results are amazing. One research study showed that an open damper on an unused fireplace in a well-insulated house can raise overall heating-energy consumption by 30 percent.
A recent study showed that for many consumers, their heating bills may be more than $500 higher per winter due to the air leakage and wasted energy caused by fireplaces.
Why does a home with a fireplace have higher heating bills? Hot air rises. Your heated air leaks out any exit it can find, and when warm heated air is drawn out of your home, cold outside air is drawn in to make up for it. The fireplace is like a giant straw sucking the heated air from your house.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a fireplace draftstopper. Available from Battic Door, a company known for their energy conservation products, a fireplace draftstopper is an inflatable pillow that seals the damper, eliminating any air leaks. The pillow is removed whenever the fireplace is used, then reinserted after.
Clothes Dryer Exhaust Ducts
In many homes, the room with the clothes dryer is the coldest room in the house. Your clothes dryer is connected to an exhaust duct that is open to the outdoors. In the winter, cold air leaks in through the duct, through your dryer and into your house.
Dryer vents use a sheet-metal flapper to try to reduce this air leakage. This is very primitive technology that does not provide a positive seal to stop the air leakage. Compounding the problem is that over time, lint clogs the flapper valve causing it to stay open.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a dryer vent seal. This will reduce unwanted air infiltration, and keep out pests, bees and rodents as well. The vent will remain closed unless the dryer is in use. When the dryer is in use, a floating shuttle rises to allow warm air, lint and moisture to escape.
If your home has a folding attic stair, a whole house fan, an AC return, a fireplace, and/or a clothes dryer, you can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes. At Battic Door Energy Conservation Products, we have developed solutions to these and other energy-conservation related issues.
For more information on Battic Door’s energy conservation solutions and products, visit www.batticdoor.com or send a S.A.S.E. to P.O. Box 15, Mansfield, MA 02048.
Mark D. Tyrol is a Professional Engineer specializing in cause and origin of construction defects. He developed several residential energy conservation products including an attic stair cover and a fireplace draftstopper. To learn more visit www.batticdoor.com
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8-09-2007 @ 1:00AM
Gary E. Sattler said...
Thank you batticdoor for your extremely valuable and well presented input!!!
Gary
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