Beyond The Walls- Weatherization, Duct Tape does NOT fix everything!

In recent years as the cost of heating a home has increased, so has the need for weatherization education. The US Department of Energy estimates that over 6.2 Million homes have been weatherized as part of the US Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), created in the late 1970s to help low income families by reducing their energy bills. Today, decades later, more and more homeowners are looking for ways to reduce their energy consumption and their lower their utility bills. Data supports that weatherization returns about $2.69 for each dollar spent on weatherizing your home.  This makes good sense no matter your income bracket.

The process of weatherization involves a variety of procedures, many which can be accomplished by the home owner with materials that can be found at the local home improvement center. Others will require the services of experienced professionals. Lets begin with some of those we can tackle on our own. Best place to begin is by sealing bypasses, any type of gaps, cracks or holes where air can move through. Our natural instinct is to grab that roll of duct tape and get busy  and although duct tape is used for a lot of household fixes, it is not suitable for weatherization. Some materials that may be needed include caulk, foam sealant. weather stripping, electrical receptical gaskets  and door sweeps. Bypasses will be found around doors, windows, pipes and wiring- anywhere that penetrates the ceiling and floor. 

Weatherization Shopping List

Another substantial source of air leakage occurs through can lights. Sealing recessed lighting fixtures prevents large amounts of conditioned air from escaping into unconditioned spaces. Covers for these can be made, or purchased through home improvement centers. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, it pays to do some research before making your own because there are specific dimensions that should be adhered to to  prevent contact with the fixture itself. 

Most home improvement stores will have everything you need in a prominent location.  

Leaky air ducts which can account for up to 20% of heat loss in the home should not be overlooked. Sealing these air ducts can make a substantial difference when reducing your energy costs, but put that duct tape down!! The best way to seal the duct work is with a product called mastic. This is a thinset resin which is ideal because of its bonding capabilities and its resistance to heat. There are also foil HVAC tapes on the market that will do the job and are much easier to work with. 

Beginning with these few items will make a difference and can be accomplished in a weekend. In my next blog, I will outline just a few services that make will make a difference that are best left to professionals. Good luck and get started! 

Beyond the Walls- Energy Audits

Many homeowners are looking at energy audits to find ways to conserve energy and cut utility costs. So what is an energy audit?  An energy audit is a service where the energy efficiency of a house is evaluated by a person using professional equipment  such as blower doors, infrared cameras, duct blasters and more. Hiring a professional Home Energy Auditor is recommended if you are looking for specific recommendations for improving the efficiency and the health of your home. After the inspection, the auditor  provides a detailed report that prioritizes the energy uses from the greatest to least cost effective opportunities for energy savings.

The audit process should cover these main issues: 

• The analysis of building and utility data, including the study of installed equipment (HVAC) and analysis of energy bills.
• The survey of real operating conditions.
• The understanding of the building behavior and of the interactions with weather, occupancy and operating schedules
• The selection and evaluation of energy conservation measures
• The estimation of energy saving potential
• The identification of customer concerns and needs

When making recommendations to the home owner consideration is given to the following: 

• Payback Period
• Annual Return
• Savings-to-Investment Ratio
• Life-Cycle Cost
• Compare the life cycle cost of taking action versus the the life-cycle cost of not taking action.
• If the cost  of taking action is less than inaction, a home energy auditor will recommend that action is taken.

The Home Energy Auditor is versed in incentives, rebates and tax benefits and can assist  the homeowner in taking advantage of these. The return on these benefits usually offsets the expense of any upgrades significantly. After the audit, the homeowner is provided with a performance report and is educated on how best to use energy more efficiently and more importantly, HOW TO SAVE MONEY! 

Beyond The Walls-Leaky Attics (Repost 6/14)

Much as you might expect an auto mechanic to have a finely tuned automobile or a hair stylist to have great hair, you would expect that someone who has been in the insulation  business for any length of time to have a well insulated home. As promised in my last blog, armed with flashlight, insulation rulers and an illustration of common attic problems, I spent some quality time getting to know my attic. As anticipated, I had to give myself a failing grade. I went up looking for three things:

1.) Thermal bypasses/Air leakage

2.) Areas of disrupted /Missing insulation

3.)  Areas with insulation levels below recommended code

At first glance it was clear that attic insulation would be needed to bring my attic up to current code for our region of an R-38. After measuring in a number of areas, on average, I found about 8" of insulation, roughly an R-19. More troubling was the color of my insulation. When looking for areas of air leakage, the easiest way to find these is to identify areas where the insulation is darker, or dirty looking. This indicates that air is flowing through the insulation at these points. These are typically found around recessed can lights, open floor joists, whole house fans, attic access areas, electrical boxes and even gaps between the top plates and sheetrock. Sadly, my insulation was dirty in over 50% of the attic which means that a substantial portion of my energy costs are escaping through the roof.

If that wasn't bad enough, I found an area of ductwork which wasn't securely connected and sealed, allowing the heated air and the dust from my cellulose insulation to escape into the conditioned living space, (I know why my house is always so dusty!) thus causing my furnace and AC to work harder to compensate. 

To achieve the greatest energy savings with insulation the best course of action in the attic would be to seal first, then insulate. When choosing the right insulation system for the home there are many options. Cellulose, Fiberglass and Spray Foam Insulation are the most commonly used types of insulation in the industry today. Because spray foam insulates and seals it is an attractive option that should be considered.In my next blog I will look at my insulation options, the pros and cons of each, and then the work begins!! 

Loose fill Fiberglass insulation being added to existing Insulation.

Beyond The Walls- Spray Foam-"Show me the money!"

In previous blogs I have stated that foam is a superior product for air sealing and that using spray foam as your insulation system can really have a huge impact on energy conservation within your home. It has been documented that in the typical home, enough air escapes each day to fill two Goodyear blimps. Because spray foam performs differently than conventional insulation, air flow is stopped at the attic plane and your utility dollars are spent conditioning your home, not the neighborhood around you. 

Today I am going to show you the money with a real life testimonial. This is a home that we have followed over the course of a year since insulating the attic with Icynene spray foam insulation.  This home is a 6800 sq ft home, housing a family of five. The average monthly utility bill was $390.37 based on information gathered from the homeowner's actual utility bills. I like to use this home as an example because prior to insulating with spray foam, this home had a loose fill fiber glass insulation blown to an R-44. The recommended level in this region for a loose fill blown in fiberglass similar to the insulation present in this home is an R-38 so it is safe to say that this home was above the recommended level and already well insulated. But take a look at what spray foam did for this homeowner.

After removing the fiberglass and applying spray foam to the deck in the attic the homeowners were able to reduce their monthly utilitiy bill an average of 34% over the course of a 12 month period, saving $1575.92 for the first year or, approximately, $131.00 per month. It would have been ideal had the builder insulated with spray foam when the home was built. The savings would have been immediate, but it is never too late to make this decision. With the cost of removal and the application of spray foam, this treatment will have paid for itself in a little over 3 years if the savings remain constant each year.  

Utility Costs for 6,800 square foot home for a family of five.

These homeowners had a sense that they were paying too much for utilities.This visual reinforces that, although this home was well insulated to begin with, complete air sealing with spray foam was the answer to their high utility bills. This is the before and after on their utility costs. 

The one thing that we cannot stress enough in our business is that preventing the loss of air at the roof line of your home is where you should begin if you want to conserve energy and make an impact on those utility bills. When the airflow is stopped your insulation and HVAC system can then work together and you should see some real changes take place.