Now
that the 5-year-old is the foam dart gun has stopped and made to crawl
in and out of the blower door, it's time to make some energy saving
recommendations to the homeowner. After
an energy audit of the house, it is usually fairly easy to keep the
conversation with the owners about what they should do to start saving
energy. The first recommendation is for the average household air seal and install additional insulation in the attic.
Most homeowners who want to explore a home energy audit, are in possession of a failed energy bill. The thing that she was asked to get the check in the first place, the near heart attack after last months bill. After all, the paperback and blood pressure are just as much.
But what may, to a house that does not have ceiling insulation and the last electric bill did not cause to be performed for a trip to the emergency room. In this case was February houses about 1,400 kWh of electricity consumption ($ 140 including heating with two 10 SEER heat pumps) and gas consumption by 15 baths ($ 40 of a free standing gas cooker).
For those of you who are interested in additional information from the review, let me add:
1 That the house has 3,800 square meters.
2 Was built in the late 90s.
3 Had a blower door leakage figure of 2,600 CFM.
4 The duct was 242 CFM leakage to the outside.
5 The hot water temperature is 127 degrees.
The homeowner has a gift of $ 3500 and want to know where to spend the money to save energy. The man was not at home, so I wrote about 11 possible energy saving suggestions and asked them to talk about it and let me know what they want to do.
Here is the great eleven:
1 Update the two heat pumps up to 14 SEER or better. (This alone would cost more than $ 3,500)
2 Close the heating pipes. (Try the leakage by 50% or more to get reduced. With such a large house, this could be a difficult task.)
3 Install programmable thermostats. (Believe it or not, this house is not programmable thermostats already)
4 Reset both rear doors and repair weatherstripping. (Back door thresholds set too low, sweeping door rubs on the carpet, which carries out the carpet and the door sweep)
5 In insulation to the ground. (There is R-25 in the ground already, but it is at the tether at the bottom of 10-inch I-beam so that a 4-inch air gap between the insulation and the floor)
6 Clean heat exchanger and insert the air filter. (The heat exchanger of the heat pump in the air handlers are really dirty, seems the heating system without any furnace air filter has been running for some time)
7 Air sealing recessed lights in kitchen, dining room and hallway and replace incandescent bulbs with CFL or LED. (You may need to replace the EBL doses to achieve this. I do not care how close the house is, I can not stand recessed lighting, which is like chimney to the attic)
8 Replace the washer and dryer. (These two units were inherited from her father, or was it grandfather? The only good thing to say about her, she is running for a long, long time. Know a dryer with a moisture sensor)
9 Clean and repair the dryer duct. (Homeowner shows they routinely run the dryer through two cycles to dry the clothes. Could I see that the vinyl flex duct is curled behind the dryer and the outside exhaust hood clogged with lint and is broken)
10th Install timers for bathroom and utility room ceiling exhaust fans. (This helps people remember to make the fans and makes sure that the fans run long enough to remove moisture from the room, but will not forget, and run all night)
11th Install a hot water circulating pump. (It takes forever to get hot water from the kettle into the basement to get the two bathrooms upstairs., The pump will save both water and electricity. Install with timer on / off switch on the pump. Turnoff in the night and if they are not at home.)
It would be nice if all the money the nation spends on the search for more oil under miles of sea water and take it home in energy-saving measures. It is true, is the cheapest and best energy that we have the energy that we do not need or use. It would be nice this home to net zero energy retrofit and then send some big oil company the bill.
Selected Energy Saving Measures:
After a few days I received an email from the house and apartment owners who listed their thoughts about energy conservation work for their home. I thought they did a pretty good job of addressing necessary action and spend their dollars wisely.
1 Replace damaged door: select one of the rear doors replaced and have raised the threshold. This is a door that they use frequently. You want a storm door with this work belong. There were signs that rain had come past the door, and there may also be some moisture damage to the door casing. A good storm door adds weatherization and protects the door behind him. $ 1,200.00
2 Service heating system and add air filter: It is recommended by the HVAC industry that heating equipment are cleaned and serviced annually. I suspect the system has not been touched in 15 years. The heat exchanger cleaned and taken appropriate air filters. I remain concerned about the life expectancy of the heat pump. $ 600.00
3 Up-grade washer and dryer: It seems as a result of the economy, a few family members may move back home. The amount of laundry is ready to double over. New washer and dryer, $ 1,400
4 Clean and repair dryer duct: There is no use getting a new dryer with an automatic shut-off connected to a moisture sensor when the hot moist air from the exhaust system no longer. No more Flex channel - change hard pipe. Clean the inside of the channel and a new hood. $ 300.00
It seems to me that these homeowners have a pretty good job in addressing needs energy saving measures carried out. Each element has a good record at decreasing energy use.
I look forward to returning to this house one day, dodging a few more foam darts, and talking to the owners about the results of their energy saving retrofits and repairs. My guess is the old electricity bill is somewhat lower and the home a little more comfortable.
