Home Energy Assessment

As part of my latest contract, I had a the opportunity to get a Home Energy Assessment done to understand the process and benefits.  The assessment is a 3 to 4 hour process where the contractor goes through your home in detail looking at the way your house functions as a unit.  In the past, homeowners and contractors viewed a structure in individual pieces; windows, insulation, HVAC, etc...  The "whole house" approach is a new concept that focuses on the building envelope and how it relates to energy-efficiency.  

What happens during an assessment is the contractor will test all the elements of the building envelope and the energy systems for the home.  The biggie is the Blower Door Test.  This involves closing all the doors and windows, placing a high efficiency fan in the door and depressurizing the house.  Once the build has been depressurized, air leaks are easy to identify.  Air leaks are critical because they effect heat and air conditioning loss -- also known as money leaking out of your home.  

Hughes EnCon Blower Door Test

Above is my contractor, Hughes EnCon performing the Blower Door Test. Once the house has been depressurized, the contract goes through all the "openings" in the building envelope looking for air leaks.  The big ones you can actually feel, like my unsealed attic opening and vent for the whole house fan.  The window openings were fairly tight, but my doors all had large gaps where air leaks were (unsurprisingly, this house is 70 years old and has shifted a great deal during that time and all the exterior doors are original to the house.) 

Hughes EnCon testing for air leaks with smoke wand

Using a smoke wand, Hughes EnCon shows air leaks around a badly sealed whole house fan. The contractor also uses an infrared camera to show where my insulation was not so good and gaps were left around light fixtures.  Another thing the contractor does is perform combustion safety testing on gas fired appliances such as water heaters, dryers and stoves to make certain that they are properly venting and there are no gas leaks.  

The contractor will examine a year's worth of utility bills and give you a list of possible upgrades/improvements that will help your home become more energy efficient - which saves you money!