HOME & GARDEN :: OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2007
Will You Get What You Expect?
A friend has a saying: build a house to code and you have the least efficient house allowable by law. With the price of electricity, gas and oil going up, efficiency is high on the list of desirable features for most homebuyers today. Adding efficiency is inexpensive, improves your comfort while you live in your home and adds to your resale value.
Most people expect that the new home they are buying is energy efficient, includes items such as Low “E” windows, highest efficiency heating and cooling units and a well sealed building that offers better indoor air quality. But this may not happen unless you specify your expectations in writing. The easiest way to ensure success is to hire an Energy Rater, who can measure energy performance and guide your builder through the building process.
As Energy Raters, we start at the design where your home exists on paper. Revisions are easy to make and design choices are limitless. We use software that determines the efficiency of your home and compares this to the cost for various features. When you know costs and savings per year you can measure the value for that improvement and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different items on your wish list.
A wise man knows “We can learn far more from failures then from successes”. Energy Raters use diagnostic tools to test homes and learn why they are drafty, do not heat and cool properly and why they have higher energy costs. We use this knowledge to ensure your builder doesn’t repeat the mistakes of other builders.
Energy Efficiency 101
Efficiency starts with the heated shell – the part of the house that separates the inside from the outside. Every piece of the shell needs to be well insulated – the attic, walls, overhangs, band area, windows and doors, foundation, and any exposed slab. It does very little good to over insulate one area while leaving another exposed. Codes do a reasonable job of asking for balanced insulation, but misunderstandings can force builders to spend money where it gives limited benefit.
Besides insulation, the shell also needs to be airtight. Codes call for sealing of every hole, but there has never been a completely air tight house, so it becomes a matter of degree. We have methods of measuring the tightness of buildings, and standards of tightness to compare it to. Again, balance is important, as we don’t want to over tighten one area while leaving another too loose. Very important to understand is that insulation does not seal a home, and sealing does not insulate a home. Insulating and air sealing are two different jobs that use two different sets of materials. It takes special training to understand how and where to tighten a house for best results within a reasonable budget.
Windows are a unique part of the shell as they are not well insulated and tend to have a bit of air leakage around them. Low-E glass can add needed insulation and give a side benefit of making the window more comfortable to be near during temperature extremes. A completely airtight window can be expensive, and we can easily live with the small amount of air leakage in most windows.
Once the shell is airtight and insulated we can turn our efforts to the HVAC system. Small investments in more efficient equipment offer quick payback. The new condensing furnaces with their plastic flue pipes don’t even need a chimney, while higher efficiency A/C equipment makes sense during our hot, muggy summers.
A part of the HVAC system that gets little attention is the location of the ducts. Attics and vented crawlspaces are very hostile environments and we can save a lot of energy and increase comfort dramatically by keeping our ducts out of these spaces. If ducts must be in these outdoor spaces, best to have them sealed absolutely airtight – as the code requires- and then to add insulation above requirements.
It is not difficult to increase efficiency enough to meet the standards of the Energy Star Program, a federal program designed to assure your home’s efficiency.
Call me on 302.777.5050 to learn how to make your new or existing home energy efficient. Visit us on the web at www.energysvc.com.
Thom Marston is vice-president of Energy Services Group, a 27-year-old company specializing in efficiency in homes. They professionally air seal new homes under construction and existing homes with problems. They have been an Energy Star Partner since 1997 and have been named Partner of the Year in both 2004 and 2007.
Publisher’s Note:
Tom Marston’s company was a God find. Contracting him to advise me on how to build an energy efficient (Green) home has been one of the best moves I have made so far. His advice from the style, to windows, to where to place my furnace, to recommending the type of crawl space, has helped me make environmentally wiser choices. In turn, it is saving me $1000’s in the building process, as well as saving me money in energy cost down the road. His company is a must have if you are planning on building or if you are purchasing an established home. Please feel free to call me at 302-684-5685 if you have any questions about Energy Service Group.
