recurve home energy audit report

Results of Your Home Energy AuditRogers Residence15 April 2009

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prepared for:Mike and Laurie Rogers1234 Maple LaneCotati, CA 94931

prepared by:Daniel BellHome Performance [email protected]

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Results of Your Home Energy AuditRogers Residence15 October 2009

summaryYour Concerns Root Causes

High air leakage (see pg. 8)•

Lack of adequate wall insulation •(see pg. 7)

Old appliances (pg.12)•

High air leakage (see pg. 8)•

High duct leakage (see pg. 9)•

High air leakage. (see pg. 8)•

Lack of adequate wall insulation •(see pg. 7)

House is drafty and dusty•

High utility bills•

Recommended Solutions

Air Sealing (see pg. 14)•

Wall Insulation (see pg. 17)•

Furnace Replacement •(see pg. 13)

Duct Replacement (see pg. 18)•

High Efficiency Air Filtration •(see pg. 13)

Appliance Replacement (see pg. 12)•

House is too cold all year•

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key causes of comfort issuesAir LeakageMany holes throughout your house allow air to escape and infiltrate, making it difficult to maintain a constant temperature.

InsulationLack of insulation in your walls makes keeping your house warm or cool difficult.

Holes like this one in your crawlspace cause heated or cooled air to escape, resulting in drafts.

The red areas in this thermal scan show a lack of proper insulation in your walls.

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key causes of efficiency issuesOld AppliancesAging appliances in your house are far less efficient than Energy Star models sold today.

LightingLighting your home is a significant portion of your electric bill.

Replacing your refrigerator will save you money on your utility bills.

The blue areas in this thermal scan show air leaks and a lack of proper insulation around your can lights.

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key causes of health issuesDuct LeakageHoles in your ductwork pulls dirty air from crawlspaces into the rooms in your home.

Air LeakageHoles in your house allow air to be pulled in from dusty crawlspaces and attics

This photo, taken in your house, shows the dirt that gets pulled into circulation throughout your house.

This photo of a hole in your house shows the dirt that gets pulled into circulation throughout your home.

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Gas & Electric CostsTotal kWh* ConsumedAverage Cost per kWh

Total Electric Cost

Total Therms ConsumedAverageCostPerTherm••

Total Gas Cost

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utility bill summaryHow much are you spending on gas and electric per year?This chart shows how much you’re spending annually on utility bills and the amount that’s being spent on gas vs. electric.

As you might expect, the majority of gas consumption occurs during the winter for heating your home. Electric consumption tends to spike in winter due to additional lighting because of short days and in the summer months when you may run the AC to cool your home.


Cost of gas & Electric per month from April 2008 - March 2009

9,736$0.17

$1,678

699$1.36

$949

*kilowatt/hour. Used to quantify the amount of electrical energy delivered by electric utilities to consumers**a unit of heat energy equal to 10,000 BTUs. Therms are used to quantify the amount of natural gas or liquid propane delivered by utilities to consumers.

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energy lossWhere is energy being lost in your house?This chart shows which components in your house lose the most energy. By optimizing your home’s performance, it is possible to have a significant impact on heating and cooling loads thus improving energy efficiency as well as indoor air quality.

Energy Loss in Your HomeAmount of energy loss, in BTUh* by building component, on the coldest day of the year.

WallsAir LeakageDuct LeakageFloorsWindowsDuct Insulation

Total

16,80012,60011,4009,0007,2003,000

60,000

Amount of energy lost by building component, on the coldest day of the year in your area


*British Thermal Unit, a unit of energy. BTUh is used to quantify the heat loss or heat gain through the building envelope, as well as the power needed for domestic hot water

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Insulation Type & R-ValueInsulation TypeInstallation QualitySystem R-Value

Recommended R-Value: R-19 or greater

Percentage of Heating Energy Loss

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wall insulationHow well are your walls insulated?As part of a walkthrough of your house, we used an infrared camera to asses the insulation levels in various areas of your building’s envelope. Lack of insulation results in the shell being the single largest heating load component.


R-13 2x4Average8.4

In this photo you can see that this wall is missing a significant amount of insulation.

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Air Changes Per HourEnvelope Leakage at CFM50*Natural ACH** (Air Change Per Hour)ASHRAE*** Recommended LevelEquivalent to a Hole This Size in Your Home


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air leakageHow drafty is your home?As part of the audit, we performed a blower door test to measure the leakiness of your house. We can estimate the number of times per hour all of the air in your house is exchanged with the outside air. A higher number means that your house is draftier and uses more energy. Envelope leakage can also affect other building systems and impact indoor air quality and the comfort of your home. We use the blower door test to simulate naturally occurring conditions within your home.

Many holes like this create drafts

Results of Your Home Energy Audit Rogers Residence15 October 2009

49250.950.3518 in2

* Cubic Feet per Minute. Used to quantify the air flow through duct work, air infiltration, or ventilation**Air Changes per Hour. The measure of air infiltration or air cleaning. It represents the number of times each hour that an enclosure’s – typically a house – total volume of air is exchanged with fresh or filtered air***American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers

We found many holes like the one pictured above. All together, these holes make it hard to maintain a comfortable temperature in your home.

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Duct Leakage & Insulation% of Energy Lost Through Duct Leakage% of Energy Lost From Duct Insulation

Insulation Type and R-ValueInsulation Value: NoneRadiant Barrier: None

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duct leakage & insulationHow leaky is your ductwork?Uninsulated and unsealed ducts waste energy and make it difficult to deliver hot or cool air from your HVAC system to rooms in your house.


As you can see in this photo, the ducts aren’t insulated, allowing valuable heat to escape.

19%5%


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Insulation Type & R-ValueInsulation TypeSystem R-Value

Recommended R-Value: R-13 or greater

Percentage of Heating Building Load

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floor insulationHow well is your floor insulated?As part of a walkthrough of the building, we visually estimated the insulation levels in various areas of your building’s envelope. Insufficient or inadequately installed insulation can cause significant energy waste.


None9.1

This photo shows the bottom of the floor boards where there is no insulation.

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Annual cost of lighting your house

$428Estimated percentage of your electric bill

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lighting efficiencyHow much do you pay to light your house?Lighting can be a major energy drain. While incandescent bulbs continue to be the most common lighting source in homes today, they are the least efficient and shortest-lasting option. 90% of the energy used to light an incandescent bulb is released as heat instead of light. Compact Florescent (CFL) bulbs provide very comparable light quality as compared with traditional incandescents, but only use 25% of the energy.


Lighting cost per room

LocationFamily RoomOfficeDiningKitchenMaster BedroomMaster BathroomTimmy’s BedroomGuest RoomSecond Bath

Total

Annual Cost$103$73$52$99$48$17$16$12$8

$42825%

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Annual cost of elecricity used by appliances

$980Estimated percentage of your electric bill

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appliance efficiencyHow much do your appliances cost?We’ve estimated the annual cost of operating your appliances based on typical use. See our recommendations for an estimate of how much you could save if you replaced some of your appliances with Energy Star models.


Yearly cost of operating your appliances

Type

Refrigerator

Dishwasher

Washer

Dryer

Brand

Sears

Bosch

GE

GE

Age

1998

1998

1998

2003

kWh/yr

851

641

526

909

Annual Cost

$340

$100

$200

$340

Total $980

58%

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recommendationsA custom roadmap to addressing your concerns


Basic

Air Sealing•

Appliance Replacement•

Lighting Upgrade•

Essential

Wall Insulation•

Duct Replacement•

High Efficiency Air •Filtration

Ultimate

Furnace Replacement•

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air sealingResults of Your Home Energy AuditRogers Residence15 October 2009

Before: An unsealed hole in your house

After: Example of a sealed hole

Benefits of Air Sealing

Improves indoor air quality by reducing air infiltration •from crawlspace and attic

Increases energy efficiency by reducing loss of •conditioned air through leakage points i.e. leaks around canlights, plumbing and electrical penetrations

Increases indoor comfort by reducing draftiness of the •home

What to Expect

Sealing process reduces envelope leakage by at least •20%

Recurve uses materials such as foam board, expanding •foam, caulk and fire rated material to seal penetrations to the extent necessary

Provide certificate of improvement using Blower Door •test

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appliance replacementBenefits of Buying New AppliancesWhen buying an appliance, remember that it has two price tags: what you pay to take it home and what you pay for the energy and water it uses. Look for Energy Star qualified appliances - they use 10-50% less energy and water than standard models. The money you save on your utility bills can more than make up for the cost of a less expensive and less efficient model.


Replacing your refrigerator will save you money on your utility bills.

Energy Star qyuality appliances use 10-50% less energy and water than standard models.

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SavingsAnnual Dollars$7-$11

Lifetime Dollars$90-$150

kWh

CO2

CostEst. Purchase Price$280-$480

Annual Energy Cost$150-$180

Current Dimensions42”H x 34”W x 29”D

40-60 kWh/yr

40-70 lbs/yr

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refrigeratorReplace your old refrigerator with a new, energy-efficient model and you could save up to $1,200 over the life of the new machine.


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Lifetime Dollars$700-$1,200

kWh

CO2

CostEst. Purchase Price$900-$1,600


Current Dimensions70”H x 35.5”W x 32”D

washerReplace your old washing machine with a new, energy-efficient model and you could save up to $610 over the life of the new machine.

dryerReplace your old clothes dryer with a new, energy-efficient model and you could save up to $100 over the life of the new machine.

200-330 kWh/yr

220-360 lbs/yr


Lifetime Dollars$370-$610

Water

Gas (therms)

CO2

CostEst. Purchase Price$500-$900


Annual Water Cost$16-$20

Current Dimensions42”H x 34”W x 29”D

5,900-9,900 gal/yr

17-28 therms/yr

200-330 lbs/yr

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lighting upgradeBenefits of a Lighting Upgrade

Lighting can make up a significant portion of a home’s electricity consumption•

The utilities tiered pricing structure allows major gains from electricity reduction•

Best results achieved with complete retrofit•


The blue areas in this thermal scan show air leaks and a lack of proper insulation around your can lights.

Properly insulated and sealed can lights will prevent significant energy waste.

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wall insulationBenefits Of Wall Insulation

Increased energy savings through reduced heat loss •with R-3.6 per inch or greater

Reduced noise and vibration transmission from outside•

What to Expect

Floor and furniture covered and protected as required•

2-3 vertical holes drilled in each stud bay•

Exterior wall cavities filled with insulation to •manufacturers specified density

Holes plugged with rough patch (texture and paint not •included)


Missing wall insulation in your house

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duct replacementResults of Your Home Energy AuditRogers Residence15 October 2009

Before: A disconnected duct in your house

Benefits of Duct Replacement

Dramatically increases indoor air quality by eliminating •return air leakage

Increases comfort through properly designed air •distribution to each room

Increases efficiency by reducing duct leakage and static •pressure

Exisiting ductwork completely removed and disposed of •or recycled

What to Expect

Recurve Triple Sealing Technology uses water based, •low VOC mastic

Ducts designed to meet specifications of ACCA manuals •J,D, and T

Install wireflex or KD duct work•

Target duct leakage is less than 6% where all ducts are •accessible

After: Triple sealed wireflex duct work

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every day energy saversResults of Your Home Energy AuditRogers Residence15 October 2009

Clean or Replace HVAC Filters

If your HVAC system is trying to circulate air •through dirty filters, it works harder and costs you more to heat or cool your home.

Changing or cleaning filters monthly – or at least •every three months – will make it easier on your heating and cooling system and will even make the air in your home cleaner and healthier for your family.

Also, don’t ignore HVAC system maintenance. •Servicing your heating and cooling system every one or two years can cut your bills by 3% to 10%.

Replace Incandescent Bulbs with CFLs:

Standard incandescent light bulbs use more than •90% of their energy to generate heat, not light.

An ENERGY STAR compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) •is the most energy-efficient of all light bulbs, using 75% less energy and lasting up to 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.

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Replacing an incandescent bulb with a CFL can •save about $30 or more in electricity costs over the bulb’s lifetime.

Use Power Strips

Even when they are turned “off,” many products •are still using energy.

Plug all of these devices into power strips or surge •protectors, and when not in use, simply flip the switch on each strip to deactivate everything at once.

Install Timers

A timer can cut back on energy costs by turning •your electrical devices off at a predetermined time.

Much like a power strip, a timer can help also help •eliminate phantom energy, which accounts for 5% of your annual energy usage. Instead of going into a standby mode, your devices are completely powered down when controlled by a timer.

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every day energy savers (continued)


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Install Low-flow Shower Heads and Aerators

Low-Flow Shower Heads•

A low-flow showerhead uses about 2.5 gallons of •water per minute (GPM) as opposed to 6 GPM from old showerheads.

That means you can save 35 gallons of water •during a 10-minute shower, which saves your furnace from heating more water, too.

Aerators

Installing a low-flow aerator on your kitchen faucet •also reduces water use greatly (faucets made after 1994 already have these).

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weekend projectsResults of Your Home Energy AuditRogers Residence15 October 2009

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Install a programmable thermostat❑q

Install an energy star qualified ceiling fan❑q

Install dimmer switches ❑q

Install motion sensors❑q

Install energy star qualified lighting fixtures❑q

Install a watersense toilet❑q

Install a watersense faucet❑q

Insulate your water heater and wrap hot water pipes – water❑q

Find and seal airleaks around doors, windows, and baseboards❑q

Install insulating window treatments❑q

recurve home energy audit report

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