The air tightness of the home’s envelope was evaluated with a blower door and infrared camera and found to be 5.5 ACH (Air Changes per Hour).  This overall air tightness was within acceptable standards even for new ENERGY STAR homes, though some areas are still of concern and are outlined below.

ENVELOPE FINDINGS

I.      Attic Insulation

Attic insulation was missing in two separate hallway areas.  Blown cellulose covered the remaining attic areas and appeared to be in sufficient condition for most of the area, though some areas were not R-30.  Recommend, having cellulose blown into void areas and the rest of the attic ‘topped’ off to R-30.

Use of a radiant barrier could greatly improve the efficiency of the attic insulation by reflecting over 97% of the heat either back into the attic or into the living space, depending on the season.  It should also wrap the attic side of all exposed knee walls.  The radiant barrier chosen should be perforated to allow moisture to escape.

II.      Attic Chase

The fire place chase had been opened from the attic.  It appeared the gypsum draft blocking board had been damaged and fallen into the chase.  This leaves the area directly above and behind the fireplace open to the attic with no insulation.  Recommend ‘capping’ chase at top by reattaching gypsum board, and then insulating on top of that.

III.      Recessed ‘Can’ Lighting

A common area for heat loss to occur is at recessed lighting receptacles.  Heat can be lost both through the can light itself and by going around it.  To address the heat lost through the can light itself, ICAT (In Contact Air Tight) lights should be used and by adding a gasket or even caulk to make a seal to the drywall, we can address the bypass around the can lights.

IV.      Crawlspace Insulation

Some of the insulation in the crawl space was falling down and thus not serving its function.  Recommend for the insulation to be ‘re-hung’ in order to maintain contact with the subfloor above.  All the insulation in the floor system should be ‘tightened up’ by using more wire stays.

Though minimal, some evidence of mold was found on framing members and insulation in crawl space. It appeared to be heaviest near vents, suggesting that it is from condensation.  Recommend having qualified mold / mildew remediation expert evaluate the conditions, and possibly sealing the crawl space.  Specifications for such undertakings are outside the scope of this report.

V.      Wall Insulation

The insulation in the walls appeared to be functional and is not commented on further.  The knee walls however did have room for improvement.  Knee walls for our purposes can be defined as vertical wall with conditioned space on one side and attic space on the other.  All of the attic knee walls exposed in the attic have no exterior sheathing, thus not encapsulating the insulation.  This is a requirement for ENERGY STAR homes as significant improvements are made when wall insulation has a six sided enclosure. 

Recommend having a perforated radiant barrier installed on the attic side to encapsulate the insulation as well as stop radiant heat transfer.

VI.      Windows

The windows appeared to be double pane aluminum clad windows and functioning well.  It is hard to determine the efficiency of the windows at this point.  It is not likely a cost effective option to replace the windows at this point, but if it were to be considered, we recommend using Low –E double pane with either vinyl or wood clad to get as low of a U-factor and SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient) as possible. 

We recommend considering a window film with a low SHGC to keep heat from coming in through sunlight for all exposed east, west, and south windows.

The picture below illustrates common areas of thermal bypass.

HVAC EQUIPMENT

The HVAC equipment appeared to be 10-11 SEER though the model numbers are out of date and could not be verified.  The ductwork was sealed with duct tape and this is no longer an acceptable means of duct sealing.  The tape appeared to be beginning to fail in a number of locations in the attic.  We recommend using a bucket based mastic to seal all ductwork as tape fails over time. 

HOT WATER HEATER

The hot water heaters appeared to be in good shape and are not commented on other than if one or both should fail; please consider replacing with a tank-less water heater in the future.

LIGHTS AND APPLIANCES

Lighting and appliances often are the largest consumers of our electricity and can account for up to 50% or the total energy consumption.  For this reason we strongly recommend using ENERGY STAR certified lighting and appliances whenever buying new.  Consider replacing older lights and appliances with new ENERGY STAR models.

Lighting

In typical homes, lighting accounts for about 20% of the electrical bill.  Replace incandescent lighting with either compact fluorescent or LED lighting. 

Appliances

Use of two refrigerators and one full size freezer will also impact energy use.  New ENERGY STAR rated refrigerators use 40% less energy than new models sold in 2001!

Also consider use of a power regulator ‘whole house energy system’ to reduce your overall electric load.  Savings can be between 8-25%.  The electric draw on the meter is offset by using electricity stored in capacitors collected from waste energy in our power grid.