How It All Works?   What Is An Energy Audit?    What Is Retrofitting?

After walking around the exterior of your home and taking a quick tour of the inside, we close up all of the intentional openings, like doors, windows, chimneys and vents. Then we'll open up an outside door and put together a temporary canvas door and install the calibrated variable speed electric blower. This fan is started and we bring the building down to .20 inches of water column pressure or 50 pascals. This creates a simple calibrated "negative" pressure inside the home. With computerized instruments we can ascertain the volume of air that is flowing through your home. This calculation will evaluate just how "leaky" your home actually is. While the fan is operating and your home is in a state of negative pressure, the cold outside air is infiltrating into your home through cracks, openings, door and window frames and dozens of other places that you would never imagine. With powerful infrared thermal and digital cameras in hand we walk through your home and capture thermal images of all these "air leaks". In the sample photos below - you can actually see the cold air (shown as blue). All of these photos are built into a nice report which is basically your "to do list" for retrofitting your home. Also during the audit we will identify areas of your home that may be lacking insulation or needing upgrades ie: Infrared Energy Inspection

What is retrofitting? - Retrofitting a house is simply upgrading it so that it will keep the heat in. This means adding insulation, caulking and weatherstripping, improving or replacing windows and doors, and improving the heating system. Retrofitting also means including energy-efficiency measures in all your renovation and repair activities. In our climate, retrofitting usually makes a lot of sense.

Why Retrofit?   - 4 simple reasons:     Energy Efficiency - Perhaps most important, retrofitting a home costs less than producing new energy supplies to heat it. Fully 15 percent of America´s annual energy use is to heat our homes, and this energy comes mostly from non-renewable resources such as oil and gas. Comfort - A well-insulated, air-sealed house is a comfortable home. An insulated, tighter house is also a much quieter house, and there is less dust and pollen to worry about. A Sound House - By considering energy efficiency as part of your home´s maintenance and repair, your house will be in better shape. And by improving your home´s air and moisture control, your retrofit work should last longer and look better. Save Money - Improving your home´s energy efficiency is one of the best investments you can make, paying tax-free dividends immediately in the form of lower heating costs. Home insulation is better than just about any other low-risk, long-term investment you can make.

How Much Energy Can I Save? - After an energy audit and retrofitting most home owners report a savings of anywhere from 20-50% on their home heating costs. The average savings is around 27%.