The second step is the actual audit. First, we review the homeowner’s goals and objectives. Next, we tour the home and put it into winter mode. We close all of the windows and turn on all exhaust fans. The goal of this step is to depressurize the combustion zone, thereby setting up a worst case… Read more »
Month: August 2013
What Can You Expect With an Energy Audit? Part 3
The third energy audit step is an optional data review with the homeowner. If the homeowner wants for the costs to be broken down quantitatively, then the information will be loaded into the computer and we will subsequently break it down, with approximate savings in dollars placed upon each of the upgrades, in order to… Read more »
What Can You Expect With an Energy Audit? Part 4 and Conclusion
Finally, after the audit, data review and initial air sealing are performed, the next step is a final test. After air sealing, another test should be done in order to confirm the effectiveness of the work performed, and to assure that there is still enough air flow for the intake of fresh air. It is… Read more »
Winterizing
Winter is coming. It creeps into our bones and invades our lungs with its icy blasts. But we have come to expect it. It does, after all, happen every year. But do we ever really prepare for it that well? Do we prepare at all? Here’s where an energy audit can truly help. Do you… Read more »
Recovery Through Retrofit: Saving Homeowners Money — Part I
In 2009, Vice President Joe Biden asked the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to develop a proposal for Federal action to increase energy savings by improving home energy efficiency. This resulted in the Recovery Through Retrofit report, released in October of that year. The report identified access issues when it came to homeowners… Read more »
Recovery Through Retrofit: Saving Homeowners Money — Part II
The Recovery Through Retrofit report of October, 2009 identified key factors preventing the growth of the home energy retrofit market. One of that report’s achievements was the creation of a Home Energy score. So, what’s a Home Energy Score? The Department of Energy, with the support of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of… Read more »
Recovery Through Retrofit: Saving Homeowners Money — Part III
The Recovery Through Retrofit report of October, 2009 identified key factors preventing the growth of the home energy retrofit market. One of that report’s achievements was to help generate more and better financing options for energy-saving home improvements. One of these areas is PowerSaver Loans. The FHA PowerSaver is a new financing option, developed by the… Read more »
The Best Energy Improvement if You Want to Sell Your Home in Five Years
Essentially, the answer to this question requires some knowledge about the home. Since every home is so different (in size, age and in the improvements that have been made on it since it was initially constructed, to name but three important factors), the particular home’s specific issues would need to be defined first. Be that… Read more »
Our Qualifications
Russell Cole is a Certified Energy Auditor with an interesting background. A graduate of both Case Western Reserve University (MBA) and Northeastern University (BS in Mechanical Engineering), Russ is dedicated to educating himself on all matters relating to home energy audits and energy savings, and is driven by a need to improve quality, productivity and… Read more »
The Best Improvements for any Age Home
What is best all depends on how the home was built and which improvements been made since then. Homes that are only a few years old usually need air sealing. But older homes — and in New England, homes can be over one hundred years old — often need improvements in their insulation. However, past… Read more »