Myths of Energy
BUILDERS/CONTRACTORS
"My builder is an experienced licensed contractor so my house will be built right"
Though your builder or architect may be licensed
and very
experienced, they do not approach plan design, home construction or
remodeling with
building science and a whole house approach. Homes are built to
inferior thermal, ventilation, and HVAC standards because of lack of
knowledge, supervision, or profit driven agendas. Even home design
plans whether off the shelf or developed by a licensed architect do not
always incorporate energy efficient design or with a coordination of
trades developed and should be addressed.
See Environmental Energy Consultants
WINDOWS
"Replacing old windows will save energy costs and has a good payback"
Replacing old single-pane windows with new double-pane low-e units certainly saves energy. But the cost is so high, and the amount of energy saved is so low, window replacement is almost never cost-effective. Depending on the climate and the window cost, the payback period for replacement windows can be as long as 20 or 30 years.
According to calculations, installing new double-pane low-e windows in a typical 2,000-square-foot single-story house that previously had single-pane units will result in annual energy savings of between $125 and $340. If the old windows had storm windows, the savings drop to $20 to $70 per year. Exact savings may vary, but anyone who expects window replacement to have an energy payback needs to be prepared for a very long wait.
The most cost-effective window retrofit measure in most cases is to rehab the existing wood double hung window with weather stripping, the removal of counter weights, installing vinyl tracks, insulate the weight pocket, and/or the installation of low-e storm windows. According to a recent study, the payback period for installing low-e storm windows on older homes averaged just 4.3 years.
INSULATION
"Adding insulation to my house means Energy Savings"
This advice doesn't give you
the entire picture. The building shell or "envelope" is intended to
separate the inside from the outside. This envelope has two important
layers that have to be installed correctly. The first layer is the air
or pressure barrier. This layer is typically never installed air tight
even on new construction. Common examples include holes left around
plumbing fixtures, electrical connections, heating and cooling ducts,
or house wrap improperly installed. The next layer is the thermal or
insulation layer. This also has to be installed correctly and
consistently to be effective. Due to installers/builders not
understanding air movement and its affect on energy bills or because
economics takes precedence over efficiency, improperly installed,
inferior insulation is often installed by contractors or
builders/contractors.
See Environmental Energy Consultants
VENTILATION
"A House Needs to Breathe"
PEOPLE NEED TO BREATHE! Most homes in America have so much uncontrolled air infiltration that when added up is the equivalent of an open window all year! Uncontrolled ventilation is entering our homes from often the worst air quality places we have, crawlspaces, attics, garages, etc.. Building science agrees that humans need good indoor air quality to be healthy. The goal is to eliminate all the bad sources of air and create a new predictable, controlled, quality air source. This is commonly accomplished with Energy Recovery Ventilators or ERVs, which can mechanically provide fresh air while saving and recycling energy spent on the conditioned outgoing air.
Controlling moisture in and out of the home is another major concern and must be addressed with proper controlled ventilation, sealing uncontrolled air leakage, and correctly installed house wraps.
HVAC ZONING
"Closing off registers in unused rooms of the home can save energy"
While this seems like a logical concept it actually ends up wasting more energy. The main reason for this is most homes’ heating and cooling ducts are located in outdoor spaces - attics, unconditioned basements, wall cavities, or crawlspaces. Air ducts in our homes typically lose 20% - 50% of their conditioned air before making it into the interiors of our homes due to poor craftsmanship. This means the at least $0.20 to $0.50 of every dollar spent on heating and cooling bills is lost due to this installation flaw. When a register in an unused room is closed off it puts a back pressure on the ductwork in those outdoor locations which increases the air leakage that much more since it can no longer get inside through the register and causes other rooms to possibly be positively pressurized pushing conditioned air through envelope deficiencies. The idea when closing registers is called Zoning. This concept has to be engineered during the heating and cooling system design. The idea is that the ducts are designed so that certain zones in the home may have different heating or cooling requirements than others. For example, the extra bedrooms that don't get used regularly could be zoned to a cooler temperature in the winter while the main rooms are maintained at a comfortable temperature.
UNVENTED GAS APPLIANCES
“Unvented combustible gas Heaters/Fireplaces are Safe!"
Unvented combustible gas heaters/fireplaces are NEVER safe!
Read
the instructions that came with any unvented appliance or fireplace and
you will find a startling disclaimer ."This appliance should never be
operated in a confined space, adequate ventilation must be provided”.
If there is no vent to the outside the entire house is the vent! That
means that all byproducts of combustion which include moisture and
carbon monoxide are inside with you! We typically worry about
fuel-fired devices such as furnaces, boilers, and water heaters
back drafting this deadly gas into our homes. In the case of the
unvented appliances there is no question that this is happening the entire
time that combustion occurs. The major side effects of unvented appliances are
excess moisture in the home typically leading to mold or mildew
problems and dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. CO can cause
sickness usually mistaken as the flu and even death when exposed to
large doses.
ENERGY AUDIT
"Energy Audits are too Expensive"
The average energy audit today can range from Free to $600. The important thing to understand is you normally get what you pay for. For years utility companies have given audits away for free but the results have been meager at best because they barely skim the issue. While they might give advice on using compact fluorescent lights, (which is good advice), they never look at the home with the "Whole House Approach" This term basically describes "Building Science". It refers to considering the entire home as a system that has many interrelated parts instead of merely looking at single components like lighting, appliances, insulation, or heating systems. Energy auditors have tools that allow them to look inside your home like never before. Thermal Imaging cameras peer into opaque walls to see air and heat movement while advanced pressure diagnostic tools measure the exact air leakage in the building's shell and ductwork. Modeling software can prioritize upgrades and give return on investment calculations. These tools take the guesswork out of home improvement. (IF YOU'RE NOT TESTING, YOU'RE JUST GUESSING)
As far as the cost of the audit, one must consider what the outcome could be.
A recommended Quantitative Energy Audit utilizes a combination of a BPI Certified Building Analyst Professionals experience, building diagnostic equipment including a Blower Door, Duct Blaster, Thermal Imaging Camera, Combustion Gas Analyzer, and Building Modeling Software. Utilizing all the tools available allows an experienced Energy Auditor to consider all current building components, design, characteristics, diagnostic results, and energy costs along with recommended upgrades to model future energy costs, efficiencies, health issues and return on investment of recommended upgrades.
AN Environmental Energy Consultants ENERGY AUDIT IS 100% MISSOURI TAX DEDUCTIBLE AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES RECOMMENDED BY Environmental Energy Consultants MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR MISSOURI TAX DEDUCTIONS, FEDERAL TAX CREDITS, UTILITY REBATES, AND/OR LOAN PROGRAMS.Link
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