Sample Report

In-Home Energy Survey Report

www.ecompass.com

In 2008, the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) adopted the first ever national standard for the performance of energy audits on existing homes. Almost at the same time, the Obama administration, the Senate and the House of Representatives are in agreement that a primary path for decreasing the energy use of our existing homes and businesses is through the application of energy efficiency upgrades. On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the 2009 stimulus bill (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) that made significant changes to the energy efficiency tax credits. The highlights of these changes are: • • • •

The tax credits that were previously effective for 2009, have been extended to 2010. The tax credit percentage has been raised from 10% to 30%. The tax credits that were for a specific dollar amount (ex $300 for a CAC) have been converted to 30% of the cost. The maximum credit has been raised from $500 to $1500 for 2009 and 2010. However, some improvements such as geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters, and solar panels are not subject to the $1,500 maximum credit.

In addition, the US Department of Energy has announced that 5 billion dollars has been allocated for the Weatherization Assistance Program. This money will be used to insulate, seal leaks, or modernize heating and air conditioning equipment for low-income families “at a cost of up to $6,500 per home.” The assistance is for families making up to approximately $44,000 per year in the lower 48 states, $55,140 per year in Alaska, and $50,720 per year in Hawaii. • • • • • • •

There has never been a better time to improve the energy efficiency of your home. There are numerous issues we are dealing with as a nation: The nation cannot address its energy and environmental issues without improving the energy performance of buildings. According to the Energy Information Agency 70% of all electricity consumed in the U.S. is from buildings (36% from residential buildings). 39% of carbon emissions in the U.S. comes from buildings (21% from residential buildings). The International Energy Agency reported that improving the energy performance of buildings represents the most cost effective strategy for reducing carbon emissions. “If every American household replaces light bulbs in their five most frequently used fixtures with ENERGY STAR compact fluorescent bulbs, we could save more than $8 billion in annual energy costs and prevent greenhouse gasses equal to the emissions of more than 10-million cars.” Lynn Clement of Focus on Energy The EPA estimates that more than 1.25 trillion gallons of water, which would equal the annual combined water use of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami, leaks from US homes each year.

Your home works as a system of interacting components. An energy survey considers the interaction of these components and seeks to provide a combination of improvements that maximize the energy savings for you the homeowner. As such, I recommend concentrating on sealing of the heat and air system and ducts first, air sealing between the house and the attic second, adding insulation third, and then considering what other improvements you want to make after that. I can help you find contractors to perform the energy efficiency upgrades on your house. Sincerely,

Inspection Date: 4/4/2004

Inspection Time:

6:30 p.m.

Name:

Ms. Bob

Home Owner Concerns:

Address:

123 Easy Street

Wasting too much money on utilities

Oklahoma City Home Phone:

405-946-0206

Cell Phone:

405-946-0206

Fax:

405-649-0205

OK

73132

Email: Year Built:

1959

Square Feet: 4500

Climate Zone:

4

Volume:

CFM50:

0

0

COMPONENTS Exterior Brick:

Yes

Wall Construction:

Wood

Exterior Rock:

No

Cantilever Floor:

Yes

Exterior Siding:

None

Laundry Faucets:

7

Slab:

Yes

Lavatory Faucets:

8

Crawl Space:

No

Kitchen Faucets:

9

Basement:

Unconditioned

Floors:

1

Bath Exhaust:

Yes

Condensation:

Yes

Bath Exhaust Outside:

No

Condensation Location:

Kitchen Exhaust:

Yes

Kitchen Exhaust Outside:

No

123456789012345678901234567890123456789 0

Attic Insulation R-Value:

5

Attic Insulation Type:

Fiberglass

Wall Insulation R-Value:

6

Wall Insulation Type:

None

ATTIC INSPECTION

Framed Floor Insulation R-Value: 7

Framed Floor Insulation Type: Fiberglass

Furrdowns Sealed?:

No

Floor Joists Blocked?:

No

Fireplace Sealed?:

No

Plate Penetrations Sealed?:

Hot Walls Backed?:

No

Kneewalls Backed?:

No

Skylights Insulated?:

Yes

Skylights Backed?:

No

Chases Needing Sealing:

4

Attic Doors Needing Sealing: 3

Ventilation 1:300:

No

Chimney Blockage?:

Vent Type:

Passive

Yes

No

LIGHTS, WINDOWS, DOORS # of Unsealed Can Lights: 8

# of Incandescent Bulbs:

7

# of Other Hard Wired Light Fixtures: 6

# of Light Fixtures Eligible for CFL:

5

# of Windows Not Low E:

4

Window Frame:

Wood

Window Type:

Single

# of Exterior Doors Needing Sealing:

3

Refrigerator Age:

1

Refrigerator Efficiency:

7

Freezer Age:

2

Freezer Efficiency:

6

Dishwasher Age:

3

Dishwasher Efficiency:

5

Clothes Washer Age:

4

Clothes Washer Efficiency:

4

Clothes Dryer Age:

20

Clothes Dryer Efficiency:

3

Trash Compactor Age:

6

Trash Compactor Efficiency:

2

Microwave Age:

7

Microwave Efficiency:

1

APPLIANCES

MISCELLANEOUS Utility Bills Requested:

Yes

Was Rater Referred:

Yes

Name of Referred Rater:

x

Comments: z

LIGHTS, WINDOWS, DOORS # of Unsealed Can Lights: 8

# of Incandescent Bulbs:

7

# of Other Hard Wired Light Fixtures: 6

# of Light Fixtures Eligible for CFL:

5

# of Windows Not Low E:

4

Window Frame:

Wood

Window Type:

Single

# of Exterior Doors Needing Sealing:

3

Refrigerator Age:

1

Refrigerator Efficiency:

7

Freezer Age:

2

Freezer Efficiency:

6

Dishwasher Age:

3

Dishwasher Efficiency:

5

Clothes Washer Age:

4

Clothes Washer Efficiency:

4

Clothes Dryer Age:

20

Clothes Dryer Efficiency:

3

Trash Compactor Age:

6

Trash Compactor Efficiency:

2

Microwave Age:

7

Microwave Efficiency:

1

APPLIANCES

MISCELLANEOUS Utility Bills Requested:

Yes

Was Rater Referred:

Yes

Name of Referred Rater:

x

Comments: z

Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning

System Number:

Heating Unit Model:

Heating Unit Make:

Heating Unit Type:

Boiler

Condenser Make:

Heating Fuel Type:

4

Propane

Heating Efficiency:

Condenser Tonnage:

0

Condenser Model:

End of Lifecycle?:

Yes

Cooling Efficiency:

Mechanical Ventilation?:

No

Location:

1st Floor

Unit Orientation:

N/A

Combustion Air Provided?:

No

Unit Type:

Upflow

Condition of Exhaust Air Vent: Good

Duct System Sealed:

No

Duct Location:

Conditioned

Duct Insulation R-Value:

0

Duct Type:

Flex

Air Filters Clean?:

No

Evidence of Flame Rollout?: Yes

CFM25:

0

Heating Unit in Conditioned Space?: No

Recommendations for Energy Efficiency Improvements Condensation There is evidence of condensation in your home. This can result in potential health problems from fungal growth and issues with deteriorization of building components. Insulation Your house has insufficient insulation for your climate zone according to DOE recommendations. Furrdowns There are furrdowns in your home that allow for the introduction of attic air into wall cavities or air from the house escaping into the attic. These openings need to be sealed. Floor Joists The floor joists between the first and second floors are open to the attic allowing attic air into the cavity between the floors. These areas need to be blocked and air sealed. Fireplace The area above the fireplace is not sealed and attic air can enter this cavity and enter the house or conditioned air from the house can escape into the space. This is an area that needs to be air sealed. Plate Penetrations Plumbers, electricians, and heat and air contractors drill holes in the top wood plates of the walls for gas lines, wiring, refrigerant lines, and other components. These penetrations allow air into or out of the wall cavities and the house. All such areas need to be sealed along with the areas between the top wood plates and the drywall. Ventilation Current building codes call for 1 cubic foot of net free attic ventilation per 300 square feet of attic floor. Your house does not meet these requirements. Hot Walls / Knee Walls These walls are defined as having living space on one side and attic on the other. Without some type of backing to cover the insulation in these walls, the actual R-value of the insulation is only half the installed value. Backing should be added to all these areas. Skylight Your home has skylights that have shafts. These areas should be insulated and backing added over the insulation for maximum energy efficiency.

Recommendations for Energy Efficiency Improvements Chases A chase is an area that contains a duct or other HVAC component and is open to the attic allowing for air gain from the attic or loss from the house. This opening will need to be sealed. Attic Doors The attic access door or hatch inside the conditioned space is not air sealed. A door will need a threshold and weatherstripping added. A hatch will need to have a gasket added for air sealing. If the hatch is not insulated, insulation should be added to the back of the board or a manufactured, insulated access installed. Chimney Blockage My findings suggest there is some type of chimney blockage that needs to be addressed to insure correct drafting is occurring during use. Unsealed Can Lights Unsealed can lights should be covered to stop air movement between conditioned and unconditioned spaces. Incandescent Bulbs Replacing your incandescent bulbs with CFLs will therefore cut your lighting bill by 75%. Windows Replacement windows, though they will help with energy costs, are usually expensive. Other considerations are storm windows, solar screens, solar films, blinds and curtains. Exterior Doors There are doors leading from the house to the outside and need to have the threshold and the weatherstripping replaced or added. Duct System Your heat and air system is not sealed allowing air from the surrounding area to enter the air stream or air from the system to escape to the area containing your ducts.

Recommendations for Energy Efficiency Improvements HVAC Equipment Since your heat and air equipment is approaching the end of its usable life, you may want to consider new HVAC units. You will want to find a licensed HVAC contractor that is experienced with industry standards for properly sizing the equipment, sealing the duct system, installing to correct refrigerant charge and insuring there is proper airflow throughout the house based on load calculations. Filters The filter(s) in your HVAC system are dirty and need to be changed. Clogged filters can decrease the amount of air going through the HVAC system creating comfort problems in the house and cost you considerable money in utility bills. Combustion Air The air needed for the combustion process in your furnace is being taken from the conditioned space. Current building codes require this air come from the outside because of health and safety concerns. This problem needs to be reviewed by a licensed heat and air contractor. Appliances Twenty-year-old appliances use almost 4 times the energy of newer ones. You should consider replacing older appliances as you can. Refrigerators typically consume more energy than other household appliances. Consider a unit with the freezer at the top or the bottom for energy efficiency purposes and use one larger one instead of two smaller ones. Most appliances today can be found having the ENERGY STAR Label on them, which indicates the most efficient models. Utility Bills An analysis of your utility bills can be done separately from this report should you desire. The analysis will provide you with an estimate of the baseline energy use of your home along with estimates of average monthly heating and cooling costs.

Recommendations for Energy Efficiency Improvements Other Surveys There are two other energy surveys available to you should you want a more in-depth audit. The Diagnostic Home Energy Survey may include some diagnostic testing such as a blower door, duct leakage testing, or infrared scans and includes a far more in-depth, prioritized report to help you better choose the order of the steps for the energy upgrades on your house. The Comprehensive Home Energy Audit is even more detailed. The Comprehensive Audit includes an evaluation, performance testing and proposed treatments for improvement of an existing home. The evaluation will include a review of the data collected from any previous energy audit or survey, any further required measurement and performance testing, combustion appliance testing, and a computerized simulation analysis of the home's energy performance along with a calculation of the energy and environmental savings from improving the energy performance of the home. The performance analysis will also determine a scope of work for the home. I can recommend people to perform either of these surveys should you desire either course of action. In addition, I would be happy to help you find experienced contractors to perform any energy upgrades you are considering. You can also find HERS Certified Raters listed by state on the RESNET website at www.resnet.us.