News and Tips

  • Not All ‘Energy Audits’ are Created Equal

    It is happy news that more and more people are choosing to order an energy audit of their home. By correcting issues identified in the course of an audit, homeowners can save a lot of money on utility bills while also improving the comfort of their homes and reducing their carbon footprint.

    Unfortunately, with the popularity of energy audits comes the potential for deception. Nothing has energized this potential as much as the new Missouri Senate Bill authorizing income tax deductions for energy audits and related improvements.

    While the bill clearly states that audits must be performed by an individual certified by the State of Missouri to perform Home Energy Audits, that has not stopped unqualified people from hopping on the bandwagon.

    Here are a few tips for selecting an auditor for your home…

    1) Make sure they are certified by the State Of Missouri. This certification assures you of two big things…

    • That the individual has extensive training in building science and has passed written and field tests.

    • That the work performed will be eligible for a tax dedeuction.

    2) Make sure that the energy auditor will be performing a "full" audit of your home. Just because they have a certification doesn't mean that they will use all of the tools and invest all of the time necessary to give you the full value of an audit.

                                                                  Blower Door_Small

    Ask if the auditor will be conducting a "Blower Door" test. This test is required under the protocol endorsed by the state and is an important part of getting a good result. If the auditor does not intend to employ a blower door then you are not getting a 
    complete energy audit. 

    Eave_heat_loss_7

    Ask if the auditor will will using a thermal imaging camera. While not required under the Missouri protocol, thermal imaging is a huge "value added" procedure that helps the auditor provide you with the most specific and valid information.

    IMG_1971 Ask if the auditor will be conducting a combustion safety test. Required by the state protocol, a combustion safety test assure you that your combustion appliances (furnace, water heater, etc) are venting their exhaust gases properly to keep your family safe.

    Also, ask how much experience the auditor has.  While training and testing is important, experience is also a key factor. You really want to find someone that has completed at least 25 or 30 audits to make sure they have adequate field experience.

    Or, just call Home Green Home. Our auditors are certified by the state and by the Building Performance Institute. Also, we're members of the federal government's "Home Performance with Energy Star" program and also partner with the Missouri Botanical Garden's Earthways Center.

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  • Do you have as much insulation as you think you do?

    We all know that having an adequate amount of insulation installed in our home's attic is an important element of conserving energy and reducing energy bills.

    For the most part however, we don't have a way of assessing what we have. And even for the few brave souls that do pop their heads up into the attic, we don't always know what to look for.

    The first step is a simple assessment of quantity. Because insulation functions as a blanket to resist the transfer of heat, you'll want to make sure the blanket is thick enough.  For the St. Louis, Missouri area that amount would probably look like 12-15 inches.

    The more important (and less appreciated) measurement is to carefully inspect every foot of the attic to make sure the insulation is sporead evenly and to determine if any areas have gaps or missing insulation.

    While you might think that covering 98% of your attic perfectly while leaving only 2% exposed would yield you a 98% effective job, the surprising truth is that 98% coverage yields only 58% performance (according to generally accepted building science standards and as reported in 'Fine Homebuilding Magazine').

    Shockingly, leaving just 1/2 of 1% of your attic uninsulated reduces the value of your insulation by 16%.

    So, when you're thinking about insulation, don't just look for a lot of it, but make sure it is meticulously installed.

    Or just call us… that's what we do!

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  • Every House Needs An Energy Audit….

    But don't take our word for it!

    There is a great article in this month's "Fine Homebuilding" magazine titled "Every House Needs An Energy Audit."

    Energy Audit_Fine Homebuilding

    The author does a good job explaining the tools and techniques used in the audit process including blower door test, thermal imaging cameras and combustion analyzers.

    With his declaration that "most experts agree that air infiltration is the No. 1 cause of energy loss in any house", author Jefferson Cole trumpets what we have known to be true since the day we started…

    If you can find and fix the pathways that air follows to leak into and out of your house, then you can dramatically reduce the energy consumption of your home.

    For too many years, homeowners (often aided by aggressive salesmen) have invested in the belief that insulation and windows were the key to energy efficiency.  But today's body of building science knowledge prove that is not necessarily true.

    The reality is that although windows and insulation both slow the transfer of heat, the bigger culprit is the massive loss of conditioned air that escapes through recessed lights, leaking wall construction, and the many cracks and crevices throughout your house.

    Give us a call. Using advanced diagnostic tools just like those featured in the magazine article, we'll find your leaks and fix them. Your wallet and the earth will be appreciative of the effort.

    Marc Bluestone

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  • NEW!!! Tax Incentives for Energy Efficiency Upgrades!

    It is no secret that the services we provide save money.

    Many customers report saving 20-30%, some even more than 40% off their home's energy consumption for heating and cooling after having an energy audit and making the recommended improvements.

    That's pretty good (to say the least)!

    But good has just gotten even better now that the Federal Government has annouced TAX CREDITS for Energy Efficiency Upgrades.

    These credits apply to upgrading HVAC systems and windows.  Most important, you can get the credits for installing air sealing and additional insulation.  Learn about these new tax credits by clicking here.

    Please feel free to give us a call at 314-644-1570.  We'd love to help you explore ways to lower your utility bills.

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  • Save The Date!

    EWC_green-homes-logo_08 The "Missouri Botanical Gardens" and the "Missouri Coalition for the Environment" are organizing the 2008 Green Homes & Renewable Energy Festival.

    The festival is being held on September 27 at Grandel Square (Mid-Town near the Fox) from 10am - 6pm. Additionally, there is a Green House Tour being held throughout St. Louis on Sunday September 28 from 11am – 4pm.

    The festival will feature dozens of vendor displays from all different kinds of green related organizations, vendors & kids activities.

    Additionally, workshops & presentations will occur throughout the day covering a range of topics like solar and wind energy, home and vehicle efficiency, urban farming, composting, recycling, and more. Participants can attend multiple workshops for only $5.

    This festival represents a great opportunity to learn about the many advancements and opportunities for reducing the environmental impact of your lifestyle.

    Much more information can be obtained by visiting the festival website at http://www.greenhomesstlouis.org/index.html.

    We hope to see you there!

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  • A Wind Tunnel… in my kitchen wall?

    Kitchen Interior Wall IR The photo to the left is a thermal image of an ordinary kitchen wall.

    The dark blue box at the bottom of the photo is the top of the kitchen cabinets. The red is hot attic air running through the wall down to the basement.

    The wall is enclosing a "vent chase" which is where the exhaust for the furnace and hot water heater run up and out of the house.

    As is common in many homes, the vent chase was left open to the attic and the basement when the house was built.

    It should have been sealed, but that was almost never done until a few years ago. Even today, it's a detail that most builders miss.

    The affect of this inattention to detail is a "wind tunnel" of super hot or cold attic air (dirty, too) that can be drawn into the house by the furnace. Other times, heated or cooled air can escape into the attic.

    Either way, you lose conditioned air and must spend money to cool or heat the replacement air.

    At Home Green Home, we see one of our major rolls as being a "house detective" to figure out how air is moving and how energy is wasted. We then recommend and install the required fixes resulting in reduced energy use, lower energy bills, cleaner breathing air and a greener house.

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  • Is Your Attic Access Door Costing You Money?

    Attic Hatch Visible Attic hatches look innocent enough.  They lay flat on your ceiling and rarely cause a thought except when you need to get up there.

    Unfortunately, they are not so benign. The reality is that in most homes, attic hatches are enormous wasters of energy. 

    They tend to fit loosely in openings that have not been designed or constructed with any thought towards energy efficiency.

    The panels are lightweight, which causes them to not sit tightly even if an air-sealing gasket is present (which it normally isn't).

    Attic Hatch IR In the photograph to the right, you can easily see visual proof of this energy loss in a typical home (this particular example is a 20 year old house in Town & Country).

    Home Green Home performs this type of thermal photography during every initial assessment as a way of gathering objective information about your home.

    Notice that the ceiling around the hatch is nice and cool as a result of proper insulation in the attic.

    However, the hatch itself is more than ten degrees warmer than the house because it is uninsulated.

    In the winter especially, this will represent a waste of energy because heated air that naturally rises will be lost to your attic requiring your furnace system to do extra work to replace it.

    Home Green Home is happy to take care of this problem for you.  We would install an insulated hatch that seals tightly to prevent both air flow and heat loss.  This type of upgrade to your home will save energy, reduce energy bills, improve comfort and clean up your breathing air (by keeping the nasty attic air out of your house).

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  • 3) Our ‘Menu’ Of Services

    Home Green Home offers an extensive array of diagnostic and improvement services for both existing homes and new construction.


    Our Services for Existing Homes


    Diagnostic


    Whole House Performance Testing


    • House Depressurization (Blower Door Testing)
    • Thermal Imaging
    • Pressure Mapping (identify unintended connections)
    • Thermal Envelope Performance – Determine effectiveness of insulation and air sealing in defining and maintaining thermal boundaries.


    HVAC System Performance & Safety Testing


    • Combustion Efficiency Analysis
    • Combustion Safety Analysis
    • Duct Leakage Analysis
    • Flue Inspection
    • Ventilation/exhaust fan performance testing


    Health & Comfort Testing


    • House Durability – Identify signs of maintenance issues affecting durability including roof & drainage.
    • Mold (or mold risk) identification.
    • Indoor air quality assessment.


    Troubleshooting & Diagnostics -  In addition to comprehensive testing, we specialize in using our knowledge of building science to find problems whose solutions evade others.


    • Rooms that won’t get warm or cool
    • Condensation on windows (inside or out)
    • Water spots on ceilings & leakage not related to roof problems
    • Moisture concerns, mold or musty odors
    • Energy bills that are too high


    Improvements


    Whole House Performance


    • Air Sealing  (defines thermal boundary & reduces unintended connections between conditioned & non-conditioned spaces)
    • Insulation  (reduces heat transfer between conditioned & non-conditioned spaces)
            Attics, Walls, Basements & Crawl Spaces


    HVAC System Performance & Efficiency


    • Energy Efficient Air Conditioning & Heating Upgrades
    • Energy Efficient hot water system upgrades
    • Duct system design, repair & installation
    • Duct sealing (reduces leakage of conditioned air to non-conditioned spaces improving overall efficiency & comfort).
    • Pressure Balancing (helps assure even temperatures throughout the house)
    • Zoned distribution installation (allows for separate control over temperature of different sections of the house).


    Health & Comfort


    • Whole house air filtration systems
    • Duct cleaning
    • Bathroom & kitchen ventilation repair & installation


    Energy Efficiency Upgrades


    • Energy efficient lighting upgrades
    • Pipe insulation
    • Window upgrades/installation
    • Day-lighting (solar tubes & skylights to reduce use of electrical lighting).
    • Attic Ventilation


    Our Services for New Homes


    Consulting


    • Energy Efficient Design
    • HERS Ratings
    • Contractor Quality Control – We  inspect & test to make sure you’re getting what you contracted for.


    Contracting


    • Air Sealing for LEED, HERS, BPI or general efficiency


              For new home air sealing we guarantee LEED compliance.


    • Insulation


              Foam & blown cellulose.


    • HVAC system design & installation


    • Duct System design & installation

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  • Tools Of Our Trade – Part 1 – The Blower Door

    What is that enormous fan and why are you using it to suck all of the air out of my house?

    Blower_door_small_3The tool you are referring to is called a blower door and it is one of our primary tools for evaluating the air barrier of your home.

    Simply put, the air barrier refers to the dividing line between conditioned and unconditioned air: everything on the inside of the air barrier is conditioned air, and everything else is unconditioned air. Movement of air through the air barrier is considered leakage. The amount of leakage has a huge impact on the energy efficiency of your home. Air leakage also degrades breathing air quality and depending on quantity and location can affect comfort, durability and safety of your home.

    We use a blower door to figure out how leaky your house is.  The blower door is a powerful fan that exhausts air from your house.  This causes the air pressure inside your home to fall below the air pressure on the outside.  As a result, outside air pushes against the house and finds ways to leak in.

    Our blower door with its companion measuring gauges and computer is able to quantify both the volume of air that leaks in and out of your home as well as the combined size (in square inches) of leakage area.

    Then, using tools such as our thermal imaging camera and smoke pencils, we investigate areas all around your house to identify areas of leakage and to recommend how these leaks could be addressed.

    By using advanced diagnostic procedures, Home Green Home is able to achieve remarkable energy savings and comfort benefits for your home.

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  • Welcome To HomeGreenHome

    In the past, if you had a problem with your house you would have to guess which trade to call depending on the nature of the problem.

    For example, if a room won't get warm, you might call a heating contractor.  They would likely sell you a larger furnace.  If you called an insulation contractor, you might get a bid for insulation.  If you called a window contractor, guess what?  New windows!

    So which one would be right?  Maybe all.  Maybe none.  The problem is that by calling upon specific trades to solve problems you are setting yourself up to need whatever they happen to sell.

    Specific trades are limited in the number of tools they have at their disposal to solve your needs.  And if the only tool they have is a hammer, your problem will likely look like a nail.

    Home Green Home is one of a growing number of "Home Performance Contractors." We are trained and certified to look at your home for what it is – a series of systems that need to work together in order to provide you with a healthy, comfortable, safe, durable and energy efficient home.

    When you call upon Home Green Home, we perform a series of diagnostic tests based on principles of building science to arrive at recommendations that will meet your needs and solve your problems.

    So why do you call us?  For honest answers and competent repairs that efficiently and effectively address your concerns.

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