This Old – Leaky – House

I’m a bit nervous about the energy efficiency  of my house. Today is the day the Energy Trust of Oregon is doing an energy audit, and since my house is 107 years old, I am pretty sure I’m going to get a bad grade!

Energy Audit Equipment

They have a bunch of equipment on the front porch – no clue what it is all for, other than I know they’ll be doing a blower door test, which is designed to gather factual information about the energy leaks in a house. There are 7 people in the crawlspace – it’s almost a basement as you can stand up, it’s probably more accurately called a cellar. The gas furnace and tank-less water heater are located there. They’ve been down there about 15 minutes and talking the whole time. What ARE they saying!

I’ve had the shorter version of an energy audit. The Energy Trust spends about an hour and checks insulation, assesses windows, the types of light bulbs being used and points out ways you can reduce your energy use. They bring a low-flow shower head and Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL’s) with them which give you a head start on some simple ways to save. When they’re finished the occupants receive a list of other ways to save energy. That list covers such things as insulating floors and ceilings, walls and joists, outlets, updating furnaces to more efficient models, installing tankless water heaters and so on. The list also includes some priority recommendations for changes that will give the home owner or renter the most savings on energy bills. There is no charge for this service for customers of Pacific General Electric (PGE) and 2 other utilities because the Trust is funded by a small surcharge on each bill. Any customer in those service areas is entitled to have this audit.

Today though is different. The Energy Trust is teaching a class for contractors who want to become part of their Trade Ally Network and my house gets to be their case study. This list will cover energy loss in much more detail, as well as any health or safety hazard they discover. Normally this kind of audit is conducted by one of their certified contractors and costs somewhere between $300 and $500.

Infrared Scanner

They have an infrared scanner that shows the degree of heat loss in the exterior and interior walls. Who even really thought about heat loss from interior walls? I had not. They are also planning to test carbon monoxide emission levels from the gas stove and oven. They are checking the heating ducts for leaks, and discovering what is going on at the returns. Although the written report is yet to come, I’ve already learned I have a lot of leaks! The interior wall by the chimney glowed green in the infrared scanner. The new back door, with weather stripping and a top of the line sweep at the bottom glows blue! Blue indicates the heaviest infux of cold air. There is no caulking underneath the windows. I can feel a draft when I place my hand below the window sills. Easy fix – -run a bead of caulk.

Great news – the furnace appears to be 90% efficient! BUT, the electronic filter system needs to be housed. Currently when it starts-up, it sucks up some dust from the cellar, and defeats the air cleaner’s purpose.

Wall of Paintings

A surprise? Canvas paintings add a layer of insulation to walls! The scanner showed a lower level of cold air where some art is hung on the exterior walls.

The bad news? A significant health and safety hazard was discovered. No surprise that there is carbon monoxide being emitted from the oven, a small amount would appear to be normal – at least if I understood the conversation. But the level is approaching 9 parts per million, and that is not good. The short term fix, open a door or window when I turn the oven on. The long term fix, install a vent to the outside.

I’ll let you know what the final report has to say. And keep you posted on other fixes I need to make.

Audit Equipment

Blower for Blower Door Test

The Blower Door Test