What is Home Performance, why do it and how to get up to $3,500 from Energy Upgrade California

1. What is Home Performance, why do it and how to get up to $3,500 from Energy Upgrade California

2. What is Whole Home Performance? • The collective group of energy efficiency measures that work together to make a home or building a complete and energy efficient system, and by following a general loading order, the results far surpass performing individual measures done alone.

3. Ducts & Leakiness of Houses • The average American duct system leaks 1/3 of the air that moves through it. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory • The average American house leaks enough air to fill the Goodyear blimp, twice. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory • In general, most old houses leak like sieves and have a lot of room for comfort improvement via air sealing or draft proofing.

4. What does an Energy Audit Reveal? • Usually dumb stuff • I almost always find health and safety issues, problems like broken-apart ducts. Dead rats in the crawl space, improperly venting water heaters, building cavities used as plenums, gasoline stored next to hot water heaters. • That and lots of obsolete equipment, poorly or uninsulated, degraded systems. • Often, part of air enclosure is missing so air escapes

5. Air leaks out, insulations settle over time = energy loss

6. Energy Retrofit: Infrared Before and After Heat loss in bright yellow Heat loss minimized

7. Heat loss into unfinished attic

8. Air leaks past circuit breaker panel in wall cavity

9. Voids in Insulation. Fiberglass usually installed on a $/square foot basis

10. Header area not properly insulated

11. Air leaks in around attic hatch (often just a square of drywall) w/ no seal

12. Extremely common air leaks in ceiling fixtures

13. Contractor forgot to finish insulating pipes, no one noticed

14. Common Energy Related Problems or “Sick” house symptoms • Musty Smells • Foggy windows • Peeling Paint • Asthma & Allergies • Mold Growth • Fluctuating Temperatures • Heating/Cooling cycles on/off frequently • High Utility Bills

15. Our Home Energy Test Procedures • Visual Inspection from outside to crawl to attic • Blower door test to establish “leakiness” • Duct leak test to see how much air leaks • Combustion appliance “worst case depressurization” scenario • Infrared scan to see anomalies in insulation • Input data into Energy Pro to establish baseline efficiency level and do “what if” scenarios to find best menu of improvements.

16. What an Energy Retrofit Does • Test to Find heat loss and air leaks & Seal leaks, insulate areas of heat loss • Replace obsolete equipment with efficient units • Add ventilation. Best case is heat recovery ventilation system and engineered duct systems

17. Before/After Retrofit • The following are examples of remedied homes

18. Retrofit Before and After Drafty, uncomfortable, Cozy & low cost E bills

19. Before Attic: Heat loss in joists and duct work + air leakage

20. After: Blown-in cellulose w buried ducts. Minimal heat loss

21. Rim Joists: Foamed and Sealed

22. Top Plate Sealed and Properly Vented

23. Crawlspace Retrofit: Clean & Air Sealed

24. Crawlspace before: With moisture

25. If you have newts or salamandars living in your air supply there is a problem

28. Mold • The problem:“Wet wood is food” • Modern houses have reduced drying capacity and greater and reduced storing capacity for moisture* • Solution: Keep houses dry. Use drainage planes on walls, keep water away from foundation/crawlspace. Control moisture on inside with proper ventilation.* • *Joe Lstriburek, Building Science Corp.

29. Black Mold “Cosmetic” Black mold Wood rotting black mold

30. Crawl Space After: Clean and Dry

32. EUC an Umbrella of Alphabet Soup • CEC: State Government Energy commission that created this $100 million umbrella program. • CBPCA: administers program, created by BKI • PG&E: writes the checks after work is done and retested by CBPCA • WHPP: What PG&E calls their part of the program • BPI: certifies the contractors in program • CPUC: oversees PG&E • HER: Home Energy Retrofit, Inc. Contractor • ARRA: American Recovery funds part of pjct. • California Cities and Counties are also involved and offer own incentives to home owners • FBI, CIA, BBC and B.B. King: not yet involved

34. Whole House Program • Comprehensive home retrofits following proper loading order • •Air sealing (tighten envelope) • •Insulation (thermal boundary) • •Proper sizing, design and installation of HVAC systems • •Proper sizing, design and installation of the hot water system • •Efficient lighting, appliances and demand response • •Renewable energy and self generation

35. Program Goals • Statewide Goal: • •Achieve 20% energy savings in 130,000 homes by end of 2012 • PG&E Goal: • •Achieve 20% energy savings in 15,500 homes by end of 2012 • •Provide at least 25 Program Overview Training Courses across service territory • •Achieve necessary contractor enrollment (at least 35 companies/firms)

36. Two Ways I.Prescriptive • •Focus on building shell • •No diagnostic audit required • •“On ramp” for home performance contractors II.Performance • •Requires diagnostic audit • •Comprehensive scope of work • •Larger incentives and savings

37. Non-Energy Benefits of energy science bases home improvements • Health – Interior Air Quality, IAQ • Durability – Keeping frame house dry through ventilation and thoughtful insulation strategies • Safety- Rotten floors not safe to walk on. Keep these out home air - mold, mildew, dust, spores, excretiarodentia, rat poisons, dry rot fungicides, glass fibers, asbestos, lead, allergens, radon, insects, dust mites

38. Q: With all these players, where do I start? • A: Your local participating contractor: • Home Energy Retrofit, Inc. Lic. #673461 • george@homeenergyretrofit • 510 520 4443

39. Conclusions: Question and Answer