Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing Blog: Archive for the ‘Home Performance’ Category

Heating Emergency or Scheduled Upgrade – 5 Things to Expect from Your HVAC Comapny

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2014

Recently my Facebook feed has been full of posts beginning “We woke up to a 50 degree (or thereabouts) house! What a time to be left in the lurch!” Murphy’s law says that many families will experience heating problems on the coldest days of the year. However unfair this may seem, I’ve found myself commenting that not all HVAC companies are created equal! Here are a few things to look for and a few services I’ve come to expect (It’s okay to expect the best!):

24/7 Emergency Service
Any time of the day or night, the service crew should be ready to help. A large number of trained technicians on staff is key, so your wait time is minimized. One motto: “Your emergency is our emergency,” is a comforting idea when your family is cold and time is of the essence! And just in case you’re in the midst of one such emergency, Here’s a heating company who happens to fit all the criteria in this blog post.
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
There’s not much more to say about this one, except that this is a rare thing for a company to commit to, and those who have are elevated to a separate level of business in my mind. It makes me think of other stand-outs like Costco, Nordstrom, and REI, who have similar policies. I feel so confident buying from these places, because if something goes wrong: They will fix it. Period. Customer satisfaction is THE core of everything they do.
Building Performance Certified
These nationally certified staff are trained to take the health, efficiency, and comfort of the entire home into account. Only one local company has much of their team go through this rigorous training and testing to earn their titles as BPI Certified Professionals. BPI is the Building Performance Institute. They “develop standards for energy efficiency retrofit work using an open, transparent, consensus-based process built on sound building science….and quality assurance services that help raise the bar in home performance contracting.” Read more about BPI, and check out their Guide for Homeowners on how it all works and how to find the best contractor for your needs.
Lifetime Guarantee and 1 Year Warranty
Although these might sound like oxy-morons, they actually apply to different areas of the HVAC experience. The Lifetime guarantee refers to the Workmanship on installed ductwork, sheet metal, and piping. The 1 year warranty (for parts and labor) is in addition to any manufacturer warranties. The company should come out after the first year of use (free of charge) to make sure everything is working as it was when the equipment was installed. YES, this can happen with the right company. These safety nets and guarantees are some of the best and most comprehensive in the industry.
Official Designations from the Manufacturer
Look for certifications. Some heating companies will have their awards, designations, certifications, etc., on their website. These matter. One example: Carrier has a very selective process to designate Factory Authorized Dealers. They use these criteria: the job is done Expertly, Efficiently, Professionally, Right Technically, with the Right Parts, and Right for the Environment. Not all companies meet these standards. Just one more safety net to look for!

I hope explaining these 5 areas of service has given you insight on your search for a new heating system, repair, or upgrade. Now, if you or your neighbor are cold, you know what to do!

Posted in 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, Carrier, Climate, Comfy Home, Customer Service, Furnace, Home Performance | Comments Off on Heating Emergency or Scheduled Upgrade – 5 Things to Expect from Your HVAC Comapny

The Right Ventillation Keeps the Home (and you!) Healthy

Thursday, October 16th, 2014

A Heat Recovery Ventilator efficiently sends fresh, healthy air into a tightly sealed home, while removing stale air that can cause a slew of health problems. And it does all this while capturing the heat of the discharged air and warming the fresh clean air at the same time. This article from 360Chestnut accurately describes the importance of this device and how ventilation is crucial in the overall health of a home.

Energy Efficient buildings are not making you ill, it’s bad ventilation

There has been coverage in the press recently about how Energy Efficient buildings may be making us ill. Is ‘sick building syndrome‘ is rampant in energy efficient buildings? Here at 360Chestnut we are as passionate about healthy homes as we are about energy efficiency. We would like to inform you, our readers, about what you may have been hearing on the news.

Mold growth and dampness in buildings are indeed major concerns, but this is nothing new in the building industry and it is certainly not isolated to ‘energy efficient’ buildings. Let’s start by what can cause mold in any building; warm, moist air, from people showering, cooking or just occupying a room, coming in contact with a cooler surface.

The warm, moist air condenses, the dampness soaks into your porous surfaces (such as your drywall), and creates a condition where mold will grow. Regardless of whether this happens in a poorly insulated building or a highly energy efficient building there will typically be one factor in common, poor ventilation. In a building with poor insulation the chances that this warm air will hit a cold surface is considerably higher though, so chances of mold growth are higher (insulation is very important)…. Continue reading

Posted in Clean Home, Duct Problems, Energy Efficiency, Green Living, Home Performance, Ventilation | Comments Off on The Right Ventillation Keeps the Home (and you!) Healthy

The Real Deal on Energy Saving Gadgets

Thursday, August 28th, 2014

This is probably the best article I’ve read for an overview on all those heavily pushed gadgets and doodads that get sold as “home energy solutions.”

From ACHR News

Do Energy-saving Products Actually Save Customers Energy?

HVAC Contractors Need to Educate Consumers

By Joanna R. Turpin

August 18, 2014

All homeowners want to save money on their energy bills, which is why they are often intrigued by gadgets, additives, and one-off products that claim to offer significant methods to cutting energy usage. These products are appealing because they usually cost significantly less than taking the whole-house approach to saving energy, which may involve adding insulation, sealing ductwork, and upgrading heating and cooling equipment.
But HVAC professionals warn that, in many cases, these products do nothing more than separate homeowners from their hard-earned money. As Jordan Goldman, LEED AP/CPHC, engineering principal, ZeroEnergy Design, Boston, noted, “The focus needs to be on upgrading the building envelope — that’s where the biggest benefits are going to be. There is no singular fix. Homeowners shouldn’t fall for magic bullets and anything that seems too good to be true…
CONTINUE Reading Here

Posted in attic fans, Energy Audit, Energy Efficiency, Energy Savings, Home Performance, Insulation, radiant barrier | Comments Off on The Real Deal on Energy Saving Gadgets

BPI CEO: Kids Suffering in Our Unhealthy Homes

Tuesday, July 1st, 2014

Our Homes Suck – And That’s Why Our Kids Have Sinus Problems

By: Larry Zucker (CEO of the Building Performance Institute)

We all know about how stack effect works in homes, but during presentations, I’m always surprised by how many hands are raised in response to the question: “How many of you think you can make a house too tight and cause problems with indoor air quality?” Generally, at least three-quarters of the room raises their hands. Really? My colleague Joe Kuonen says that getting a house so tight that you need to ventilate is a feat worth celebrating. “Now, we can get fresh air from a place we can trust,” he says. Where do most of our homes get their fresh air? From places we cannot trust, like crawl spaces.

What do we know about crawl spaces? Generally, they are dark and wet. This is a perfect habitat for mold, rodents and insects to thrive – and gain access to the house. Those of you who have spent a lot of time in crawl spaces have horror stories about close encounters with both living and dead creatures. Allison Bailes once published a photo of a dead opossum in a crawl space next to a disconnected return duct!

On the other side of the band joist is the basement where the air handling unit often resides. If there is insulation on the band joist, it is generally discolored by filtering air that passes through the crawl space. Thankfully there is a furnace filter, you might say. If you look at most furnace filters in people’s homes, you’ll generally find them clogged and gross. And with the furnace filter slot at the end of the return duct, the furnace filter is protecting the blower motor from the air that everyone in the house has been breathing. This can’t be good for your health.

Why should we care about the quality of indoor air?

Home Performance: More Than an Energy Audit

Monday, May 26th, 2014

Forward thinkers understand Energy Auditing. An energy auditor looks at your energy useage, your house and prescribes behaviors and equipment that will help bring down your total energy consumption. What most people are confused on is what makes Home Performance different. A recent video by Corbett Lunsford of the Chicago Green Dream Group spells it out beautifully.

He gives his 4-3-2-1 of Home Performance. He says there are 4 Elements to Home Performance:

Heat Flow: What can I use to make my building more energy efficient or higher performing?
Airflow & Pressure: Both can cause a myriad of problems in the house including indoor air quality, comfort and energy efficiency.
Moisture: This will damage a building’s durability faster than anything else, is a major component in poor indoor air quality and can greatly affect comfort as well.
Indoor Air Quality: If you have respiratory problems caused by poor indoor air, we need to take a step back from energy efficiency until we’ve ensured that the air in your home is safe to breathe.

3 Recommendations:

Air Sealing (Air Ducts and Home): It is cheap, effective, doesn’t need to be maintained or replaced and uses no energy (zero operating cost!)
Insulation: Largely ineffective without air sealing first!
HVAC: Without the first two, replacing a furnace with a more efficient model is akin to driving a Prius on flat tires!

2 Systems in Home:

Envelope: The Envelope is comprised of the Air Barrier (made complete by Air Sealing any holes), which is the windbreaker for your home and the Insulation, the sweater.
HVAC: This stands for the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning systems in your home. Water heating is included.

1 Goal: CONTROL. Energy Efficiency is a result of control.

The kicker here is that the only way to properly demonstrate control of a building is Home Performance Testing. Things you can expect to gain from taking these 3 recommendations (as tailored to your house, concerns and budget) are increased comfort, lower utility bills, better indoor air quality, and a more durable home. You also get confidence in your home performance contractor because they are the only ones that can PROVE the results they promise.

Posted in Energy Efficiency, Energy Savings, heat flow, Home Performance, Home Testing, IAQ, Indoor Air Quality, moisture, negative pressure | Comments Off on Home Performance: More Than an Energy Audit

The Most Stringent Building Energy Standard in the World

Friday, May 9th, 2014

Passive House (Passivhaus in German) is the most stringent building energy efficiency standard in the world. It is not just an energy code or energy design but is integrated with the architectural design of the building to create a wholistic approach to reducing the building’s heating losses and thus decrease the need for expensive mechanical heating equipment. The end result is a house that has a drastically reduced ecological footprint (low carbon emissions), along with superior comfort and indoor air quality.

According to Passive House Alliance United States, buildings that meet this standard use 80 percent less energy than conventional buildings. Specifically this is achieved through maximizing your gains and minimizing your losses. The process begins with strategic design and planning to test “what if” scenarios using certified passive house software. During this process specific climate, siting and sizing is performed to ensure things like windows being positioned to maximize solar gain. Passive house construction uses roughly twice the insulation value of modern code and great care to ensure that the building has no breaks in the thermal envelope. Blower-door air leakage testing is an important component of passive house construction as the standard requires very low leakage to the exterior (0.6 air changes per hour at 50 pascals). Advanced windows and doors are also used to minimize air leakage.

Now that the house is nice and air tight an Energy Recovery Ventilator is used to provide adequate, filtered fresh air for the home. An ERV has the advantage of recycling indoor energy by passing that energy to incoming air further decreasing the heating load on the house. The decreased heating load on the house makes the use of alternative energy to power your building much more attainable and cost effective.

Content from: http://www.phaus.org/learn/passive-house-education/what-is-passive-house-

Posted in Blower Door, Energy Efficiency, Energy Use, ERV, High Efficiency, Home Performance, Home Testing | Comments Off on The Most Stringent Building Energy Standard in the World

The Importance of Air Sealing Attic Penetrations

Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

Can light sealing by CAZ Energy Services. Photo: Hunter Hassig

Many times when homeowners are looking at home improvement solutions for cold spots or high energy bills they think insulation. While insulating your attic and crawl space sub-floor up to code standards is very important for whole home comfort and energy efficiency it is insufficient on its own. This is because in almost every home there are numerous holes in the ceilings that allow air to move freely between your attic space and the conditioned living space of your home. Insulation is a thermal barrier NOT an air barrier. To further illustrate this think of insulation as a sweatshirt. It will keep you warm on a calm day but on a windy one you will need a wind breaker or rain jacket to stay comfortable. Air sealing those holes in your ceiling that lead to the attic creates a consistent, level air barrier that acts as a wind breaker for your home.

Where exactly are these holes? According to The Homeowners’ and Trades Resource Center the three most common areas are wiring penetrations, plumbing penetrations and where your drywall meets up with the framing. Some other trouble areas include soffits, dropped ceilings, chases, vents, exhausts, bath fans, recessed lighting (ie. can lights), and ductwork in your attic. In order to seal small holes like those around bath fans, use silicone caulk or expandable foam. To seal bigger gaps like those found in dropped ceilings and soffits, use rigid foam or drywall (depending on local code) to bring that area to the same level as the rest of the attic and then seal around it with foam or caulk. Sealing these holes will not only save you money on your utility bills but will lead to a more even temperature in the house and many times improve indoor air quality as well.

Some content from: http://blog.sls-construction.com/2011/air-sealing-attic-penetrations

Posted in Comfort, Energy Efficiency, Energy Savings, Home Performance, IAQ, Indoor Air Quality, Understanding Energy Efficiency | Comments Off on The Importance of Air Sealing Attic Penetrations

Are Windows a Priority?

Friday, December 27th, 2013

One of the first industries to jump onto the energy efficiency bandwagon was the window industry. Claims of huge energy savings and increased comfort are touted by the industry as advantages to replacing old windows. While these claims definitely have merit, according to a study done by Michael Blasnik & Associates window replacements fall low on the list of home improvements that will get you the most bang for your buck when it comes to energy savings.

I often hear customers protest, “But I know my windows are leaky. I can literally feel the cold draft when I am near them!” I usually reply, “I absolutely agree. But take a deep breath because that’s fresh, clean air!”

Homes need to breathe. In the average home we like to see the all the air in the home change about 8 times per day (depending on occupancy and cubic footage of the conditioned space). This air ideally comes from clean, outdoor air as opposed to polluted air that comes into the home after passing through musty crawl spaces, dusty attics and dirty garages.

So, what’s the verdict on replacing windows? In some cases, such as extremely old, single pane or damaged windows, the expensive replacement may pay off in energy savings over their life time HOWEVER generally our customers find more bang for their buck in terms of CHEE (comfort, health, and energy efficiency) in sealing up leaky ductwork and sealing off air access to crawl spaces and attics.

Want to know more about where your home gets its air and opportunities for improvements to the CHEE of your home? Read our blog entries on indoor air quality (IAQ), dust, and air sealing or call Barron to schedule a Whole Home Performance Test on your home.

Posted in Air Changes, Duct Sealing, Home Performance, IAQ, Understanding Energy Efficiency | Comments Off on Are Windows a Priority?

IAQ 101 (AKA Indoor Air Quality Basics)

Monday, December 16th, 2013

The heat is blowing, the furnace is purring like a kitten, the family is warm wherever they are lounging in the house. Everything seems to be good, as far as the heating system is concerned… or is it?

It seems like whenever that furnace blower comes on, Jim starts sneezing. All winter long you’re dusting every week. Sometimes its hard to sleep at night with the dry throats and all the coughing and refilling glasses of water.

Here’s the kicker: you are not alone.

For decades homeowners have been settling for this relationship with their house, but it doesn’t have to be this way.Thankfully, after decades of research and testing, we now understand the important link between your home’s contents, heating system, construction materials and you. This is an exciting industry to be in when we can honestly say there are new affordable answers to problems that have been plaguing our every day health for as long as we can remember. Indoor air quality is totally within our control.

What is Indoor Air Quality?

Well, its the the contents of the air inside your home.

Its the humidity (moisture content) of that air.
Its the visible and invisible particles floating on the drafts.
Its the specks settling on your DVR and china hutch.
Its all the little living critters that inhabit your home
Its one of the primary causes and exacerbating factors of sinus and respiratory issues.

Some Myths about dust and air contaminants:

“We bring it inside with us.” – Not usually the case. Most houses generate the majority of their air contaminants by their very construction. Depending on design and the state of your duct system, different parts of a house exist in state of negative or positive pressure. These pressures can drive air out and suck air in to the living space. Whatever this air passes through comes with it: fiberglass insulation, dirt, pest droppings, molds and more.
“My house is leaky, mostly the doors and windows.” – Doors and windows make up about 20% of the air leakage in the average home according to energy experts with the Department of Energy. The majority of the air the house “breathes” is from the crawlspace and attic through mechanical, plumbing and electrical penetrations often hidden from direct view. Furthermore, those leaky doors and windows are generally sources of GOOD fresh air, directly from outside.
“All houses have to be dusted a couple times a month.”- Well, this is a touchy subject because how often someone dusts is related to how much they are bothered by the stuff. If you find you are dusting more often than you would like, you likely have opportunities to improve this situation. A house that’s been sealed up tight and ventilated right should be able to go a month or more without significant dust build up.

Whats the answer?

Our motto at Barron Heating is “Test, don’t guess”, so the first step is to have a Home and Duct Performance Assessment completed on your home. This test will identify where the air, heat and contaminants are moving and what the best methods of controlling them might be.

Common Prescriptive Solutions Include:

Air Sealing the duct system
Insulating the duct system
Air sealing attic floor and crawl space ceiling
Air sealing leaks from inside the home
Adding a fresh air duct to the heating system
Installing whole house ventilation (timer driven exhaust fans)
Installing an Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV)
Crawl space renovation and clean up
Insulating floors, walls and ceilings
And more… the answer is unique to your home!

Good luck and feel free to ASK AN EXPERT if you have any questions.

Posted in Air Purifier, Air Sealing, Allergies, Asthma, Blower Door Testing, Home Performance, Home Testing, IAQ, Indoor Air Quality, Less Dust | Comments Off on IAQ 101 (AKA Indoor Air Quality Basics)

What You Gain From An Energy Audit

Friday, October 4th, 2013

With qualified and experienced inspectors an energy audit will pinpoint the cause of many problems that lead to an uncomfortable home. Whether its uneven temperatures, bad air quality, or dust problems it is important to look at the home as a system to find the appropriate solution.

There are many important areas to test and analyze for an effective audit on home performance.

First is an informative meeting with you, the home owner. There is nobody who knows the experience of living in your home better than you. The inspector should know when and where you experience discomfort throughout your home. Take note of the air quality, consistency of heating, odors, and anything else that you would like to change.
Next comes an analysis of your utility bill. Seeing where you have been spending money on energy in the past and present gives you a basis of comparison for future savings and the return on your HVAC investments.
The testing begins with a Blower door test. This will help to locate air leakage pathways. Included in this is duct leakage (and repair if necessary). Studies indicate that duct leakage can account for as much as 25% of total house energy loss.
By using Infrared Thermography, the most sophisticated analytic tool in energy auditing, wall cavity and ceiling insulation and moisture related issues in your walls can be seen.
Moisture Analysis is an often overlooked, but very important step in monitoring the health and durability of you and your home.
Its important to analyze flue gas at the hot water heater and other fossil fuel appliances. Combustion Analysis and combustion safety are one of the main focal points in the energy audit and homeowners are often unaware that they have problems with their combustion equipment.
The last thing is to look into Weatherization Services. Your energy audit should offer a comprehensive report that will outline the most cost effective path for weatherization work.

Energy audits range in price from $100 up to over $1000. When finding the right provider for this service make sure they offer all of the necessary tests and have the experience and expertise to get you the answers you need.

If you’re interested in an energy audit learn about Barron Heating’s $195 Home & Duct Performance Assessment.

Posted in Blower Door, Duct Test, Energy Savings, Green Living, Healthy Home, Home Performance | Comments Off on What You Gain From An Energy Audit