In the Gainesville and Lawrenceville areas alone we know of homes that have more than 5 [...]]]>

We’ve run across a string of Radon issues in homes lately and the danger factor can not be over emphasized. This stuff is deadly. What makes it so dangerous is that you don’t even realize that you’re being poisoned.

In the Gainesville and Lawrenceville areas alone we know of homes that have more than 5 times the action level listed below. One Lawrenceville resident, has a confirmed lung cancer diagnosis due to Radon Poisoning. The homeowner told us that she has never been a smoker or been exposed to much 2nd hand smoke.

EPA Recommends

• Test your home for radon — it’s easy and inexpensive.
• Fix your home if your radon level is 4 picocuries per liter, or pCi/L, or higher.
• Radon levels less than 4 pCi/L still pose a risk, and in many cases may be reduced

* Radon is estimated to cause about 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year, according toEPA’s 2003 Assessment of Risks from Radon in Homes (EPA 402-R-03-003). The numbers of deaths from other causes are taken from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2005-2006 National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Report and 2006 National Safety Council Reports.

Not so short answer: We think of Insulation as a passive efficiency measure. Passive measures are improvements that help prevent the home from gaining or losing heat. These measures (insulation and air sealing) do not require electricity to operate and work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, etc…

Active [...]]]> Short answer: Generally Yes

Not so short answer: We think of Insulation as a passive efficiency measure. Passive measures are improvements that help prevent the home from gaining or losing heat. These measures (insulation and air sealing) do not require electricity to operate and work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, etc…

Active measures are those mechanically driven measures that operate when the Passive measures have failed. These are things like the HVAC system, whole house fan, and dehumidifiers.

Adding insulation is easily one of the most cost effective ways to reduce your utility bills and increase your comfort levels.

Stuff you need to know!

I should mention that there is a point of diminishing returns for insulation. Each inch of insulation you add above that point will have a lower effective value than the previous inch.  The U.S. Dept. of Energy recommends insulating up to R-49 if your using a blown in (loose fill) and we wholeheartedly agree. Once you get to R-49, it’s better to start putting your money into another improvement.

There are many types of insulation out there and tons of manufacturers. Look at the manufacturers instructions and pay close attention to how you install it. A poor installation will result in a poor return on investment.

Common types of insulation include:

Cellulose - a loose fill (blown) insulation, has a better R-value per inch than fiberglass, often made of recycled paper, looks grey.

Fiberglass loose fill - a loose fill (blown) insulation, lower R-value per inch but relatively inexpensive, looks white, pink, or yellow.

Fiberglass batts - comes in rolls or strips, can have a paper backing on one side, great for wall or floor insulation, we do not typically recommend for attics.

Foam - comes in open or closed cell variety, is the best effective R-value per inch of all, air seals as well as insulates, most expensive.

When foaming an attic, the foam is usually installed against the back of the roof. All attic ventilation should be sealed by the foam creating a completely air sealed and insulated space. We recommend removing the old batts or blown insulation if you foam as it makes for a cleaner, easier installation of the foam (it’s expensive enough, don’t take chances on it being installed improperly) and it allows the attic to act as a semi-conditioned space. So depending on the style of home, you will have an entire floor of conditioned storage!  If you have a furnace or heat pump in the attic, or your ducts travel through the attic,  foam will give an added benefit of taking some of the stress off of your HVAC system and may shorten your return on investment.

Blown Fiberglass and Cellulose is installed on the ceiling or walls. Here in the South Eastern U.S.  we don’t see much of a performance difference between the two provided they are installed properly to the correct thickness. We have heard some grumblings from reputable sources that claim to have found that fiberglass performance is drastically reduced in extreme cold conditions. We can’t confirm or deny this since we operate in parts of the country where “y’all and yonder” are acceptable vocabulary. Remember that  10 inches of fiberglass does not equal 10 inches of cellulose.  Always use your manufacturers directions. Below is a simple chart for R-value to inch conversions.

When it  comes to fiberglass batts, we don’t recommend them for attic ceiling installation for one main reason: They are difficult to get even insulation coverage and most homeowners, and even contractors, don’t do it right.  I won’t rant on about the ways it can be messed up (maybe in a later posting) but if you do decide to go this route, give us a call and we will be more than happy to give you a few pointers. Better yet, call us for an Energy Audit  so we can talk in person.

One last thing to note: Consider having an Energy Audit done to identify any problems that need to be addressed before adding the insulation. If major air sealing issues exist, it could render your new insulation mostly useless.

I [...]]]> A few days ago, I was testing this furnace. The homeowner had some duct work done so we checked the systems performance with an airflow test and static pressure readings. I was in the middle of checking the static pressure readings when I noticed  a small movement out of the corner of my eye.

I paused, and looked around half expecting to find a spider or mouse that found themselves trapped by the freshly sprayed foam insulation. To my surprise (and relief) it wasn’t any sort of creature.  The suction line on the unit was jumping around.

It was barely noticeable as the line entered the cabinet, but as I traced the line upward, the shaking became more apparent.  While this is a bit outside of the general scope of our inspections, I can assure you that this is a mechanical problem and an HVAC professional should be called in immediately before serious damage occurs.  Take a look at the video and see if you can spot the shakiness.

If you’re an HVAC contractor, and you have a guess at what’s going on here, please post a comment below. I’ll update this page as soon as I find out what the solution was.

In and of itself that is not an issue. Flexible gas lines are acceptable as long as it’s installed properly. What isn’t allowable is that the flexible piping penetrates through the metal wall of the furnace. [...]]]> Here’s something we see all too often. A contractor has installed a flexible pipe on the natural gas line.

This is an "explosively" dangerous problem

In and of itself that is not an issue. Flexible gas lines are acceptable as long as it’s installed properly. What isn’t allowable is that the flexible piping penetrates through the metal wall of the furnace. It’s fine to have flexible pipe outside or inside of the furnace but not going through.

Inside each furnace is a blower motor that spins at a very high rate of speed. This creates vibrations that shake the body of the furnace. If that flexible pipe comes into contact with that rough metal edge, even small vibrations over time can wear a hole in the pipe.

But hey, whats a few small gas leaks among friends right?  It literally could be the difference between a nice warm  house or a blazing inferno of death the next time your furnace lights up. Even scarier is the fact that most old furnaces still have a constant pilot light that flickers away mere inches from the gas line.

We tested for gas line leaks on the system and didn’t find any… yet.

Check your furnace out for this. If the installer didn’t get this right, they may have skipped over a few of those other pesky Building Codes as well.

Not all contractors are as slack-tastic as this one was. We have a network full of outstanding professionals that fix problems like this every day.  I’m sure some of them are cringing at the picture above as much as I am.

Jon Ernstberger, one of the professors, arranged for HDS Columbus to perform an energy audit at one of the older homes on campus and I had the pleasure of tagging along.

Franklin Orsini (HDS Columbus) explained [...]]]> It seems that LaGrange College Mathematics Department has kicked off a new program centered around “affordable and sustainable housing”.

Jon Ernstberger, one of the professors, arranged for HDS Columbus to perform an energy audit at one of the older homes on campus and I had the pleasure of tagging along.

Franklin Orsini (HDS Columbus) explained the details of what we were doing as we arrived early Friday morning. Franklin did a great job of explaining, but I couldn’t quite wrap my brain around the concept of how any college mathematics course would be this involved with an energy audit.

I’ve snored my way through a few math classes before and only remember discussing real world applications but never lifting more than a pencil or textbook in the process.  Apparently, I was in the wrong class.

A portion of the curriculum centers around energy efficiency but not in the traditional “academic” sense. These guys actually get down and dirty with insulation and air sealing!

I think it’s a pretty cool thing they’re doing down in LaGrange and worth a mention or two. Since it’s a newish class, stop by their facebook or blog and show some support.

The pictures shown here have been shamelessly yanked from their facebook page or copied form the energy audit report.

We were completely booked up in [...]]]> They say “Those who can’t do, teach.”  Well that’s not true any longer. As one of the regions leading active energy auditing firms, we are now offering BPI training and certification. This means you’ll get practical tips and advice along with the industries most recognized (and mandatory) qualifications.

We were completely booked up in 2010 and we are filling up the schedule for 2011.