Home Energy Savings program reminder

Don't forget to attend our 3rd and last program in our series on Home Energy Savings this Saturday. Check our Be Green Series Calendar for full details.

Program Highlights: Saving on Home Energy

Here are notes provided by Mary Beth Thakar on part two of the program series - Saving on Home Energy on October 25 was entitled: Practical and affordable solutions, presented by Michael Merck

Introduction: Pennsylvania ranks 5^th among the states for the largest energy consumption. Most of our electricity comes from coal, but one-third is from nuclear energy.

Gas costs range from $13 to $21 per MCF, while electricity costs between 10 and 18 cents per kilowatt.

Rates are predicted to go up. Natural gas is traded daily, but the price is locked in for consumers for three to six month intervals. Electricity is expected to go up dramatically – on a par with Maryland – which went up 70 percent recently.

Incentives are available to encourage homeowners to improve their home’s energy efficiency. There are 23 counties in the Allegheny Power territory, including part of Westmoreland and Washington counties, as well as the southern tip of Allegheny County. Allegheny Power offers incentives of $200 to $1000 for reducing your energy usage (in BTU’s) from 20 to 50 percent. Note however that you must use a certified energy auditor to prove your savings. The auditor must provide computer modeling to demonstrate your savings. Look at the site for PA Home Energy to get more details.

Additionally, certain low-income persons can get help from certain utilities to cover the cost of energy-saving modifications.

Recently the state approved the expenditure of $150 million to assist homeowners. It is to be distributed over the next 4 to 5 years. Information about how the money is to be disbursed will be available by Jan. 1^st. See these sites for info:

http://www.dsireusa.org/

http://www.gggc.state.pa.us/gggc/site/default.asp

With the federal bailout passage came extension of certain incentives. We were told that you can get up to $9000 for installing solar – or up to 30% of the cost incurred.

House Science Basics

The house is a system.

The system is interconnected with nature – with wind and the “stack effect”

We CAN control the system.

But it is also important to check and control health and safety concerns – particularly carbon monoxide. If you “airseal” your house, you may also keep in the carbon monoxide.

(Stack effect: This effect is stronger as the house gets taller. Air comes up from the basement, and goes out through the attic.)

How to audit your home yourself:

An auditor could come and do a blower test to check the “envelope” of your home and see how tight it is. Or you can look at the west wall of your house – where the wind comes from – and make sure that that side is particularly tight.

See www.energystar.gov for more information about doing an audit yourself.

Begin by comparing your house with others in your area. You calculate the number of BTU’s you use to heat your home, divided by the “conditioned” square footage of your home, divided by the number of heating degree days in your area. If you have an all-electric home, you will have to extract the kilowatts you use to heat your home from your total bill. And for square footage, be sure to subtract any square footage that is not heated or conditioned, such as basements, attics, or garages. And to convert MCF’s to BTU’s, multiply by 1 million – and to convert CCF’s to BTU’s, multiply by 100,000.

The formula looks like this:

(BTU’s used to heat home/conditioned square footage)/5910

5910 is the number of heating degree days in Pittsburgh, believe it or not.

Your answer will tell you how your house is doing on a scale of 0-22. If your house is 8 or under, your house is efficient. If it is between 8 to 22, then there are opportunities to improve your home. See the energystar site above for more information.

Or comparing your home in another way, an average sized home in February should have a heating bill of $200 or less.

In conducting an audit, Michael said one must compare how a homeowner actually uses energy (“trueing up”) with the expected use of energy. Sometimes these differ widely between persons.

Basic kinds of issues in homes:

Diffusion: this is the movement of moisture. The adage is, “Build it tight, but ventilate it right.” A house can be too tight: for example, when you see moisture on an outside wall – that is, an inside wall that touches the outside. In this case, you will need to have a fan to remove the moisture, pushing air out at 50 cubic feet per minute (CFM’s). These days there are exceptionally quiet fans available, using low energy, that work 24 hours per day. You can also use a dehumidifier.

Convection: This is the movement of heat through fluid – air or liquid. The “convective loop” occurs when air is pushed in low, but pushed out high.

Radiation: Heat moves from high to low pressure rather than rising. And it is hot air that will move itself to the coldest part of the house.

An example is when you are standing close to a window on a cold day. You sense that cold air is getting in through the window. But actually what is happening is that the heat from your body is radiating and “convecting” off of your body, making you feel cold.

Another myth about windows is that it is a very good idea to replace windows. There is not that much benefit from going from single pane to triple pane windows. What is more important is making sure that the windows are well sealed. Michael suggests that instead you install storm windows

Improvements that you make towards energy efficiency also lend themselves to improving your comfort.

Do-It-Yourself modifications

You can caulk and weatherstrip. Do these from the outside (both??)

Consider installing interior or exterior storm windows. Even the plastic cellophane products are helpful. Replacing windows is 99 percent not cost effective, unless they don’t close or lock or latch. (This is more of a safety issues.) However, if you have the worst windows – i.e., single pane aluminum metal windows – the payback for these will be 10 years or less.

Install compact fluorescent lightbulbs. (See these websites for more info: http://www.efi.org/ and http://www.maxlite.com/

Be sure to try to “air-seal” before insulating. That is, find the holes and fill them. (When air comes in contact with insulation, it degrades it. Example, if fiberglass is not pink or yellow, then it’s dirty and it is not insulating any more. ) Polyurethane foams no longer contain formaldehyde gases – so these are safe to use.

As regards insulation, the home improvement stores do offer classes on these subjects. Blown in cellulose is simply recycled newspaper – and is not harmful.

Consider acquiring a Kill-a-watt to measure the usage of electricity by your appliances. Here’s a review of this product: http://greenertrends.com/2008/08/13/gt-product-review-kill-a-watt/

Michael’s recommendations – and debunking energy myths:

Switching lights on and off does not use more energy than leaving them on. (Michael wasn’t so sure about fluorescent tubes.)

Bigger HVAC units are not better. If not properly sized for your needs, the unit may short-cycle, going on and off every 5 to 10 minutes. Undersizing is better. If you have a bigger unit – and then you “air-seal” and insulate, you will be better off, cost-wise, to replace a larger unit with a unit that is sized to your new needs.

The furnace is working optimally when on the coldest day of the year, it never turns off.

Michael recommends getting an EnergyStar programmable thermostat that can be programmed for five to seven days. Many people might be able to install this thermostat without aid of an electrician – using the instructions with the device. But he advises to be sure to wrap the wires around a pencil to avoid them falling down inside the wall.

Is a zero energy home possible? Michael says, no, though you can have a “net zero energy home.”

Does a house need to breathe? Yes, it does, but it must be controlled. As an example, air for the furnace should not be brought in from outside – unless it is for combustion. Sometimes hot water heaters use outside air for combustion.

There is an ASHRAE formula for figuring the ventilation required.

7.5 (number of people in the house) = .01 (conditioned square feet) = the required ventilation for tight envelopes.

6. Should I replace a single-pane window in my basement with glass block? Yes, but mostly for security compared to energy savings.

Questions:

Should I vent my attic? That depends. For instance, if there is a heating system in the attic, then, no. Michael recommends gable end ventilation rather than soffit and fascia. A path is needed for humidity.

Why do hot water heaters last such a short time? Another audience member said it was because of all the minerals in our water that accumulate on our electrodes, causing them to erode. Hot water heaters last about 10 years. Michael does recommend gas instantaneous hot water heaters. These can be vented outside of the home. Their life expectancy is better than tanks. These systems can provide water to the whole house or at different locations (bathroom, kitchen sink). If “whole house”, there is some water wasted, but on the whole, you use less energy.

Michael added that you cannot have solar and instantaneous hot water together. Solar hot water requires the use of two tanks, one to kill germs, and the other to heat the water. Solar hot water systems cost $8000 to 10,000.

Michael further added that 30 to 40 square feet of solar hot water would give you enough hot water, while an equal amount of electricity-producing solar photovoltaics would only give you about 500 watts (per day??).

What is the worst furnace?? Michael said in this area, the 80+ atmospheric boiler is popular – but not efficient. Oftentimes, the burners on this boiler get dirty and there is incomplete combustion, causing carbon monoxide to be formed. You can have this boiler tested for CO, but be sure that the test is done inside the tubing between the boiler and the bell. If you cannot afford to replace this unit, then have an HVAC guy come and check the fuel pressure and fuel-to-air ratio.

How can you zone your house, so that hot air goes where it is most wanted? Michael said that it was best to install “slider dampers” on the ducts in the basement, rather than simply closing the vents in the room that doesn’t need heat.

How do you know if your gas oven is burning properly? The flame should be blue rather than yellow. These are notorious for “exhaling” carbon monoxide. Michael recommends having UL-rated (Underwriters Laboratory) CO monitors on every floor. There should be no more than 9 ppm of CO. Side effects of “mild” CO poisoning are grumpiness, edginess, unable to concentrate, and lethargic.

When should I have an audit done? Energy audits can be done at any time of year. Michael’s audits takes two hours.

Which insulation material should I use to insulate a hole above my basement window? Fiberglass does not provide an air barrier – so it would be better to use rigid board or polyurethane foam. Warning: if you have “knob-and-tube” wiring, you cannot use cellulose for insulation in your walls.

Question on insulating ducts: Michael said it was more important to insulate “return” ducts.

Is there a way to insulate brick walls? You can make small holes in the mortar and use a slow-rise foam called “air-crete”.

Where do you find the material to put behind hot water radiators – to radiate the heat back into the house instead of into an outside wall? There is something called “super-tough” at most home improvement . It appears to be blue on the shelf, but it is reflective on the back. Also there is a product called, thermo-ply, but it is not at home improvement stores.

How do you deal with a chimney and fireplace that is no longer used? Michael recommends sealing it at the top. If still using the fireplace occasionally, fit the chimney below with a friction-fitted board. EFI.org has appropriate gizmos.