Marian Bowman Testimonial
Late in 2008 with winter fast approaching and my old wood stove needing to be replaced, I decided to have an Energy Audit conducted on the house to see what the overall status of my home's energy efficiency (or inefficiency) was. I had recently had retired and needed to improve (cut) energy costs wherever possible. I had always been very interested in solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative strategies for making my house work better (more efficiently) for my needs. Fortunately all these alternative energy sources have finally become more cost effective for homeowners and the technology had also greatly advanced since I first began researching them more then 20+ years ago. (Systems such as hot water on demand were only available in Europe back then and could not be imported)
I located a certified provider from the Maine Housing Authority's web site and choose a company that was local to where I lived in Maine. (I like to do business locally whenever possible and it simply makes good business sense to have business providers 'in close proximity' these days) In early 2009 I hired the Sustainable Structures folks in Whitefield to conduct an Energy Audit on my house which included infrared technology and other tests.
Curry Caputo and his partners conducted an flow test using my front door entrance which revealed where cold air gets into my house and the warm air escapes. They also inspected my house from attic to basement. (Being a 'technology geek', a former systems engineer, I admit that I followed the crew around and asked a lot of questions. I like to understand how things work after all!)
Upon reviewing the basement, where air infiltrates through the sill and creates a flow that pushes warm air up through the house and out through the attic and roof, it was clear that insulating the basement from the sills to below ground level would be the best 'bang for the buck' in helping to stop air infiltration and keeping the warm air from the wood stove doing a better job of heating the house.
After reviewing the attic it was soon obvious that the pink fiberglass insulation from the 1970's wasn't doing much of a job in my home. It had become wet (from icing at the joint in the roof) and had to be removed. The attic was then air sealed and another air flow (door) test was conducted to check on the air sealing status of the attic prior to having new insulation blown into the 3x12 pitched roof attic.
Spring soon arrived and while I haven't had the opportunity to report on how well the house may work for me during “a Maine winter” just yet, the final 'door test' conducted proved that the efficiency of my home has improved by some 48% overall which should translate into (1) a huge savings in wood costs and, (2) a decrease in the amount of labor required (mine) to keep the new (more efficient) wood stove humming next season!
Meanwhile I can tell you that the house is much tighter then it was. I am also much more aware of how to increase the rate of air flow throughout my house simply by using the new air vent on my bathroom and the air vent in my kitchen to pull more air throughout the house while reducing humidity levels.
I might also add that I am using my air conditioning less often this summer season.
One happy “Energy Certified” home owner,
Marion from Chelsea
I located a certified provider from the Maine Housing Authority's web site and choose a company that was local to where I lived in Maine. (I like to do business locally whenever possible and it simply makes good business sense to have business providers 'in close proximity' these days) In early 2009 I hired the Sustainable Structures folks in Whitefield to conduct an Energy Audit on my house which included infrared technology and other tests.
Curry Caputo and his partners conducted an flow test using my front door entrance which revealed where cold air gets into my house and the warm air escapes. They also inspected my house from attic to basement. (Being a 'technology geek', a former systems engineer, I admit that I followed the crew around and asked a lot of questions. I like to understand how things work after all!)
Upon reviewing the basement, where air infiltrates through the sill and creates a flow that pushes warm air up through the house and out through the attic and roof, it was clear that insulating the basement from the sills to below ground level would be the best 'bang for the buck' in helping to stop air infiltration and keeping the warm air from the wood stove doing a better job of heating the house.
After reviewing the attic it was soon obvious that the pink fiberglass insulation from the 1970's wasn't doing much of a job in my home. It had become wet (from icing at the joint in the roof) and had to be removed. The attic was then air sealed and another air flow (door) test was conducted to check on the air sealing status of the attic prior to having new insulation blown into the 3x12 pitched roof attic.
Spring soon arrived and while I haven't had the opportunity to report on how well the house may work for me during “a Maine winter” just yet, the final 'door test' conducted proved that the efficiency of my home has improved by some 48% overall which should translate into (1) a huge savings in wood costs and, (2) a decrease in the amount of labor required (mine) to keep the new (more efficient) wood stove humming next season!
Meanwhile I can tell you that the house is much tighter then it was. I am also much more aware of how to increase the rate of air flow throughout my house simply by using the new air vent on my bathroom and the air vent in my kitchen to pull more air throughout the house while reducing humidity levels.
I might also add that I am using my air conditioning less often this summer season.
One happy “Energy Certified” home owner,
Marion from Chelsea