This past week the local USGBC chapter held its monthly meeting at one of our member’s home to preform a live energy audit. It was an interesting evening. We got to see a blower door test, duct test and infrared scan. How these test worked was interesting and eyeopening. Because this was a remodel (somewhat in progress) we expected the results to be not so great. But what we discovered was that if you took all the holes and leaks in the home and collected them into one big hole it was equal 25% of the exterior surface. Ouch! The amount of energy loss was more than even the homeowner expected.
Josh, our guide/tester/teacher recommended that the first line of defense should always be the roof. Make sure your envelope is closed by insulating the roof. Then the second most important place was the floor and lastly followed by the walls. So if you have to break up the job, there is the most economical priority.
To have your own energy audit done is highly recommended. The going rate is somewhere around $1,000 but expect a significant payback. The audit will tell you exactly where the leaks are located.
between yellow and blue 