Energy Renovations

“Just wanted to let you know what happened when we had those days in the mid/upper 90’s last week. Before, our upstairs area and master BR would get to the low 80’s in that kind of weather, and it was difficult to get it down in the evening. Now, with the thermostat set at 74, it got no higher than 76.5 degrees up there! We are very happy with the energy renovation results. The funny part is now we don’t use our ceiling fans that are in every bedroom.” Keith Herbert.

The first step to improve the energy efficiency of a home is to have a residential energy audit by one of Alban’s certified energy auditors. The written report will identify areas of air infiltration and energy wasting components in the house, such as attics or appliances. The next step is to have an energy retrofit that is guided by the finding of the energy audit. The energy renovation includes many of these techniques to make the house experience less unconditioned air from the outside infiltrating into the home, improve the capacity of the home to retain its conditioned air and have more efficient equipment and materials in the home:

Seal with caulk all areas of air leakage where caulk is appropriate. In areas such as basement band boards and around doors and windows in unfinished spaces, fill voids with insulation or apply a sealant to plug air leaks.
Install additional insulation, primarily in unfinished ceilings or in the attic. Retrofit heating, cooling and water heating equipment in older houses with high efficiency ratings. This can result in household savings of 30–80% due to cut in energy-use. Although this has a longer payback period, 1nstall new double or triple glazed replacement windows. Tune up heating and cooling (HVAC) systems. Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs and/or LED light bulbs.