Home Energy Evaluation Report for Fritz Kreiss and Catherine McQueen

Transcription

1 Home Energy Evaluation Report for Fritz Kreiss and Catherine McQueen May 2008 Wisconsin Area PO BOX 115 Lake Geneva, WI CELL (414)

2 Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Evaluation Report Customer Information Customer Name: Fritz Kreiss and Catherine McQueen Address of Building: 5072 Hwy 50 Mailing Address: Same City: Delevan State: WI Zip: Phone: Fax: N/A Date of Evaluation: April 30, 2008 Consultant Name: Tom Krawczyk Home Owner Concerns and Major Issues: The north porch room and master bathroom have cold comfort issues. Some window were replace but seem drafty. Utility bills seem high. Summary of Recommendations: Air sealing specific areas in the house will reduce air infiltration and help reduce the comfort problems. Foaming the sill box areas around the perimeter of the home will further reduce air leakage. Sealing the adjoining garage drywall with caulk, sealing all exterior wall electrical boxes and recessed light fixtures will also reduce the draftiness observed. Insulating the crawl space sill boxes and sealing then ground crawl space floor areas will reduce the musty odors in the basement. 2

3 Combustion Safety Tests: Carbon Monoxide & Draft Evaluations The furnace and hot water heater were tested and both PASSED the combined Combustion Safety Test. These appliances vent up through a chimney and presently showed no signs of high CO (Carbon Monoxide) or back-drafting during this test. The second furnace is a high efficient type that did not require a draft or CO test. Moisture and Ventilation Tests: Moisture Source Identification and Exhaust Fan Output Evaluation The master bathroom did have an exhaust fan and ventilates to 45 cfm. This vent ducting should be shorter, insulated and a larger diameter to provide better exhaust air flow from the master bathroom. The second bathroom fan did exhaust at 14 cfm and is poorly ducted to the outside. The ½ bath did not have a fan and one is recommended. All bath exhaust fan housing should be caulked to the ceiling drywall to reduce air leakage. Timers can be installed to run these fans for minutes after using these bathroom areas. Range hood exhaust showed good flow of 102 cfm. Building Shell Evaluation: Blower Door Test This test determined that the house has some air leakage and there are several areas that can be air sealed to reduce energy losses and comfort issues. (The blower door air infiltration test simulates a 20 mph wind on all sides of your home.) Air Sealing Evaluation and Insulation Evaluation Reducing the large amount of air infiltrating into your home will reduce your heating & cooling costs and will make your home more comfortable. Foundation wall rim joists allow outside air to enter your home and can bring in air, insects and even rodents. Spray foaming these gaps will provide air sealing and insulation solutions for these specific areas. Comments: Attic Spaces Blown-in Cellulose insulation was installed and determined to have an R30 value. Some soffit vent chutes are in place along with ridge vents. Several penetrations need to be air sealed in the attic along with air blocking all soffit in the living room, kitchen and master bathroom. Partition wall top plates also need to be sealed to reduce air infiltration. Plumbing chases, both soil stack vents, appliance chimney framing also needs air sealing and air blocking. Recessed ceiling fixtures are the IC or Insulation Contact rated type. They need to have insulation put over them to equal the ceiling insulation value. Recessed fixtures also need to be caulk sealed to the ceiling to reduce air leakage. Insulated knee walls for the master bedroom and bathroom need to be air blocked with rigid foam board or have the old fiberglass batts removed and spray form the wall cavities. Heating duct supply and return plenums should be insulated and duct connections sealed. Duct chase needs to be sealed with fired rated materials to reduce high air infiltration into the house. Once all work in the attic is completed, additional insulation may be needed for a uniform fill of ceiling insulation compressed in retrofit areas. Attic access hatch needs insulation to R50 and gasketed frame for air sealing. 3

4 Comments: Interior Living Spaces Air leakage around recessed ceiling light fixtures and exterior wall electrical outlets was noticed with infrared scanning. Caulk sealing drywall gaps around these boxes and sealing all holes in the electrical boxes will reduce draftiness. Comments: Basement & Crawl Space Areas Air infiltration from the box sills can be sealed with spray foam for the basement perimeter and crawl space perimeter underneath the porch room. Both fireplace and appliance chimney chase framing needs air blocking with fire rated materials to stop the high amount of air infiltration. Plumbing drain, soil stack vents also need foam sealing in the floor accessible from the basement and crawl spaces. Heating ductwork penetrating the floor also needs air sealing with fire rated materials. All duct seams and connections should be sealed to improve HVAC system distribution efficiency. (Removable bathtub plumbing access covers can also be foam sealed allow access for maintenance.) Both sump pits have sealed covers that keep out moisture and soil gases from entering the basement. Basement remodeling: Future improvements should include insulating the interior walls for better thermal performance and reduced heat loss. Seal the dirt floor in crawls spaces with plastic film or concrete to reduce musty odors. IMPROVEMENT AREAS ATTIC SPACES 1. Shorten M Bath fan duct run. 2. Air seal plumbing soil stack vents. 3. Re-duct 2 nd Bath roof cap vent. 4. Dense pack 2 nd bath wall gaps. 5. Air seal HVAC duct chase -fire rated. 6. Air seal plumbing vent pipe chase. 4

5 IMPROVEMENT AREAS ATTIC SPACES 7. Air block M Bedroom knee walls. 8. Add vent chutes in rafter cavities. 9. Insulated HVAC plenums in attic. 10. Air seal vent pipe in partition wall. 11. Air seal partition wall in attic. 12. Hatch needs insulation & sealing 13. Add even insulation to R50. 5

6 IMPROVEMENT AREAS LIVING SPACES 14. 1/2 Bathroom needs exhaust fan. 15. Air seal recessed lights and all 16. Air leakage from recessed light. electrical boxes in ceiling. IMPROVEMENT AREAS BASEMENT SPACE 17. Seal duct chase openings. 18. Seal rim pipe gaps and insulate. 19. Seal fireplace framing fire rated. 20. Seal register gaps in ducts. 21. Seal HVAC systems duct seams. 6

7 IMPROVEMENT AREAS CRAWL SPACES 22. Seal duct gaps in ducting. 23. Seal ducting holes. 24. Seal duct joints and transitions. 25. Seal hole in furnace housing. 26. Seal penetrations in floor. 27. Seal box sill holes and penetrations. 28. Seal duct chases in floor. 29. Seal foam sheeting seams. 30. Seal dirt crawlspace floors. 7

8 Kreiss and McQueen Residence: Immediate Work Scope Priorities Recommended Energy and Home Comfort Improvements:- Attic Spaces & 2nd Floor 1. Master Bedroom and Bathroom: Install a new exhaust fan in master bathroom with insulated duct to exterior. Caulk housing. ( Fan Spec:.51 to 1.5 SONES with 90 CFM rating.51 or lower SONE costs more. ) Timer switch as option. Shorten exhaust fan ducting. Caulk all holes in all electrical outlet boxes and drywall gaps around boxes. Caulk seal shower head pipe gap in shower wall tile. Air block knee walls in attic for Master Bedroom and Master Bathroom. 2. Install a new exhaust fan in guest bathroom with insulated duct to exterior. Caulk housing. ( Fan Spec:.51 to 1.5 SONES with 90 CFM rating.51 or lower SONE costs more. ) Timer switch as option. Dense pack soffit or seal open guest bathroom wall from attic. Caulk all fan and lighting fixture electrical box holes in the ceiling. Caulk all holes in all electrical outlet boxes and drywall gaps around boxes. 3. Air Seal the following in the attic: Seal soil stack vents and all plumbing vent chases. Air seal vent chase and opening in the addition common wall. Seal heating duct chase in attic. 4. Attic Heating Ducts and Ventilation: Apply insulation to heating duct plenums in attic. Seal all duct connections and check to see if they are securely fastened. Add soffit vent chutes to roof rafter cavities. Add more soffit vent grilles. 5. Insulated Attic Storage Access panel with rigid foam to R50. Gasket seal all attic access hatch framing. 6. Insulated Attic to a uniform value of R50. 8

9 Recommended Energy and Home Comfort Improvements:- Living Spaces 1. 1/2 Bathroom: Moisture Venting Install a new exhaust fan in 1/2 bathroom with insulated duct to exterior. Caulk fan housing. ( Fan Spec:.51 to 1.5 SONES with 60 CFM rating.51 or lower SONE costs more. ) Timer switch optional. Caulk all holes in all ( outside wall ) electrical outlet boxes and drywall gaps around boxes. 2. General Air Sealing: Caulk recessed ceiling light fixture drywall gaps. Caulk drywall in garage to floor. Caulk all holes in all ( outside wall ) electrical outlet boxes and drywall gaps around boxes. Recommended Energy and Home Comfort Improvements:- Basement Spaces 1. Air seal with foam the plumbing soil stack and plumbing vent pipe penetrations in the floor. 2. Seal rigid insulation foam sheeting seams on crawlspace wall. 3. Seal HVAC system ducting chase openings in floor with fire rated materials. 4. Seal all duct seams and transitions in crawl and basement spaces. 5. Seal chimney framing in basement with fire rated materials. 6. Caulk seal or spray foam seal / insulate box sill perimeter areas. Seal all electrical, plumbing and other penetrations in these areas. Perimeter area needs total R19 value. 7. Seal supply register gaps in basement main duct run. Seal hole in furnace housing. 8. Seal dirt floors in crawlspace areas and spray foam insulate crawlspace exterior walls. NOTES: 9

10 Work Order and Completion and Ally Referrals Home Performance with Energy Star program Allies are trained specialists that are qualified and will take care of any permits, clean up and patch areas after the improvements are completed. Please take time and ask questions on the scope of their work for the energy improvement requirements in this report. You will need to make appointments with air sealing & insulating specialists and other contractors to do a walk through with you to see exactly the scope of improvements. Share a copy of this report with them. Insulation Services These companies are specialized in air sealing and insulation as Home Performance contractors. They provide excellent work, service and results upon post-home improvements. 1) Wisconsin Insulation Services ( Keith ) 2) SEALTIGHT Insulation and Coatings ( Kent ) 3) Beneficial Insulation Solutions ( Cliff ) The Completion Process Once you have completed the improvements, I will schedule a follow-up visit to your home to verify and inspect the work that was done and retest your home. To obtain the Cash Back Rewards based upon the improvements recommended- I will need copies of all receipts for the work performed. Retesting your home upon completed improvements is included in my energy evaluation services. We then complete the Customer Reward Form and mailing it in with copies of your improvement receipts. This completes the process and your Cash Back Rewards check will be mailed to you. IMPORTANT TIMELINE RECOMMENDATION: To take advantage of the current Home Performance with Energy Star Cash Back Rewards Program, all improvements and Retesting must be completed no later than December 1, THANK YOU for utilizing my home performance energy consulting services and for your energy conservation efforts that make our environment a better place to live in. 10