Home Energy Audit Chicago

With Infrared Thermal Imaging Cameras:
Our technician can graphically display and photograph the insulation levels and cold or hot spots within your walls, ceiling, floors without creating any holes. Most people are amazed when they see a vivid image of where they aremissing insulation and what that does for heat loss in the winter or heat gain in the summer. Making the invisible visible.

Minimum Ventilation Requirements (MVR):
In order to maintain acceptable indoor air quality, some fresh air is required. In leaky homes this is easily accomplished through the building shell. However, for especially tight houses mechanical ventilation is required. Typical standards require that air leakage provides either 15 CFM per person or 0.35 ACHn, whichever is greater.

Thermal Imaging Home Inspection:
Thermal imaging helps to diagnose the problem rather than merely identify symptoms, identify and document: Electrical faults before they cause a fire, overloaded and undersized circuits, circuit breakers in need of immediate replacement, missing, damaged, and/or wet insulation, heat loss and air infiltration in walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors, water and moisture intrusion that could lead to mold, possible pest infestation, roof leaks, before they cause serious damage, air conditioner compressor leaks, under fastening and/or missing framing members, structural defects, broken seals in double pane windows, energy loss and efficiency issues, dangerous flue leaks, damaged and/or malfunctioning radiant heating systems, unknown plumbing leaks, and overheated equipment.

This imaging technique is a powerful and noninvasive means of monitoring and diagnosing the condition of buildings. IR inspections can provide immediate documentation of as-built & post-restoration conditions, post-damaged material assessment, energy inefficiency, and electrical problems. Typically, moisture on building materials will evaporate and cool by as much as 39 degrees Fahrenheit. A wet spot (when observed with an infrared camera) is clearly visible as a distinct cool spot.

Corner wall had a major air infiltration, can be solved by insulating all exterior walls with blow in cellulose under high pressure.

Infrared image discovered missing chimney insulation, air seal and blow in rockwool was recommended.

Infrared audit help discovered bad weatherstrip which was replaced by Green Attic Insulation.

Infrared image of missing wall insulation and cold air infiltration by outlets, Green Attic did blow in cellulose dense pack and foam aroun outlets.

Pull-down ladder had litle to no R-value, and allowed warm moist air to escape in to the attic, Green Attic built a 12 inch wall with a R-39 insulated plywood door on top.

Thermal audit shows cold air infiltrating rim joist. Green Attic can fix this with fiberglass removal, foam board installation, and foam sealing.

Thermal Imaging Scan will locate gaps between building materials such as siding to the foundation, window frame to window, facia to brick, and more. These gaps are unintentional, treatable, and highly impactful in reducing drafts, air quality control issues, uncomfortable rooms, higher than neighbors heating and cooling costs, and more.

Thermal Scan targets the exact location of air intake from the exterior and recommends a treatment solution for exterior sealing. We can prioritize treatment, and create an action plan with prices and individual line items for treatment.

Some items can be performed by our attic insulation team, while others require a handyman, painter, siding contractor, or another specialist in the respected field.

The auditor will locate unintentional air leakage and provide a solution. There are many variables to air sealing, both interior and exterior products, and application methods. For example, if the floors are wood and the trim is white ( common decorating style 2010- present) clear caulk will be used on that seam, while the seam between the base shoe and base trim will be white caulk.

The auditor will walk the home under normal living conditions, and measure ductwork vent delivery temperatures. We may find a leaky duct or poor pressure or temperatures to conditioned air supply in a particular space.

We may find significant gaps along the baseboard. We may find obvious heat escape such as can lights that have no AT rating, and usually, there will be corresponding cobwebs. We may find heat escape from top plates ( bypass between framing top plate and drywall seam).

Green Attic will calculate the sq ft of the home and volume ( cubic ft volume) and determine the ACH ( air exchange per hour). This is a valuable number for new construction / remodel as is is most commonly required to be at 4.0 in order to receive occupancy permit.

✓  Additionally, Green Attic will take a CFM (cubic feet per minute) reading to measure how many cubic feet ( about a basketball in size) of air is being drawn through the blower door test fan while depressurizing the home to 50Pa ( pascals). Most homes in the Chicagoland area which have average deficiencies test between 8-12 ACH.

With 4.0 being the baseline for occupancy of a new home, we are 2-3 times leakier than intended, translation to 2-3 times less comfortable, 2-3 times higher heating and cooling costs, but that is subject to other relative variables such as insulation, building construction methods and materials and more.

Stack effect: Warm air is less dense than cool air, and naturally tends to rise in the house (just as a hot air balloon rises), while cooler air falls. This rising warm air creates increased air pressure at the higher levels of the house, and the warm air is forced out of the house through any openings.

This forces cooler air to be drawn into the house at lower levels. The stack effect pressures are greatest at the highest and lowest points in the building. Therefore, a hole in the basement or attic will allow more air infiltration than an equal-sized hole near the middle of the house.

Wind pressure: Wind blowing against a wall creates an area of high pressure, driving outdoor air into the windward side of the home. The wind creates a low-pressure area at wall and roof surfaces parallel to its flow, and the leeward side, facing away from the wind, is usually either neutral or depressurized, allowing air from the house to escape.

Chimney and exhaust pressures: Chimneys, exhaust fans, and clothes dryers create a slight depressurization in the house because they exhaust air out of the building. In many cases, this can’t be avoided, of course.

However, gas-burning appliances that are sealed combustion avoid much of the chimney pressures because they use outside air for combustion and vent the combustion gases through sealed vents.

These appliances don’t rely on any air from inside the house to create the draft necessary to vent dangerous combustion gases to the outside. Duct pressure: The furnace or A/C blower circulates air through the system’s supply and return ducts.

If the ducts are leaking, or if return air (air meant to return to the blower to continue the cycle) is restricted, rooms may have a high positive or negative pressure, which can help to drive air through the building shell.

These pressures are often large enough to double or triple the building shell’s air leakage compared to when the blower is off.

Test Data: The measurement obtained from the test is the flow rate in cubic feet per minute (CFM) at 50 Pa of pressure. This is the CFM50. Using this value, along with the calculated volume of the house, the Air Changes per Hour rate is calculated at 50 Pa of pressure (ACH50).

Then, using well-established formulas, an estimation of the natural air changes per hour is given. These formulas take into account the average temperatures and wind speeds in an area (colder and windier areas allow more air leakage), the building’s height (a taller building allows more leakage), and the shielding of the building against the wind (the better the shielding the less wind and then the less air leakage).

The natural air change rate is denoted by ACHn or just ACH. For example, an ACH of 0.5 means that every hour 50% of the air in the house is changed due to air infiltration. Of course, this air coming in must be heated by your furnace or boiler.

Duct pressure: The furnace or A/C blower circulates air through the system’s supply and return ducts. If the ducts are leaking, or if return air (air meant to return to the blower to continue the cycle) is restricted, rooms may have a high positive or negative pressure, which can help to drive air through the building shell.

These pressures are often large enough to double or triple the building shell’s air leakage compared to when the ducts are properly sealed and the return air flow is unobstructed.

A Home Energy Assessment will assess the condition of your ductwork, identify any leaks or restrictions, and provide recommendations for improving the efficiency of your heating and cooling system.

By addressing ductwork issues, you can significantly reduce energy waste and enhance the overall comfort of your home.