Thank you for the informative and useful home energy article (My house is sealed, Dec. 29). The information covers many important aspects. Those of us who work in this field understand that America is, by far, the most energy wasteful nation on Earth. That fact should alert us to the numerous steps that homeowners can take to reduce energy costs, and, more importantly, greenhouse gas emissions, a principal source of global warming.
I am a Nationally Certified Sustainable Building Advisor (NaSBAP) with decades of experience helping home and business owners reduce costs. I also use my own home as a “test” lab and make most of my errors here. Before I took the one-year college course for my SBA ticket I used many of the suggestions mentioned in Ms. Dawn Klingensmith’s article with decent results.
However, there is one idea that is, in my professional opinion, is essential for home air leak sealing, and for home energy cost reduction. The Building Performance Institute (BPI) offers one of the best options for home energy efficiency. It uses a scientific approach that yields the best results for home (and business) owners.
Two essential science-backed tests find the best ways to reduce costs. The first, touched on by Klingensmith’s article, is known as a blower door test. This will, in less than an hour, discover every air leak in the building. Heating and/or cooling ductwork is also subject to testing.
The other vital factor in building energy understanding is insulation testing. Ms. Klingensmith’s piece omits this. Doing so requires sophisticated thermal imaging gear. By the way, air leaks and poor insulation are the two major ways buildings lose energy. They’re also the least expensive to remediate. Although BPI audits do much more for the client, they address what professionals know is the simplest and best. As an old saying goes, “you can’t heal what isn’t real.”
Homes in our region are not well insulated and that causes needless energy waste. In fact, the standards for home energy now take their cues from passive house. Passive house uses “net zero” energy waste as the best standard. Increasingly, local architects and builders are using passive house in their work. Done properly, this standard is now no more expensive than the outmoded old-fashioned standards.
It’s time to promote 21st century values and forget the old stuff.
Larry Menkes is a Nationally Certified Sustainable Building Advisor (NaSBA) in Warminster.
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