I recently had a home energy audit performed on my 20 year home. I was very interested to see if all the improvements (windows, insulation, etc) made a difference. All in all the house is pretty efficient, they did the usual blower door test, digital thermometer and also thermal imaging. The owner of the firm Jeff Brietz spent several hours at the house going over every detail with me. He also sent me a detailed analysis of items that should be corrected or possibly improved. One of the things that I goofed on when I doubled the attic insulation was that I didn't seal all the gaps before insulating. Another big thing they found is on our porch there is a big cold air leak coming in where it meets the house.
The funniest part about the inspection was the blower door test. As soon as Jeff arrived he said he didn't think he could do the test because I had the Quad going. I asked why and he stated that every time he's ever done a BDT with a fireplace running it pulls all the smoke into the house. I mentioned that its an air tight unit and it shouldn't be a problem, Jeff was highly skeptical. Anyway he hooks it up, and tells me to yell if smoke comes out. He flips the switch and turns it off 20 seconds later. I asked what the problem is and he walks in and says he can't believe it, theres no smoke coming out. He then proceeded and completed the test without any smoke being pulled from the unit. He said its the first time he's ever seen a completely air tight unit.
Anyway, for anyone in NJ that is thinking about getting a home energy audit completed I highly rec'd northeast air sealing. They're back at the house today taking care of some of the items I just don't have time to get to. One of the things I like is that Jeff is low pressure and spends lots of time on how to remedy things yourself. He also breaks it all down by what are the best bang for the buck items, ie the things that will save you the most. Jeff's website is (broken link removed). Hope you don't mind Craig.
The funniest part about the inspection was the blower door test. As soon as Jeff arrived he said he didn't think he could do the test because I had the Quad going. I asked why and he stated that every time he's ever done a BDT with a fireplace running it pulls all the smoke into the house. I mentioned that its an air tight unit and it shouldn't be a problem, Jeff was highly skeptical. Anyway he hooks it up, and tells me to yell if smoke comes out. He flips the switch and turns it off 20 seconds later. I asked what the problem is and he walks in and says he can't believe it, theres no smoke coming out. He then proceeded and completed the test without any smoke being pulled from the unit. He said its the first time he's ever seen a completely air tight unit.
Anyway, for anyone in NJ that is thinking about getting a home energy audit completed I highly rec'd northeast air sealing. They're back at the house today taking care of some of the items I just don't have time to get to. One of the things I like is that Jeff is low pressure and spends lots of time on how to remedy things yourself. He also breaks it all down by what are the best bang for the buck items, ie the things that will save you the most. Jeff's website is (broken link removed). Hope you don't mind Craig.
