We are
Certified Home Performance Contractors, certified by the California Building
Perfomance Contractors Association (CBPCA) for the Home Performance with
Energy Star Program.Energy Star is
a program of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).At this time, we provide Home Performance
services for Residential Buildings, with emphasis on single-family residences.
Our
“5 + 1” Home Performance with Energy Starprogram is outlined below.However, before we get to that, let us understand why home
performance work may be of interest to you.
EPA's Home Performance with Energy Star
What interests you in Home Performance?
Home Performance work is based on the Whole House approach.It is more than the customary Energy Audit and includes diagnostics and measurements, which quantify the functioning of a house as a whole entity.
You may have heard about the benefits of Home Performance, but it is more likely that you would contact us because you may have one or more situations in your home that need a remedy or a fix.Such issues include:
High energy bills
Uncomfortable home
Drafts in home
Uneven heating and cooling in the home
Poor indoor air quality
Home occupants susceptible to allergies or other health-related problems
Our "5 + 1" Home Performance plus Energy Star Program
The First Contact
Our contact with you normally begins with a phone call
or email contact during which you briefly describe to us the issues you are
facing within your home. If you decide
to retain us following this contact, we will make an appointment to visit your
house. At least one week prior to our
visit, we will send you a contract for our services, which we will ask you to
sign and return to us prior to our visit.
We will also ask you to compile electricity and gas bills covering the past
12 months, and provide them to us at the time of our visit. We will need these bills in order to
establish the energy consumption pattern for your home over a one-year
period.
Click Image to enlarge
1. Consultation and Home Survey (Audit)
Our visit to your home begins with a consultation and home survey (Audit).During this phase, we will undertake the following activities:
Do an interview with you to determine the problems you are having,gather basic information about your home, and review the comfort level of your home
Carry out a review of your energy bills and discuss them with you.
Undertake a home site inspection
Walk through the house and review the problem areas.
Test house for gas leaks
Test cooking range and oven for carbon monoxide leaks under normal house conditions
Carry out visual inspection of the furnace, air conditioner, hot water heater, duct system, and appliances
Review the condition of attic and crawl space
Review the condition of your walls, windows, doors, and roof
Review any other issues you may be facing, such as mold, indoor air quality, drafts, etc.
Review lighting within home
Make any basic measurements that we may need during this phase
Click Image to enlarge
2. Diagnostics and Measurements
During this phase, we will use
sophisticated equipment, such as blower doors, duct blasters, and infrared
cameras.We will undertake one or more
of the following tests, as needed, to quantify your home’s performance:
Carry out
blower door test to measure enclosure air leakage
Carry out
depressurization or pressurization test, as appropriate
Carry out duct
blaster test to quantify duct leakage
Carry out
worse case combustion safety tests for combustion equipment and appliances
(worst case depresurrization)
Carry out
insulation and air barrier inspection
Check HVAC
system and thermostats
Check hot
water heater
Compile
listing of all lighting loads
Compile
listing of all other electrical loads in the house
Carry out
infrared imaging of the house under normal conditions
Carry out infrared imaging of the house under
depressurization conditions
Blower Door (Photo Courtesy: The Energy Conservatory)
3. Report and Recommendations
A report with recommendations will be prepared for the
Client. The report will be presented to
the Client and discussed with the Client within two weeks of the house
visit. The report will include:
A listing of
customer’s concerns
An overview of
the findings
A detailed
discussion of the findings and measurements
Photographs
illustrating specific concerns
Representative
infrared imaging of the house
Recommendations for improvements
Typical Infrared Image (Photo Courtesy: The Energy Conservatory)
4. Home Improvements Implementation
This phase is optional. If the homeowner prefers, a preliminary scope of work, based on
the recommendations made in the Report, will be put together and discussed with
the homeowner. Following these
discussions, the scope of work will be finalized and cost estimates put
together. For implementation of the work,
we will work together only with those specialty contractors who are qualified
to undertake home performance work. We
will coordinate and manage the work with the various specialty contractors and
serve as the contact person for the home owner during the implementation
5. Follow-up and Support
Under this phase, we will provide three months phone support to the homeowner for any questions he/she may have concerning home performance for his/her home.
6. Energy Efficiency Calculations (Optional)
To carry out energy efficiency calculations, home data will be collected during Phase (1) and used to show the improvements possible through use of different parameters (insulation levels, window types, etc.)..If the homeowner decides to implement the home improvements recommended in Phase (4), an additional post-implementation program run will be carried out to show comparisons between the pre-and post-improvement periods for the home.
Home Improvement
Packages
We offer four home improvement packages under this program:
Package A includes:
Phase (1) - Consultation and Home Survey (Audit)
Phase (3) - Report and Recommendations for work done under
(1)
Package (B) includes:
Phase (1) - Consultation and Home Survey (Audit)
Phase (2) - Diagnostics, Measurements and Evaluation
Phase (3) - Report and Recommendations for work done under
(1) and (2)
Phase (5) - Follow-up and Support
Package C includes:
Phase (1) - Consultation and Home Survey (Audit)
Phase (2) - Diagnostics, Measurements and Evaluation
Phase (3) - Report and Recommendations for work done under
(1) and (2)
Phase (4) - Home Improvements Implementation (Preliminary
Scope of Work only – actual implementation under separate contract)
Phase (5) - Follow-up and Support
Package (D) includes:
All Phases in Package C, plus
Phase (6) - Energy Efficiency Calculations
Individual Diagnostics Tests
In adiition to the packages listed above, the following individual diagnostics tests are available:
Blower Door Test
Duct Leakage Test
Infrared Imaging
Gas Leak Tests
Carbon Monoxide Leak Tests
Duct Blaster (Photo Courtesy: The Energy Conservatory)
