I don’t typically write about our client work, but a new web tool we have created is in my opinion, pretty darn cool. As you’ve seen on HY-brid’s home page, we have a client, Focus on Energy, that Hoffman York has helped market for more than 8 years. As Wisconsin’s statewide energy efficiency and renewable energy resource, Focus works to educate residents and businesses about the benefits of using less energy and being smarter when they’re using it.

A really exciting new tool we’ve just launched with Focus is a website for the new Live Efficiently with Focus home assessment tool. It‘s meant to help homeowners interested in energy efficiency, but don’t know where to start. It’s also designed for those who’ve made a few changes, but aren’t sure what to do next. In our time working with Focus, both of our organizations have come to realize many Wisconsinites (and this of course extends to homeowners everywhere) think their home is energy efficient, but aren’t exactly sure how efficiently they’re living. This tool might help them determine where small or large improvements can be made.

Live Efficiently with Focus takes you through a series of questions about your home, the products in it, your energy supply and how you are using energy within your home. All the while the tool is keeping tabs on your answers. The result is an assessment of your home and your energy lifestyle. Pretty cool stuff.

After questions are answered, there are results and reporting features that help to get the user started. Tips and solutions are offered along the way. A user can even choose to create an account and or email their report to a consultant if they want to take the next step.

In the end, this is a residential tool but remember the bigger story here is that becoming more energy efficient is a lifestyle change. HY-brid helps businesses communicate their sustainability efforts but no matter how many hours are put in at the office, we all go home and use our TV’s, appliances and other household energy users. My hope is you take a walk through the site (for those not in Wisconsin, when you get to the county and city section, enter Milwaukee for both) and learn a bit about yourself and how you are consuming energy within your home. What you learn may surprise you. Take what you learn back to the office. Who knows, it may just spark some more efficiency practices in your building.

If you want to find out how you can assess your sustainability practices, or, if you simply want to learn more about Hoffman York and HY-brid, send us a message, we would like to hear from you.

• No Comments
• Post Your Own Comment

I’ve been writing about energy efficiency and renewable energy for years now. It’s something I truly believe in and it makes me feel good to write about it. Why? Because I feel like, in some small way, I’m doing my part to help save the world. I’m telling people how to be more energy efficient and I’m propelling products that will help them do that. By using less energy, they’ll create less pollution, which will collectively contribute to the health of our planet. How often can an advertising copywriter really say, “I’m saving the world?!” Exactly.

But just because I believe in green, doesn’t mean I’m made of it. Like most people, when it comes to personal energy efficiency and eco-awareness, I do what I can. I turn off lights at home, and to the frustration of some co-workers, around the office. I use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). I have a low-flow showerhead. I use a SmartStrip for my entertainment center electronics to reduce phantom load and have ENERGY STAR^® qualified appliances. I have a programmable thermostat. There’s more, but you get the point. Add it all up and I’m probably more energy efficient than the average bear, but there’s always room for improvement. No pun intended.

Something that’s been on my to-do list for quite a while is a home energy audit. Well, many, many home improvement projects later (the home is quite the fixer-upper) I finally made it happen on Earth Day ’09.

I have a 60-year-old Cape Cod. So when it came to my home’s efficiency challenges, I wanted to know—and I didn’t want to know.

I found my consultant through Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s energy efficiency and renewable energy initiative. Tom from 5 Star Energy walked around the inside and outside of my house to get the lay of the land, and then began to set up for the test. If you’re not familiar with a home energy audit, here’s what happens:

Testing the combustion safety.

Combustion safety test – Using a continuous sampling instrument, the consultant measures CO parts per million (ppm) in the flue gases of your furnace and water heater. This makes sure your water heater and furnace are drafting properly. It they’re not, you could have dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in your home. While testing the combustion safety, your consultant will also measure the efficiency of your heating equipment.

Blower door testing equipment.

Building Air Tightness – The consultant sets up a blower door. This tool lowers the air pressure inside your home. Because the air pressure outside is now higher, air is drawn into your home through all unsealed openings. Sometimes, the consultant will use a smoke pencil to show you the leaks, but often you can actually FEEL the air rushing in or see cobwebs moving. The blower door equipment will measure your air leakage in cubic feet per minute (cfm). A home’s air leakage number should be about equal to its square footage.

Ventilation – Using a balometer, the consultant measures the volumetric flow of your kitchen and bath fans in cubic feet per minute (cfm). This ensures that they’re powerful enough to remove moisture from your home and for your room sizes.

Infrared camera showing insulation in my home's sidewalls.

Insulation – The consultant will examine the box sills in your basement and your walls and attic to determine the presence and level of existing insulation. To determine the presence and level of insulation in exterior walls, the consultant may use either an infrared camera or drill holes and use a wall probe. If necessary, you’ll receive recommendations for increasing insulation levels.

My consultant's initial notes. This is NOT the report.

After the inspection and all tests are complete, you’ll receive a detailed report of your home’s performance. The report will pinpoint exactly where your home is inefficient, and explain exactly how to fix the issues. It will also include a list of recommended contractors. These contractors have gone through training on Home Performance with ENERGY STAR^® and know the program standards; so you know the work will be done correctly.

Now that I have my home’s efficiency report, I actually feel empowered. I know my home inside and out and I have a surprisingly short list of projects to tackle. If I decide to involve contractors, I know EXACTLY what to ask for, so I won’t get talked into anything I don’t need. Plus, I’ll know they’re reputable, because my consultant has recommended them.

I can’t think of a better way to spend an Earth Day.

Energy audits can be conducted on homes and businesses. Obviously, the opportunity for savings is even greater in the commercial arena. Visit these pages within energystar.gov to find more information on having your home or business energy audited.

Oh, before you click away, I suppose you might be curious as to how my home did on the energy efficiency test. Well…

The good news is that I actually have insulation in ALL of my sidewalls; my heating equipment is drafting properly with a very safe CO ppm that’s remarkably low for the age of the equipment and state of my chimney; my windows are surprisingly tight, for being older; my attic is fairly well insulated, with just a couple of areas that need attention; and my water heater is operating at .59 energy factor—.64 is the recommendation.

The (not so) bad news is that my home’s air leakage is three times what it should be. It should match my square footage (1,200 s.f.), but it’s at 2,983. This is easily fixed—and I can do a lot of it myself.  Also, my furnace is operating at less than 80% Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE). It’s should be 90+ AFUE. No surprise. It’s 13 years old. Like anyone, I’ll replace it when I need to. 

• 2 Comments
• Post Your Own Comment