Questions tagged [energy-audit]

The tag has no usage guidance.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
1 vote
2 answers
62 views

How best to air seal kitchen pantry ceiling

We just moved in and had an energy audit done by a professional, and they flagged that we were losing a ton of air through the ceiling in our kitchen pantry/ closet. The ceiling itself is a weird ...
0 votes
2 answers
6k views

How much power/electricity should my central air's blower fan use?

Main Question I've already visited this similar, but different question and saw a commenter mention that about 500W seems appropriate for blower fan of an HVAC system. The past few months we've had ...
0 votes
1 answer
92 views

Home energy monitoring in split floor with one compressor

I have an odd situation where I live on a floor split in two and I want to split the electricity bill fairly with my floormate. I am looking at the home energy monitoring systems that have all the ...
0 votes
1 answer
3k views

Where can I find the U-factor (U-value) for a Pella window?

I am trying to compare the Pella windows sold by the Pella sales person with the Pella windows sold at the big box stores (Lowe's, Home Depot). I have found a spec sheet with this information for ...
2 votes
4 answers
3k views

Does a storm door help prevent heat loss?

One person advised me that I'll cut down on the heat loss in my kitchen by installing a storm door. Another said I'd get better results by replacing the door itself, and then I can either install a ...
0 votes
0 answers
38 views

Need guidance in selecting a storm door

In relation to my previous question, Does a storm door help prevent heat loss?, where I learned that a storm door helps prevent energy loss, because of the air pocket between the two doors, now I am ...
0 votes
3 answers
66 views

How can I predict now the heat sinks that will appear in winter?

I've just moved into a house where I'm concerned that an energy audit might find problems. The clue is that the windows appear to be old single-pane windows. Once it's cold out I can borrow an ...
0 votes
1 answer
224 views

How should I insulate my partially finished, currently uninsulated basement?

I am in Alabama, climate zone 3. Half of my basement is finished, well at least it has a dropped ceiling, wood panel walls, an air supply and return, but no insulation. There is an uninsulated ...
5 votes
3 answers
2k views

How to calculate maximum demand charge from appliance wattage

My roommate and I are planning to switch to the Terms of Use - Residential Plan that Georgia Power offers (see link below). The one item on this plan where I'm not sure of my calculations is the ...
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

How can I estimate the percentage of electricity (bill) is due to heating and cooling?

I want to estimate our heating/cooling needs to figure out what the potential value of increasing insulation would be. Our insulation in the attic floor is the fluffy stuff (not fiberglass) and IIRC&...
1 vote
1 answer
123 views

The best device to measure instantaneous energy usage

What is the best way to measure instantaneous energy usage in an electrical circuit? Wattmeter, ammeter, something else? My use case is as follows: I have a room which I use for short term rental (...
1 vote
0 answers
103 views

Utility of new smartphone-based thermal cameras in identifying cold spots in the home

Winter is coming up, and for those of us in the Midwest, that means that winterizing needs to be done. I'm moving into a house built in 1956 that may have some cold spots around doors, windows, and ...
4 votes
3 answers
9k views

Why is the upstairs a lot hotter in a 2 story duplex?

I've lived in my current duplex for about 5 years now and every summer, my upstairs portion of the duplex gets noticeably hotter than downstairs. I couldn't give an exact measurement but 10 degrees ...
10 votes
8 answers
6k views

How can I audit my furnace?

I want to keep track of when my furnace is on, with an eye to reducing how much energy I use to heat my house. I could compare it with weather data (temperature, wind speed, precipitation). I could ...
0 votes
1 answer
169 views

What is the correct Air Flow change per hour for my house?

I recently just got my house air sealed. Before air sealed the Building Air Standard (BAS) was 1.4 now it is 1.2. Based off a 1300 sq ft house. What should the BAS be? Is there a calculator to ...
3 votes
1 answer
184 views

Understanding results of an energy audit

We had an energy audit done a couple of years ago on our 20 year old home. Basically, they hooked up a blower to the front door, and tested the amount of air leakage. The written report suggested a ...
1 vote
0 answers
87 views

How do I maximize light gain and minimize heat gain for my glass wall?

How to get maximum benefit of daylight while optimizing air-conditioner benefit for a glass wall (currently) of size 11' * 8' (total 88 square feet exposed). Facts: The glass wall never gets direct ...
4 votes
1 answer
2k views

Using a 16A energy monitor in a 10A socket

I'm in Australia (220-240 / 50-60Hz) and wanting to monitor some appliances energy usage. The sockets here are 10Amp standard. Am I going to run into dire trouble if I use a 16A monitoring device ...
6 votes
2 answers
2k views

Is there a way to find out how often your furnace is running?

With winter finally setting in, and being the first year in our new house I would like to put some sort of measurement on how often the furnace is working, before I get the bill. Are there any known ...
5 votes
2 answers
264 views

Energy Audit (WellHome)

We recently had an energy audit done by WellHome, a new division of Masco, which is a manufacturer of many types of home/building fixtures and services. They seemed to do a very thorough job, using ...