I had my $25 energy audit with Ameren on Thursday afternoon and have hesitated to post an update for 2 reasons.
1. Although the audit is complete, they are mailing a report by the end of next week. The auditor did tell me that it is just a review of everything he already told me, so there shouldn’t be any surprises.
2. From a personal perspective, I was disappointed because he didn’t come up with anything I wasn’t already aware of. Then again, the average person doesn’t think about energy efficiency in the same way I do.
Notes:
- I thought it was interesting to note that once the attic is sealed and insulated properly, it generally isn’t cost effective to replace all of the windows unless you are selling the house. He explained that the air doesn’t really have anywhere to go vertically.
- I’m not sure it was part of his report, but he did recommend the next clothes washer we buy be a front loading one as they save a lot of water in the wash cycle and saves energy from the dryer as the spin cycle does a much better job of getting rid of water. He even mentioned that the night before he took his work shirt out of the washer and hung it to be worn the next day.
- We talk extensively about the furnace and duct work.
- I asked him about replacing my collapsible dryer exhaust with a metal one. He gave me basic instructions of where to do and how to install it. (again, not part of the actual audit).
- We discussed insulating the box sills in the basement. I could use (1) icynene which is best be messiest, (2) use friction-fit foam insulation, or (3) simply caulk inside the sill. If I use the foam boards, he recommended caulking around the foam once they are installed.
- We looked that air conditioner. He recommended a cleaning of the unit. The pipes going from the unit into the house need new insulation as the old is pealing off and the hole in the brick of the house needs spray foam.
- He did a flashlight inspection inside the attic. I was surprised that I my attic insulation was better than I thought. However, he pointed out that in areas where someone may have done work, the insulation was just pushed aside and not restored. I need vent chutes, he gave me instructions on how to do it myself if I chose. The insulation doesn’t look like extended to the top of the walls. He recommended spray foaming around the lights and pipes before finished up the insulation. Another 2-3 inches of blown insulation might help.
- The bathroom exhaust fan is venting directly into the attic instead of our the roof or through the soffit.
- I don’t have any wall insulation. We talked about this extensively from putting holes in the walls and blowing it in to dampering rooms that get more heat to rooms that don’t. In fact, he was thinking about this issue AFTER he left the audit and called me to discuss it further on his way home. That sort of “customer service” impressed me. In the end, my options for to help the bedrooms maintain heat are (1) adding wall insulation, (2) adjusting the damper in other rooms, (3) getting the top of the walls insulated, (4) insulating the attic hatch (which has none), and (5) taping the seams in the ducts.
- I showed him my efforts to caulk my first window before the winter his and asked for an honest opinion on my efforts at my first ever attempt at caulking. He was very nice about the fact that I could have caulked 2 or 3 windows with the amount I had used on just that one. (I thought as much). Diplomatic and constructive.
- He would have installed pipe insulation above my water heater, but the pipes were only 2 inches from the exhaust. It is generally not recommended to add insulation if the gap is less than 3 inches.
- If I hadn’t already added CFL bulbs around the house, he would have replaced 5 incandescants in high traffic areas.
- Another part of the audit includes installing a water-saving shower head. I had done that in the upstairs shower already, but he took care of the shower in the basement.
- As with the shower head my faucet aerator was already in place in the upstairs bathroom, but not downstairs. It is now.
Here are the pros:
- I had a lot of questions and the auditor did an excellent job of listening to each with interest and thoughtful responses. He could have rushed through his answers or dismissed me – but didn’t. Major points there. Calling me after the left to continue the discussion was a major plus here.
- He kept the options open on how potential repairs could be taken care of. He recommended getting multiple quotes for insulation work and also gave me some basic instructions on how to make some repairs myself.
- For $25, having someone to talk through energy efficiency measures was a bargain. Not to mention the fact that they install 5 CFLs, a shower head, a faucet aerator, and some pipe insulation.
Here are the cons:
- This wasn’t a full audit with a thermal camera and blower door test. But, we knew that going it. I have wondered if the recommended fixes would have been the same regardless of the use of the equipment. I won’t know until I decide to pay for the other audit.
- It didn’t occur to me until the next day, but he didn’t look at weatherstripping of the doors which need done. Maye it will be in the report, but we certainly didn’t talk about it.
- He didn’t do a window inspection. If he had, he would have pointed out weather stripping sticking up on one window and condensation inside the bathroom window.
- We didn’t talk about the impact on air quality of the home when its sealed correctly and what impacts there might be from different kinds of insulation.
Other stuff:
It sounds like there is a lot of stuff in the pipeline with Ameren. They are expanding their CFL discounts at local retailers to appliances like refrigerators. So, if a refrigerator costs $1000 and the sale price at the store is $800, that means Ameren is picking up that extra $200.
It looks like there may be an Ameren rebate of sorts coming if you get insulation work done. He actually recommended that I wait until April to see what the details were before doing more work.
They will have a list or recommended contractors in the future, but there are still in the training and certification process that will be necessary before that goes live.
The only other auditor he is aware of in the area is Brian Kumer. In fact, there may be only 4 or 5 guys in the state which is a problem. Ameren has looked at giving the equipment to insulation companies to encourage them to get more auditors to do the job.
He is not aware of anyone who would rent the equipment like a thermal imaging camera. It doesn’t sound realistic due to the high cost. Besides, to get a rebate on work through Ameren, you would want to go through the program first. He did say if anyone had a friend in the fire department, they might have a camera to borrow.
That’s all for now. I will post updates in the future on my efforts to tackle this list.
Todd
