Do I Have Enough Attic Ventilation?

With the recent massive hail storm Phoenix experience two years ago, many homeowners in Glendale were able to claim new roofs and AC units and roofing companies started popping up from out of nowhere.  One thing roofing company’s love is attic ventilation and without an understanding of how a home performs as a system, this can be more harmful than helpful.

Attic ventilation can seem to be a good thing, you cool down your attic in the summer and less heat will get into your home.  Many homeowners also get told more attic ventilation will extend the life of your roof and when roofing sales people start down that path combined with homeowner speculation, too much of a good thing becomes bad?

See roofers gone wild at:

http://gerryraysroofing.com/blogger/ventilation-issues-in-your-attic-space/

http://www.radiantbarrierguru.com/attic-ventilation-basic-tips/

Source: http://www.dom.com/about/conservation/pdf/attic_ventilation.pdf 

There is no documentation that attic fans actually extend the life of roofs and no documentation that they even help cool an attic.  I have stood in from of many attic fans and solar attic fans while performing energy analysis and blowing insulation and I can’t feel a damn thing and that is the truth.  From personal experience I didn’t feel any cooler in an attic with a huge power fan than an attic without.  Well enough of my experience, let’s look at the studies that have been done on this topic.

It has been proven that attic fans installed without air and duct sealing a home will pull your conditioned air up from the house and into the attic.  Yes that’s right, the average house an equilivent of a 1 sq ft window open all the time from leakage connections to the attic.  If you had an attic fan that moves a lot of air (like an attic fan) you might as well leave your door open while the AC is running.

Where attic fans become harmful is when they start pulling carbon monoxide in from an attached garage and cause a gas water heater to backdraft or pilot lights to go out on gas appliances.  Air leaks and wasting energy is fine, that can be fixed but having family become sick because of CO poisoning is dangerous and people need to be aware of attic fan side effects.

Proof about attic fans and their lies:
http://www.dom.com/about/conservation/pdf/attic_ventilation.pdf

“Unplanned Impacts On Houses By Powered Attic Ventilators”http://www.advancedenergy.org/buildings/knowledge_library/ventilation/Attic%20Ventilation%20Case%20Studies.pdf

http://www.servicemagic.com/article.show.5-Myths-about-Attic-Ventilation.16547.html

The best way to control your attic temperatures is simply adding more insulation.  Yes the garage and the attic gets very hot in the summer, and heat transfer is driven by temperature differences… but it is also driven by pressures (your AC unit) and pathways (holes and leakage).  You can greatly slow down the transfer of heat into your home with properly installed insulation up to R-30, air sealing attic penetrations and properly sealing your ductwork with verification testing.  If you are purchasing a new roof, light colored shingles are a great way to reflect the sunlight and making sure your home complies with current codes for attic ventilation.  Usually your home already has enough ventilation especially if you have the bird hole venting with gable vents on both sides of your attic, you don’t need any more attic ventilation.  As always if you like this article like us on Facebook for more energy saving tips!

What Are APS’s Energy Saving Hours?

It’s obvious that APS makes money the more energy you use but there are times when even their power plants get stressed from too much, or peak demand.  In Arizona, guess when that happens?  When it’s 110 degrees outside and you want to keep a cool 78 degrees in your home.  With your air conditioner being the biggest energy user in your home, it’s no wonder why APS gets a little stressed during these times… and it’s because of those peak demands that the utility company incentives it’s customers to lower its energy use during those times.  To further the energy issue, the Federal government has mandated that APS reduce its electric usage by 20% by 2020.  That is the main reason why APS is paying its customers to make their homes more energy efficient and sponsoring the Home Performance With Energy Star energy audit program.  The APS energy audit program has the same affect on you, the homeowner in that it is designed to lower your energy bill each month but there is a big difference in the way that is accomplished. 

The biggest difference is the APS time-of-use plan and residential rate plan is about energy conservation, whereas the energy upgrades to make your home more efficient is about energy efficiency.  Saving energy at home through conservation is about tweeking your lifestyle to save energy, putting on a sweater when it gets cold outside rather than turning the heater on, turning the thermostat up in the summer even while you are home are energy conservation examples.

What I love and do everyday is about energy efficiency, and that is designing and installing a better constructed home to work more efficiently, so your energy bills go down every month, but you don’t have to change a thing and you are more comfortable.  These are things like checking and sealing the ductwork for leaks, airflow and room pressure issues and adding more insulation which can make a huge difference in how your home operates as a system.  So that was your tip for the day, now let’s get back to APS rate plans.

APS has several rate plans and depending on your schedule.  They are best suited for people that are regularly done for work Monday to Friday. 

http://www.aps.com/main/services/residential/rates/rates_29.html#standard

I thought APS had another 9 am – 6 pm rate plan, but as of this blog, I couldn’t find it on their website.  There is also the equalizer plan which many people like because of its predictability… except when it’s not predictable.  Under the Equalizer Plan you may the same amount on your bills each month as your usage is averaged over 9 to 12 months.  More information on the APS Equalizer Plan can be found below:

http://www.aps.com/main/services/residential/FAQ/ResFAQ_50.html

If you are interested in other energy efficiency ideas, take our quick quiz to the right sidebar and we’ll send you some insider DIY tips to save money on you bills.

An Energy Auditors Top Efficiency Recommendations for Homes in Phoenix

While no two houses are the same, Phoenix’s housing stock does have similar construction traits and installation practices that are often the cause of high energy bills, temperature differences within rooms and poor indoor air quality.  In this blog series I would like to highlight some of the most common construction defects I find and what you can do to really transform your home for a better quality of life through lower utility bills, better air quality and even better sound-proofing.

Before we explore the wonderful world of your attic and we need to get into the mind-frame of looking at your house as one system made up of interdependent parts.  So your air conditioning and heating system is no longer a separate system that only affects your comfort and how warm you stay in the winter but it can also affect your health and safety.  That way builders typically build houses was that the framer would erect the frame of the house, then the HVAC, plumbing and electrical trades would come in and do their separate trades  etc – and none of these groups would really talk with each other… and that’s were we get these inefficiencies from.  Sometimes inefficiencies are from just laziness where an insulation contractor just laid fiberglass batt insulation on top of the attic studs because the drywall crew did not want to hit any staples when laying their drywall… opps.  There are a number of reasons why homeowners are paying too much for their utility bills or experience different temperatures in their homes and that’s what energy auditors do, identify those deficiencies and make recommendations on how they can be fixed. 

This series is going to be broken up into chewable sections and peppered with energy saving tips and self-checks.  Each recommendation will detail the good and bad affects it can have on your home using the house-as-a-system approach and what you need to be aware of before deciding to work on your home.  We will go into detail about duct leakage and sealing, insulation performance, your home’s heat gain, how a 2-story home differs from a single story home, water heating and many more topics so stay tuned.

Sell your old stuff and gadgets online

Being a Phoenix energy auditor is not all about crawling around insulation, measuring duct leakage and sizing solar electric systems for homes.  We are all about reducing your utility bills but there are many other benefits to an energy efficient home such as a more comfortable home, a home with less dust and a quieter heating and cooling system.  We recommend both conservation and efficiency upgrades to reduce your APS or SRP electric bills.  Conservation recommendations are if it is cold in your home, rather than turning on the heater, you put on a sweater.  Efficiency upgrades have to do with upgrading your insulation, ductwork sealing and window treatments so your home is more comfortable and you don’t have to change a thing.  

Here is a recommendation we don’t always talk about but many homeowners may find useful and that is what you can do with open, unwanted gifts or extra stuff lying around your home.  Lots of us have old books and other knacks we never use and you may not want to go through the effort of a garage sale.  With the web there are many places where you can sell your old stuff rather than the trash.  www.amazon.com is a great place to get rid of old books as is www.ebay.com.  If you aren’t getting any takers on those websites, try www.swap.com.  For your old gadgets try www.gazelle.com  and for your cell phones www.recellular.com or try your local women’s shelter.  Have old Apple iPod or a used iPhone?  www.tunecycle.com is a great place to sell old iPhones and Apple products.  

We hope you have a great holiday season and if you enjoyed this blog, please leave a comment or like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/aGreenID.  

What you need to know about green energy barrier scams

While making energy saving improvements to your home is backed by both APS, SRP and the Department of Energy's Home Performance With Energy Star Program there are many unethical companies out there that are taking advantage of these programs and making a bad name for those home performance companies that are doing things right. Many of the unethical companies are using the APS and SRP program as a cover, making it appear that they follow the strict guidelines of their program by simply using their logos, mixing the solar rebate program with the home performance rebates, and taking the rebates off the top of the costs so it appears you are getting the rebate when actually it is just a smoke and mirrors trick. These companies are hurting both homeowners and home performance contractors alike.

Here are some guidelines to help you spot a phony from a real home performance contractor.

1. The company has called you from a auto dialer blast.
2. The company rep does not go past the attic hatch in their inspection of your attic (the pros know this is where the majority of your problems lie and it's not just about adding insulation or radiant barriers)
3. The company rep does not do a blower door test on your home.
4. The green energy company rep is not BPI certified. This is the basic certification all energy consultants will have to know what to look for in your home and to give you energy saving recommendations based on what your home needs.
5. The company will start at a price point in the range of $20,000 for a solar/ solar water heater/ radiant barrier/ solar attic fan package.
6. The company will not perform a test-out audit with a blower door fan.

Here is what you can ask the green energy company to protect yourself from buying something that will not fix your hot and cold rooms or make your home more energy efficient.

1. The green energy companies BPI certification and make sure the energy consultant at your home is BPI certified.
2. Call APS and SRP at (602) 532-2991 to verify they are on the Home Performance With Energy Star Program.
3. Your energy consultant should talk to you about at a minimum hour air leakage, duct leakage, room pressure and duct static pressure. These are part of the required tests all APS and SRP certified companies need to do or their inspection.
4. You should complete a home performance authorization form found on APS and SRP's website.

Don't get us wrong, there is nothing wrong with solar electricity or solar hot water heaters. The danger or harm comes from homeowners thinking they are making their home more energy efficient when many issues are still left unfixed and things that were never tested for or addressed. Things like air balancing, high room pressures, high static pressure, insulation that is installed wrong, air barriers that leave the house uninsulated and thinking that radiant barriers suffice for insulation installed wrong. An additional benefit to using a home performance contractor is that the utility companies will audit our work, so you have another party watching your back.

Disclaimer: Green ID's energy auditors are all BPI Certified. Green ID's founder, David Byrnes, is a BPI trainer and LEED AP professional. We do not recommend radiant barrier products without first addressing a homes' priority needs by performing a whole home energy audit. For more information visit are website at  www.greenintegrateddesign.com

How to calibrate a variable speed pool pump in Arizona

Congratulations on choosing a variable speed pool pump over a single speed pump. Single speed pool pumps have been outlawed in several states and Arizona will follow in 2014 and for good reason too. Variable speed pool pumps are proven to use 80% less energy, are quieter, last longer and leave you with a cleaner pool than its single speed counter part.

Variable speed pool pumps slow down the RPMs of the pump motor to have you hundreds of dollars a year, it's comparable to driving a Pruis compared to a dragster to the grocery store. The magnetic drive is super quite and your pool is actually left cleaner because the water spends more time circulating and more time passing over the pool filter.

To fully realize the potential of your variable speed pool pump you will want it properly calibrated. A variable speed pool pump left uncalibrated can end up costing you more money if left unchecked.

Their are several items that go into a pool pump calibration including:

1. Pool volume
2. Type of filter and cleaning system
3. Static pressure of the suction and discharge lines
4. Hours of operation
5. Amperage and watts used of the variable speed pool pump

Both APS and SRP follow the National Sanitation Organization guidelines for pool pumps, stating that for a clean pool, the pump needs to turn the pool over completely once a day. If the pump turns your pool over more than once per day on a regular basis, it is overkill and wasting energy. If we have a dust storm of course you should run the pump more but not everyday.

Fortunately for you, you don't need to invest $500 in the equipment for calibration, there is a simple chart and guidelines you can use to get your variable speed pump started. Keep in mind, Green ID offers a free variable speed pool pump calibration for APS and SRP customers in the Phoenix area. All you have to do is contact us on the web @ http://www.greenintegrateddesign.com, leave your name and phone number in the contact form  and include the make and year of your variable speed pool pump. 

Effective garage ventilation duct design in the Phoenix area

Want to convert your garage into living space or just cool down your garage during the hot summer months? Here is a list of what you need to know to make your garage a conditioned space.

1. Cover your walls and/ or garage door panels with a radiant barrier bubble wrap product, foam board or insulation. A radiant barrier bubble wrap is an effective and easy product to install. It can be bought online and will reflect radiant heat back out to the outside. It will help lower the temperature in your garage from a couple degrees to ten degrees depending on the orientation of the garage door panels.

2. Check the size of your AC system. A rule of thumb is 400 sq ft of cooling per ton, so if you have a 5 ton AC system, you have the cooling capacity for a 2000 sq ft home. Now the rule can vary greatly depending on how energy efficient your house is, including duct leakage, insulation installation and level, heat gain and room pressures. The cooling capacity is also dependent on the ductwork design and layout. A poor layout and design can greatly undercut the systems cooling capacity.

3. Add more insulation to the garage attic, go for at least 10" of cellulose insulation or 14" of fiberglass insulation.

4. Decide on how best to cool your garage, you have a few options here.

4.1 Put in new ductwork tapped into the existing ductwork. You will need to decide or consult with home performance contractor where to tap into the existing ductwork and what size line you need. A two car garage is usually 20x30 ft or a 600 sq ft area. This is the size of a master bedroom area so you will quite a bit of airflow to adequately cool the garage. Your garage may never cool enough to the inside of your home. We always go with a duct with a slightly oversized scoop and a dampener with a larger duct reducing a step down for the actual delivery of the air.

4.2 a ductless mini split AC system. This is another viable alternative that is more of a sure thing to cool your garage without taking air away from your home. The cooling capacity not be enough in our experience even if you insulate the walls in our experience. A mini split with new ducts has been successful in a converted garage to a man cave movie room we did the ductwork and insulation on.

4.3 An evaporative cooler or swamp cooler in the wall with no ductwork. This is a great option that is perfect for 2-3 months out of the year. Evap cooling during the summer months will be impossible so it may not be what you are looking for.

4.4 A window AC unit installed. You may need a larger unit unit and even then it will be hard to adequately cool the garage space.