ENERGY SAVING BLOG

We often receive phone calls from people enquiring if a BER is mandatory for the homes they occupy. The answer is: unless you are offering your home for Sale or to Let you do not need a BER Cert. However, chances are your home is leaking energy. A lot of energy and a lot of money. Which you can hardly afford to lose. To help people save money and make their houses more comfortable for living we decided to write this simple guide to an Energy Audit DIY style.

It would be handy if you could draw a simple map of your property, floor by floor on an A4 sheet of paper, with each floor taking no less than 1 page. Be sure to include attic and basement (if any), all the doors and windows. This plan will help you keep track of areas which you already inspected and upgrades in order of their priority.

Step 1. Ensure the integrity of the building envelope.

You can start from doing a simple survey of the external walls, doors and windows to try and locate air leaks/drafts. On average a house can lose 10%-30% of heat though drafts and leaks. The most common areas for air leaks are gaps along the floorboards or edges of the flooring and at junctures of the walls and ceiling. Check to see if air can flow through these places:

Electrical outlets
Switch plates
Window frames
Floorboards
Weather stripping around doors
Fireplace dampers
Attic hatches
Wall- or window-mounted air conditioners.

If you can’t feel any air movement you can use a lit incense stick and the smoke will indicate any air leaks present. Drafts are common around pipes and wires, electrical outlets, foundation seals, and mail slots.

Once you have identified places of air leakage consider methods of sealing them.
Draft stripping of entrance door, sash windows (if you have them), mailbox, attic hatch, electrical sockets are the first steps in rectifying the problems.

Reduce the air leaks in your home by following these tips.

• Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ductwork and wiring go through walls, ceilings and floors.
• Use sprayed or injected foam insulation to seal air leaks where plumbing and wiring enter insulated areas.
• Add foam gaskets behind outlet and switch plates on all exterior walls.
• Install storm windows or plastic window sheeting over single-pane windows.
• Look for dirty spots in your insulation to locate where air leaks in and out of your home. Seal holes with expanding foam or cover with plastic sheets and caulk around all edges.
• Sealing the connections and seams in your home’s ductwork with mastic or foil-backed tape will reduce leaks and make your home comfortable. If your home’s ductwork is located in unconditioned areas, such as the attic or unfinished basement, add duct insulation rated at R-6 or R-8.
• Seal all caps and cracks around the basement rim, or band, joists (where the house frame sits on top of the foundation).

• Keep the fireplace damper tightly closed when not in use.

You can use ready-mixed fillers widely available from DIY shops to fix cracks and gaps in the walls and silicone for gaps between window frame and the wall. If you have old single glazed type of windows the most effective upgrade would be change to a double glazed energy efficient type, but it is a costly upgrade. On the other hand it’s an upgrade which will very soon pay for itself so if you can afford investing into new windows – do it.

Step 2.  Check and add Insulation.

Once you located and fixed the unwanted draft areas proceed to check insulation of your property.

Most houses built in the last 10-12 years would have sufficient levels of insulation. However according to SEI’s most recent BER report of 19,066 new properties over 27.54% of properties built in conformance with 2005 Building regulations are below B3 Energy Rating. (Click here to view the report: http://www.seai.ie/Your_Building/BER/BER_FAQ/FAQ_BER/Assessors/February_2010_Status_Report.pdf)

Therefore it is important to do a thorough research and find out if your property is well insulated. Start your inspection from the attic. A well insulated attic will have at least 150mm of Rockwool™ or equivalent tightly fit between the ceiling joists and 150mm of Rockwool™ or equivalent across the joists.

Check if your hot water tank and the pipes leading from it are insulated. Insulating your hot water tank is a simple and cost effective way of keeping your energy bills down and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The insulation will keep your water hot for longer as it prevents heat escaping from the tank. By insulating the water tank with a thick jacket, you can cut heat loss by up to 75% and the cost can be recouped in less than a year.

Fitting the jacket is a straightforward task and can be done easily yourself without the need for a skilled tradesman. The jacket is made up of several segments held together with a cord, which ties over the top of the tank. Straps are used to keep the jacket fitted securely but shouldn’t be tied too tightly. If your hot water tank is in a hot press, the insulation will reduce the amount of heat circulating. If you want to allow some heat through, keep the segments of the jacket slightly looser, with a few gaps. Otherwise the segments should be overlapped to prevent heat escaping.

If your attic has enough insulation and you have established that there’s little or none air leaks in the property but your home still feels cold, you might need to add insulation to the exterior walls as well. This can prove a costly measure and you might consider having a Thermal Imaging inspection done on the property to pinpoint the places where insulation is missing/inadequate. Luckily SEI is still offering grants for external insulation, dry walls and cavity insulation.

Quick Insulation Guide

Insulation materials are rated by an “R-value,” which indicates a material’s thermal resistance. The higher the R-value, the better the insulation.

The four common types of insulation are:

Batt or Roll Insulation – made from mineral fiber (either fiberglass or rock wool) in blankets of various sizes and thicknesses. Is generally installed between studs, joists and beams and should fit into the wall, floor or ceiling cavity without any gaps, voids or compression. This is the easiest product to install with the lowest cost. As a result, it is the most common type of attic insulation in Michigan. The down side is that it offers less R-value than cellulose or foam on a per inch thickness basis.

Blown-in or Loose-fill Insulation – made from fiberglass, rock wool or cellulose in loose fibers or fiber pellets and is blown through a large hose into walls and attic spaces. Blown-in insulation is well suited for hard-to-reach places. Cellulose tends to have a higher R-value than fiberglass, is sound retardant, fire retardant, and repels insects. The price of cellulose insulation is similar to that of fiberglass.

Rigid Foam Insulation – made from polystyrene, polyurethane, or polyisocyanurate foam manufactured in large sheets. Can be used to provide a continuous thermal barrier in basements, crawlspaces and exterior walls.

Sprayed or Injected Foam Insulation – made from polyurethane or similar products and are injected or spayed into cracks or cavities where it expands to the desired thickness.

Step 3. Energy Efficiency of your Electrical Appliances

Your next step is to review all your electrical appliances. How do you find out if your appliances are energy efficient? Since 1992 most household appliances have to carry an energy efficiency label. Energy Efficiency labels reflect the energy efficiency of an appliance and the scale goes from A to G, with A being the most energy efficient and G being the least. You can also see the machine’s actual energy consumption in kWh (kilowatt hours) right under the efficiency scale. The most efficient models – “A” or “B” may cost more to buy but will cost less to run than an “F” or “G” rated appliance.

Investing in Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs instantly starts paying back. Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) use 80% less electricity and last up to 10 times longer than ordinary light-bulbs.

Upgrading your Boiler to a higher efficiency one is probably one measure to significantly increase your Building Energy Rating. For an average investment of €2,000 you can greatly increase the efficiency of the property. You can also apply for a grant (€700) from SEI for installing a high efficiency gas or oil fired boiler with heating controls upgrade.

For those who want to have a professional Energy Audit carried out on their property QR EnerStar offers unbeatable value for money. We can also carry out and supply a detailed Thermal Imaging report as a preparation for retrofitting. We would then direct you towards the most cost effective solution which can ultimately save you not only money but also a lot of time.

From recent feedback received from our clients:

“Thanks for your letter of 24^th February, enclosing the BER cert and thermal imaging report for the above address.  These are very useful documents and will help us decide what energy-related actions to take.

We feel that the survey was carried out very promptly and efficiently and that the report is comprehensive and well-presented.  So, this email is just to say thanks and well done. John K, Dublin 7″

For prices on BER Certificates, Home Energy Audits, Air Pressure Testing and Thermal Imaging please contact our office or fill in the contact form on our web-site and we’ll contact you immediately.