How to Perform a Whole-House Energy Audit | Ask This Old House

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Kevin O'Connor and a specialist perform a whole-house energy audit. (See steps below.)
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A professional whole-house energy assessment will examine your home's insulation, appliances, lighting, and heating & cooling systems. It will also determine how airtight your home is. At the end of the assessment, the technician will provide a written report identifying and prioritizing the steps you can take to save energy. For more information about energy audits, visit this U.S. Department of Energy website [bit.ly/3f2j252].
Steps for How to Perform a Whole-House Energy Audit:
1. Check the energy rating on each appliance and light fixture. Look for Energy Star label or other low-usage ratings. Replace older products that are wasting electricity.
2. Inspect the water heater, and make note of any leaks, rust spots or lack of insulation. Also, check the heater's age and energy efficiency.
3. Run a combustion safety test of the steam boiler with a combustion analyzer.
4. Use the analyzer to measure the temperature and ratio of gases inside the flue pipe.
5. Next, drill a small-diameter hole in the flue pipe, then use the analyzer to measure the air pressure and to ensure that the boiler is drafting (exhausting) properly.
6. Hold a smoke stick beside the flue to confirm that gases aren't leaking back into the basement.
7. Install an electric blower door in the front doorway to test for air leaks throughout the house.
8. Close all windows and doors in the house. And shut fireplace dampers, then turn on the blower fan.
9. Use a smoke stick to check for leaks around doors, windows, fireplaces, vents and chimneys.
10. Take a handheld infrared sensor and check for temperature differences on the interior walls and ceilings. A cool spot is evidence of poor insulation or an air leak.
11. Use the infrared sensor to check for temperature changes around pull-down attic stairs.
12. Climb into the attic and inspect insulation in the attic floor; it should be at least 12 inches deep. Add more insulation, if necessary.
13. If the existing insulation is damaged or badly compressed, remove it and install new insulation.
14. Seal air-leaking gaps around the chimney with fire-rated flashing and caulking, then insulate around the chimney.[BR]
15. Seal all penetrations and gaps in the attic floor with expanding polyurethane caulk.
16. Make or buy a rigid-foam attic stair cover and install it over the opening for the pull-down staircase.
Our energy audit was conducted by Next Step Living.
The Infra-red camera used in the audit is manufactured by FLIR [www.flir.com/].
The smoke pencil and inflatable chimney damper are manufactured by Chimney Balloon [www.chimneyballoon.us/chimney...].
About Ask This Old House TV:
Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we're ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers-and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook.
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How to Perform a Whole-House Energy Audit | Ask This Old House
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Опубликовано:

12 фев 2016

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Комментарии : 79

@rupe53 3 года назад

I live in a home built circa 1910. I recently replaced all of the doors and windows to the tune of $12k. Cost savings on my heating bill in New England is roughly $250 a year so a LONG payback. (at current fuel cost) OTOH, they improved the look of the house, lowered the maintenance because they are vinyl exterior, and they will add value at sale time. In the meanwhile the reduced draft and comfort is priceless!

@greysondeane4000 2 года назад

I don’t know anyone who would say a vinyl window is better looking then a original wood window restored. Also the average live of replacement windows is 17-25 before they loose significant energy efficiency so your probably not going to see savings let alone break even.

@rupe53 2 года назад

@@greysondeane4000 You make a valid point but the 25 year mark is something I expect to hit with Anderson windows. I also didn't figure in any savings for AC in the summer because the AC went in during the same time frame. IOW, I have no prior cost to compare. I suspect the bottom line is break even on heating / /cooling costs will be about the same as the life span of the windows, which will be well beyond my life span. As for looking the same... yes, the one piece screens might be the give away, but I replaced the exterior trim with 5/4" x 4 board and 2" thick sills, so not a bad job of keeping the old house flavor from 50 feet away. In the meanwhile I have better comfort and likely a higher resale value in the near future.

@JanGreen 9 месяцев назад

@@rupe53 actually the payback on HVAC or split systems is 1/3rd the time of the typical payback for windows. Low e coating on windows is a nice benefit to also keep fabrics and woodwork from fading, including noise reduction. But yes, windows are 17+ year payback depending on which climate zone you live.

@rupe53 9 месяцев назад

@@JanGreen we're in the northeast so with the recent heating oil spike (doubled) I expect a better payback period. At my age the comfort level is also worth something.

@JanGreen 9 месяцев назад

@@rupe53 definitely. Another aspect of sustainability is health and comfort!

@ilovefunnyamv2nd 4 года назад

great video, ive got an audit scheduled next year, hope its not too cold!

@rawbacon 4 года назад

Stopping the air leaks is the most important, some of the other items may not actually payoff for what you spend.

@Ojb_1959 3 года назад

7:56 Jerry Reed🤙

@RicardoMachin-hn4hs 10 месяцев назад

What the make/model of the smoke stick ? Thanks

@grantguy8933 Год назад

7:19 customer fainted and squeezed a fake smile.

@CCCC-tq8yo Год назад

@tfain82 2 года назад

Dudes are robots handling that insulation without ppe

@pasindurangajith1288 4 года назад

can i have a copy of your energy audit report?

@Ajdero5 8 лет назад

I have a 87 year old boiler original to the house

@thetributary8089 2 года назад

I have a 479 year old radiator original to our home

@michaelgavin7621 Год назад

I wrote this response 520 years ago

@sanders555 Год назад

It's really brave of you to come out like this - maybe it will help others. I'm embarrassed to have a 30 year-old water heater, I can only imagine what you're going through.

@iixk 8 лет назад

Steam energy inefficient. What about all the controls and pumps needed to run a hydronic system? One taco 007 is 80 watts alone and ecm circulators are still pretty costly.

@Altenarian 7 лет назад

Wouldnt insulating both the ceiling of the attic and the floor work for the full 12" they need?

@crcurran 6 лет назад

I agree. Insulate the rafters of the roof while avoiding thermal bridging.

@Raivias4 2 года назад

I was thinking about that for my place, but I found out that it can mess with the airflow in the attic. Which is important for other reasons.

@robertm5969 2 года назад

No the ceiling should remain uninsulated to ensure airflow between the soffet and ridge vents. If you don't have airflow in the attic moisture and heat will build up and cause mold issues and failure of the roof plywood or OSB. Causes health concerns and forces you to replace the roof much sooner than it needs.

@alonzojohnson7955 3 года назад

😎

@aick9069 6 лет назад

7:56 what the hell

@JJE2010MO 5 лет назад

That was funny!

@havasuheat99 4 года назад

Careful when doing air sealing. This may cause other dangerous problems if not done with combustion appliance checks after work is completed. Don't want to die of carbon monoxide poisoning. Surprised they didn't mention this.

@tcoradeschi 3 года назад

I think it’s safe to say that there is simply no way to get this house tight enough for that to be a concern, at least not with the simple fixes being discussed.

@RustyrSpoons00 2 года назад

He did do a smoke test to make sure no exhaust gases are leaking into the basement but they could have emphasized it more.

@MojoPup 2 года назад

It's hard, especially with old homes, to get them so tight that CO becomes a problem unless you have Gas appliances improperly installed.

@Lou_Mansfield Год назад

Use carbon monoxide detectors, especially where combustion appliances are

@dlakerguy 4 года назад

Valuable information but most of those projects are more expensive than what you would get back in energy savings for many years.

@sanders555 Год назад

Well yeah. So just don't do them if you're planning on moving or dying.

@vincientjameswalterwhatley2943 5 лет назад

GREETINGS Tom and Kevin I never received the DATABASE REPORT ON THE MARRIAGE BETWEEN 'FISSION AND FUSION' 03/23/2017* €£©§.PST. 1020 HRS.

@MisterRay11 Год назад

A long list and a big price

@foreverkenzie2397 4 года назад

watching this and now can't imagine how my inspector missed the fact none of my walls have insulation

@davidasdasd4666 4 года назад

American energy wasting always amazes me.

@foreverkenzie2397 4 года назад

@@davidasdasd4666 i mean the house is over 100 years old but the previous owner should have definitely fixed it when they changed the siding or put in new windows. And the inspector definitely shouldnt have missed it.

@Parpl22 3 года назад

Seems he found the green in your wallet.

@foreverkenzie2397 3 года назад

@@Parpl22 oh no he didnt get any green 😅

@robertm5969 2 года назад

@@foreverkenzie2397 how can they check for that without putting a hole in the wall?

@grantguy8933 Год назад

the high efficiency furnace will not hold long enough before those high end electronics break to break even at best tbh.

@sanders555 Год назад

Yeah, because high-end solid state electronics with no moving parts just go bad all the time. That's why I always opt for old, shitty, inefficient furnaces instead.

@grantguy8933 Год назад

@@sanders555 smart. I paid my price

@bigbeef8935 3 года назад

Who the hell uses CFLs still? lol

@TitaniumTurbine 7 месяцев назад

I thought the same, but this was uploaded 7 years ago, no idea when it was originally filmed but judging on the visuals (clothing, hair, cam quality, etc), I’d say mid to late 2000s.

@reservoirinc7750 6 лет назад

Is the business model here to spook the homeowners enough that they make a large investment decision based on emotion? I'm sure that "comprehensive report" came back with a minimum of $25k worth of recommendations

@energymatters7008 5 лет назад

Not at all.... Not even in the ball park

@energymatters7008 5 лет назад

The bullshit here is the informed camera

@jondoe8474 4 года назад

this tech would make thee worst car mechanic ever

@sanders555 Год назад

I don't know how you clicked on this video and expected to see a car mechanic.

@jondoe8474 Год назад

@@sanders555 😂

@douglaswhite1346 4 года назад

There is no such thing of a “Hot Water Heater”.....

@rawbacon 4 года назад

Are you an annoying jerk in all aspects of life or just this one?

@subusure 4 года назад

@Douglas right if it is already hot then why heat it again :-)

@clownhands 5 месяцев назад

@@subusure False. All water above absolute zero is hot.

@chasesterlington2943 Год назад

Wow, it's really impressive how much talking you were able to do throughout the entire video while hardly telling anyone anything except the same 2 points over and over to fill the gaps between your vauge and clouded advice. The only beneficial and educational tid bit of content in the whole video was about 15 seconds at the end, where some actual products and heat loss solutions were breifly stated. To sit through your whole video just to hear your "heat loss expert" state that he will put together a report of the issues instead of reviewing them with the intention of teaching all the eager to learn viewers was an insult. Change the name of this video to "Hey, did you know you can have someone write down all the ways your home loses heat?".... cause you certainly didn't illustrate "how to perform a home energy audit. I'm mean at one point you even left your own crappy video on how to do an audit. You should try doing this one over but put more thought into it next time.

@sanders555 Год назад

Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays.

@chasesterlington2943 11 месяцев назад

When relying on content creators claiming they will educate you and provide advice and knowledge in exchange for increasing their views and beyond ; I value my time given to them in exchange for said promised advice; yes on mondays, bit just as much as the other days too. That said, as is true with 90% of my comments, I dont mean to sound disgruntled or angry, infact I try more so to sound sarcastic and flippant with an inch thick sprinkle of the cold hard truth, in the off chance its seen and taken as constructive criticism by the creator....even if it hurts. Then theres the times I just like the sound of my own voice; such as instances like this, where I reply to old comments at 3am about things that dont really matter. Either way, this video sucks on Monday Tuesday and the rest of them equally lol. So turns out you were totally correct 😆 Have a good one!

@graysonissavagevlogs152 5 лет назад

anyone play fortnite

@TheeBudGuru 8 лет назад

IT'S A 'WATER HEATER", NOT A "HOT WATER HEATER"! ALSO WTF IS A "HOT WATER BOILER" IF THE WATER IS ALREADY HOT THEN YOU DON'T NEED A HEATER! DUH! Literacy is a good thing!

@lifeofabachelor8547 8 лет назад

Ur a idiot.

@MarioDragon 8 лет назад

+TheeBudGuru Yet you still knew exactly what he was talking about

@TheeBudGuru 8 лет назад

I just love all of the respect I receive here on RU-vid! It just makes my day knowing that someone just has to be a fucking douche bag and start throwing obscenities at me for no reason! YEAH!!!

@seanrebelo7765 8 лет назад

Hot water heater (cylindrical tank) heats domestic hot water hot water boiler heats water to heat house hydronically only unless it's a oil tankless coil system which does both

@seanrebelo7765 8 лет назад

So yeah know your facts first typical degenerate

@josegomez6549 7 лет назад

Kevin feels like he's bullshitting his way through. And the tech lacks presentation skills. Makes for a lacking video. Cool tho, I guess

@sanders555 Год назад

Are you serious? It's This Old House, not Real Housewives. These guys are too busy doing their jobs to sing, dance, and put on a little act for you and the rest of the ADHD Gen-Z Tiktok addicts. Now that you've left this stellar review, maybe you can go to Burger King and write in a complaint because you didn't think the lady in the drive-through had enough makeup on.

@josegomez6549 Год назад

@@sanders555 they're job is to make a show about construction. They can be better at it. They're not building houses anymore. They're building a brand so they can get more work. You're crazy if you think they're doing this to get one more client... They're getting free advertising nationwide so their company can grow as fast as possible. Anything they can't improve hurts them... But whatever bro

@sanders555 Год назад

@Jose Gomez They've always been like this, it's PBS, man. At this point the show has its own familiar charm, and it's well-deserved after nearly 50 years.