How an Energy Audit with Building Energy led to year-round comfort and energy efficiency for Beth and all of her pets!
When Beth sought improved energy solutions for herself, her home, her 8 cats and 12
birds, she reached out to Efficiency Vermont, which connected her to Building Energy, a
member of the Efficiency Excellence Network. The process began with an energy audit
conducted by Jacob, a BPI Certified Energy Auditor at Building Energy, who assessed
the insulation conditions and identified ways to enhance comfort while reducing utility
costs.
“Building Energy has been fantastic from the beginning,” Beth shares. “Jacob explained everything in detail, was incredibly patient, and answered all my questions.”
During the Home Performance Energy Audit, Jacob discovered a significant lack of air sealing in Beth’s attic due to wire chases, and plumbing holes. This large, unconditioned space was drawing in warm air, leading to inefficiency. As Jacob continued his onsite inspection of the home, he noticed air leakage from baseboards in an addition of the home, the basement band sills and through multiple exterior doors.
An energy audit with Building Energy reveals aspects of your home that you may never have known, both large and small, that would cause significant energy inefficiencies. In addition to the air leakage issues, Jacob was able to identify other inefficiencies and safety concerns. This included a duct connected to an indoor stairway that was crushed under insulation that needed to be replaced to maintain proper air supply and return airflow. He also found a crushed bath fan duct that was impairing airflow and failing to
effectively expel moisture.
Promptly after receiving her Energy Audit Report, Beth contracted with Building Energy to have several weatherization improvements completed in her home.
In the attic, after removing the inefficient cellulose and fiberglass insulation, Building Energy first applied a flash coat of closed-cell spray foam insulation to air seal the attic penetrations then installed loose fill cellulose to meet current code requirements.
Next, Building Energy followed a similar process in the basement, removing existing insulation and sealing the band sills with closed-cell spray foam.
Noticing heat loss from the baseboards in her addition, Building Energy carefully removed the baseboard trim, peeled back carpet as necessary to access wall and floor joint connection, properly sealed all corner joints of the floor and slab using spray foam, and then reinstalled baseboards. The final step was to remove and replace all exterior door weatherstripping and replace the crushed ducts with new rigid ducting for durability as well as update the bathroom fan switches to keep maintain healthy air flow in
the home.
After all the initial weatherization upgrades were made, Beth still felt chilly in her home, sensing something was amiss. She contacted the Building Energy team to investigate any overlooked issues. What they uncovered was unexpected: her furnace wasn’t functioning! The problem stemmed from piping within the walls that wasn’t properly connected to the furnace.
“The insulation crew immediately addressed the piping issue at no extra charge! They came into my home, cut a large hole in the wall, repaired the piping, and sealed everything back up with drywall. I was incredibly grateful for their help.”
To further improve her home’s energy efficiency and year-round comfort, Beth decided to install four Mitsubishi heat pumps in her home. Not only did this boost her home’s efficiency but it helped her reduce her reliance on fossil fuels.
Since having all of this work done, Beth has rave reviews saying:
“Both my electric and my heat bills are significantly lower, and my house is toasty warm! I would hire Building Energy to do anything in my home! The Crew was friendly, fun, and respectful. They cleaned up after themselves and were so professional. They were even great around all of my animals, ensuring that none of them got away or out of the house!”
Beth was so thrilled with her results that she contracted with Building Energy a third time to install a new garage entry door with weatherstripping. We look forward to continuing to help Beth in her journey to better energy efficiency and home comfort, for many years to come! Our animal-friendly staff love hearing about her efforts rescuing animals, too!