Diagnostic Services

Residential & commercial energy assessments to determine the root cause of:

• High energy usage
• Heat loss

With so many components within a structure that can degrade into issues such as heat loss, occupant discomfort, and high utility bills, it can be a challenge for a home or business owner to know where to start.   Sadly, many people become desperate or ill-advised. Some resort to the shotgun approach. Others leapfrog over the underlying root cause to get to a perceived solution, spending thousands of dollars in unnecessary replacement or upgrade costs.
 
Applied Building Science’s Energy and Comfort Assessment (or Energy Audit) is designed to take the guesswork out of making wise choices.

Energy Audit

An Energy Audit by Applied Building Science consists of:

• A comprehensive visual inspection of the building layout
• A blower door air infiltration test to determine the air tightness (or leakiness) of the structure.
• An infrared thermal imaging survey using our FLIR infrared camera, to locate areas of radiant heat loss due to weak or missing insulation, moisture migration, etc.
• A value-focused list of recommendations and proposal for Applied Building Science to address the issues that concern you once and for all

Comprehensive Visual Inspection

The comprehensive visual inspection, examines the condition, age and relative performance of physical properties that comprise the building envelope. Sometimes we determine that comfort problems are a result of design weakness involving building layout. The goal is to find ways in which our clients can reduce their energy use and improve comfort levels. Particular emphasis is placed on areas, components or junctures that are known contributors to air infiltration, heat flow and moisture migration in and out of the structure.

Most of our investigation occurs in behind-the-scenes areas such the attic, basement, crawl spaces, roof & wall intersections, and so on. We look for cues within the skeleton of the structure that point to the symptoms you describe. This includes areas showing rapid deterioration from exposure to a symptomatic condition, as well as any deficiencies in insulation, ventilation, gaps in duct work, etc. See Energy Audit Checklist for a complete listing of items.

Blower Door Air Infiltration Test

The blower door air infiltration test is conducted to locate to areas of air leakage that cause convective heat loss along with drafts and discomfort.  A blower door is a variable-speed fan that is mounted to a metal frame. This frame is then clamped to an exterior door frame of the home. The fan creates a slight negative pressure on the inside of the home.

The fan’s instrumentation measures the amount of relative air leakage entering through the home’s shell. When the fan operates and a smoke pencil is used, it is easy to feel the effects of infiltration – air leaking through cracks in the building envelope.

Another measure of a home’s leakage rate is air changes per hour (ACH), which estimates how many times in one hour the entire volume of air inside the building leaks to the outside. Leakier houses have higher ACH’s, therefore higher heating and cooling costs, and greater potential for moisture, comfort, and health problems.

Air leakage can increase heating and cooling costs over 30% and contribute to comfort, health and safety problems. Finding hidden air leakage sites, called bypasses, can be difficult without the use of a blower door. This is our most popular test in our current era of rising energy costs and can locate problems, that when corrected, will pay for themselves in a single heating or cooling season in Michigan.

Infrared Thermal Imaging Survey

The optional infrared thermal imaging survey is a non-invasive means of assessing deficiencies in insulation levels and moisture intrusion. When combined with the blower door air infiltration test, this state-of-the-art technology  can bring to life actual air flows, heat loss patterns and moisture issues that could be missed by the naked eye. This survey is extremely useful for detecting missing or gaps of wall insulation, tracing plumbing or roof leaks, determining the source of ice damming, or tracking cold or warm air moving in and out of the structure.

Recommendations & Proposals

Applied Building Science provides recommendations based on the data we gather and our experience in solving heat loss and comfort problems. We provide you with a written proposal containing air leakage calculations, and suggested repair or upgrade methods by us. The suggested improvements are listed in order of the time it will take to recover your investment starting with the quickest payback in energy savings and comfort.

Often times, improvements can be made with caulking, draft-stopping polyurethane spray foam, insulation, or weatherstripping. Other improvements may involve damp-proofing and insulating a crawl space or invasive measures to get to deeply-embedded points of heat loss and moisture build-up.

Each proposal is customized & prioritized to generate the highest return on investment to address the symptoms that that concern them.  Our client can then choose which area of protection to perform now or defer until a later date.

Call Applied Building Science for a quote or fill out our contact form to schedule an Energy Audit for your home or office.