For Homeowners

Targeted Troubleshooting

Do you need help solving a specific issue with your home?

Our energy audits can focus on individual problems such as odd smells from ductwork, ghosting patterns on a ceiling or wall, condensation, ice dams, and health issues related to quality of air, humidity, moisture, or mold.

We investigate thermal barriers, air barriers, and vapor barriers and suggest corrective actions for a healthier home.

Common Home Energy, Comfort, and Health Problems

High Utility Bills

High utility bills for heating in the winter and cooling in summer can often be traced to air leaks (air infiltration), wasting up to 30% of your home’s energy. There are several items to be checked to limit the escaping energy (see Common Air Leaks below).

Drafty Areas or Rooms and Cold Winter Floors

Cold air flowing through your house can be caused by air leaks in many places, including the basement, crawlspace, drain pipe chases, or around windows causing rooms to feel drafty and uncomfortable. Lack of insulation in walls, at the end of floor joints and under sill plates can cause cold floors and walls.

Hot or Cold Rooms

Differences in room temperatures are caused by inadequate insulation, air leakage, poor duct performance, and improperly installed heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Sealed and insulated ducts can decrease heating and cooling costs as much as 20 percent.

Frost or Fog on Windows

Air leaks around windows or high indoor moisture levels from other air leaks can cause condensation, frost, or pools of water on windows and sills.

Dry Indoor Air in Winter

Air leaks in your home allow warm humid air to escape and draw in drier, colder air.

Icicles and Ice Dams

Without good attic insulation, warm air inside your home leaks into the attic and warms the underside of the roof, causing snow and ice to melt and then refreeze as it runs off your roof — forming icicles and ice dams. Leaks from these formations can drain back into the house, causing damage.

Mold, Mildew, or Musty Odors

Mold and mildew caused by water leaks, high humidity, and damp basements lead to wood rot, structural damage, peeling paint, and a variety of health problems. Mold destroys a home’s value and can be very expensive to remediate. A damp basement caused by moisture migrating through the foundation increases indoor humidity and can promote the growth of mold — resulting in unsafe living conditions. A properly sealed and insulated home resists mold because moist air doesn’t infiltrate. Closed cell insulation retards moisture because the cells are tightly packed together.

Brick Cracking or Chipping and Paint Peeling

Bricks breaking or cracking and exterior paint peeling can be an indication of moisture and humidity problems.

Infrared Camera Pictures Revealing Energy Losses and Air Leakage

Insulation not blown into wall correctly – stopped/dammed by horizontal wall stud
Wall with serious air leakage and/or water moisture from exterior top plate
Wall with both failing insulation and air infiltration from top plate
Water/moisture coming in upper wall from outside porch roof that does not allow water to drain off correctly
Wall with failing insulation (insulation has settled over time)
Wall with no insulation
Wall with lack of insulation in a home with plaster lath construction
Outside air leaking in around recessed can light
Air infiltration coming in around trim molding of window that was not properly installed
Cold air coming up under bathtub