Home Energy Audits

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home energy audits

Home energy audits help residents answer the question: How efficient is your home? They are the first step towards saving energy and money. During an energy assessment, an auditor will perform a series of tests to assess how much energy your home consumes and recommend ways to make it more efficient.

Audits are often recommended before making improvements to the home.

Making efficiency improvements identified during the test can lower energy bills, improve home comfort, increase property values, and even protect the environment by lowering your emission of greenhouse gases. Continue reading to learn more about home energy audits and why you should schedule one today.

Cost of Home Energy Audits

The Salt River Project (SRP) and Arizona Public Service (APS) are two of Arizona’s largest public utility providers. These companies subsidize the cost of ENERGY STAR® Checkups. Through them your cost is just $99 (a $400 value). The tests must be completed by a participating contractor.

What to Expect

Plan three to four hours for the audit. Once the auditor arrives at your home, s/he will analyze your recent energy bills; complete visual safety inspections; and use highly complex equipment – such as a blower door and an infrared camera – to detect where and how energy is being lost.

The auditor will examine your HVAC equipment, insulation and windows, as well as test for drafts. The technician may also provide you with a home energy efficiency score. This is based on your home type, floors, number of occupants, size in square feet (finished rooms only), age, and location. The score ranges from one to 10.

After the audit, the auditor will also pinpoint needed efficiency improvements based on his/her findings. These are usually listed in order of importance. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “you could save an estimated five to 30 percent on your energy bill by making efficiency upgrades identified in your home energy audit.”

The Auditor’s Toolbox

Blower Door: A blower door is a powerful fan that mounts into the frame of an exterior door. This is used to check for air leaks. The fan starts blowing, pulling air out of the house, and thus lowering the air pressure inside. The higher outside air then flows in via unsealed holes, cracks, and other openings in the building’s envelope. The auditor will then use a special tool to pinpoint these openings, so that they can be sealed.

Infrared Camera: This camera is used during thermography or infrared scanning. It measures surface temperatures to determine whether insulation is needed. It can reveal areas in walls, ceilings, and attic spaces where insulation was improperly installed as well. Infrared cameras are commonly used while the blower test is being conducted to aid the auditor in identifying areas in need of air sealing.

If your electricity bill is high, a home energy audit can help you not only determine why, but also help you save money after needed improvements have been made. Banker Insulation participates with both SRP and APS to provide professional home energy audits to residents throughout the greater Phoenix metro area.

3 Energy Efficiency Myths Debunked

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energy efficiency myths

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “a quarter of the energy consumed in Arizona homes is for air conditioning, which is more than four times the national average.” This shouldn’t come as any surprise to Arizonans as 100+ degree days are common during the months of June through August.

In fact, most residents turn their ACs on beginning in May.

Increasing your home’s energy efficiency is good both for your wallet and the environment. However, there are many energy efficiency myths out there, which may interfere with your energy efficiency measures. Here we debunk three of the more popular energy efficiency myths.

Myth #1: Fans Cool a Room

Ceiling fans, table fans, and floor fans do not cool off a room. They do, however, circulate the air in a room to create a draft that works to cool off the room’s occupants. This will allow you to turn the thermostat up as much as 4˚F without compromising comfort.

Myth #2: Closing HVAC Vents Saves Energy

Your HVAC system’s blower is designed to deliver cooled air against a certain amount of pressure. This is specific to your home’s square footage. Closing off air vents causes the blower to push against a higher pressure, which interferes with your energy-efficient measures, and ultimately costs you more. It’s also possible to damage your system.

Myth #3: Setting the Thermostat Lower Cools Your Home Faster

Cranking the thermostat down isn’t going to cool your home any faster. This action can also cost you to pay more. Instead, install a programmable or learning thermostat, which can store and repeat up to six different settings. When you’re asleep or away from home, set it to 78˚F to help save money.

Myth #3: Leaving the Lights on Uses Less Energy Than Turning Them On & Off

This is a very common energy-saving myth. The operating life of LEDs is not affected by turning them on and off. Getting into the habit of turning them off when you leave a room can save you money. In addition to turning them off manually, you may want to consider using sensors, timers or smart LEDs.

Optimize Home Comfort with an Energy Audit

A home energy audit, or home energy assessment, will show you how much energy your home consumes. It will also provide you with cost-effective solutions to air leaks, poor insulation, and indoor air quality problems. During audit, a professional will analyze recent energy bills, and use specialized equipment to detect sources of energy loss.

Making recommended upgrades can save you 5 to 30 percent on your energy bill (Energy.gov, 2013). Banker Insulation is a full-service insulation and energy conservation contractor. We can perform your energy audit and offer a variety of products and solutions to help improve your home’s energy efficiency.

Best Applications for Spray Polyurethane Foam

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Spray polyurethane foam

Spray polyurethane foam (SPF), available in either open-cell or closed-cell, provides stellar insulating performance. It expands to fill gaps, cracks and holes, creating a thermal barrier around a building’s envelope. This results in reduced air and moisture infiltration.

There are many additional advantages to sprayed insulation as well. For example: Energy efficiency, sound dampening, and durability. Homeowners will also benefit from reduced heating and cooling costs.

SPF Types & How It Works

There are three primary types of SPF: High-density, medium-density, and low-density.

Medium- and high-density, also called closed-cell foam has a higher R-value per inch (6.5), making it an ideal choice for exterior roofing, interior wall cavity fill, and unvented attic applications.

With a lower R-value per inch (3.5), low-density, or open-cell foam is often used for interior wall cavity fill and unvented attic applications. Both open-cell and closed-cell require professional installation.

A basic understanding of R-values is helpful when comparing any insulating material. R-value measures the insulation’s ability to reduce heat flow through a building’s envelope. The higher the value, the better. For recommendations, visit ENERGY STAR.

Source: “Recommended Home Insulation R-Values,” ENERGY STAR.GOV, 1999.

Spray polyurethane foam is made by mixing and reacting two liquids – “A” and “B” – to create foam. Mixing takes place on site using truck-mounted equipment. A professional insulator contractor then sprays it into place using special tools.

SPF expands on contact to form air and moisture barriers. This helps ensure a consistent temperature year ‘round – ultimately creating a comfortable living or working environment.

Where is Spray Polyurethane Foam Used?

Attics

Adding SPF to the attic is cost-effective. Because it expands, spray foam can effectively fill even the smallest gap, crack or hole in attics and crawlspaces. Combined with attic air sealing, it can also provide a moisture barrier, reducing the risk for mildew or mold growth.

Roofing

Spray polyurethane foam is often used in combination with protective coatings and other materials in the construction of a cool roof. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, cool roofs can save homeowners money on cooling costs in hot climates, but may increase costs in colder climates.

Interior Wall Cavities

Spray foam can be installed in a home’s wall cavities during new construction or renovations. There it can fill small cracks. The benefits for this project include sound proofing, energy efficiency, and increased comfort.

For more information on this and other types of insulation, contact Banker Insulation at (602) 273-1261 for a free quote.

Summer Cooling Bills: Don’t Sweat Them

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summer cooling bills

In the Sonoran Desert, with temperatures already hovering in the high-90s, it’s safe to assume summer is here. A time for lazy days, warm nights and new experiences, summertime is great. It would be even better though if all you got between the months of May and August were tan lines. However, there are also summer cooling bills to consider, unless you’ve resolved to live at 80+ degrees 24-hours a day.

Did you know? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, air conditioners use about six percent of all the electricity produced in the United States, at annual cost of about $29 billion to homeowners. Air conditioners use energy to transfer heat from the interior of your home to the outside (Energy.gov, 2014).

Choosing high-efficiency, ENERGY STAR certified cooling equipment and taking other actions such as sealing air leaks, installing insulation and operating your thermostat efficiently, can help enhance the comfort of your home while saving energy – so you can spend your money on summer adventures not summer cooling bills. Bonus: Most of these energy-efficient measures will yield savings all year long.

Attic Insulation

Insulation has other advantages, as well, like absorbing emitted sounds and controlling humidity. Insulation can be blown into both walls and attics to reach the required R-value for Arizona. An environmentally friendly, inexpensive option that performs well, given the correct thickness is cellulose insulation. Other materials include fiberglass, mineral wool, and spray polyurethane foam. The decision-making process should include thorough consideration of the pros and cons for each material type.

Seal Air Leaks

Stopping air leaks through your home’s envelope – the windows, doors, outlets, and other openings – can decrease your energy consumption and, in turn, your utility bills. A professional energy audit is one of the most reliable and quickest ways to locate air leaks. Once completed, you can get to work sealing air leaks using caulk, weatherstripping and electrical socket sealers. These materials are generally very affordable and can be found at your local hardware or home improvement store.

Efficient Thermostat Operation

You can easily save energy in the summer by setting the thermostat to 78 degrees Fahrenheit only when you’re at home and setting it higher when you’re aware. You may also want to consider a programmable thermostat. There are many types available including those that learn your habits within two weeks of use. Some newer models are smartphone compatible, and allow you to remotely adjust the temperature if you’re going to be out later than initially planned.

Slashing Energy Costs with Smart Tech

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slashing energy costs

The benefits of smart tech or more accurately, home automation technology include slashing energy costs and greater convenience. Lots of smart tech products, such as smart plugs, smart bulbs, programmable thermostats, and energy monitoring systems are compatible with one another and, using IFTTT applets, let you set different triggers to automate regular home processes; heating and cooling included. If you’re interested in slashing energy costs with smart tech, there’s no better time to start than now.

Here are some products we love.

Smart Plugs

Smart plugs let you control various “dumb” devices without needing to be in the room or, for that matter, the house. Smart plugs play nicely with both iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, along with integrating easily with other smart home products, such as light bulbs. They can be controlled with a compatible app or if you have an Amazon echo, Google Home or Apple HomeKit, your voice. No more wasting electricity by leaving the TV on when no one is watching it with a smart plug.

Smart Bulbs

Smart bulbs connect to your home’s Wi-Fi and work with several popular home automation platforms to provide a degree of control and interactivity that you just can’t get with traditional bulbs. With a smart bulb like Philips Hue White, you can schedule your lighting fixtures, ensuring you come home to a lit house without wasting electricity. Some bulbs can also automatically dim when it’s time to get ready for bed.

Programmable Thermostats

According to ENERGY STAR, the proper use of a programmable thermostat can save you about $180 every year in home energy costs. Take the guess work out of heating and cooling your home with a smart thermostat like the Nest Learning Thermostat, which learns what temperature you find most comfortable, and builds a schedule around yours to eliminate unnecessary energy use.

Energy Monitoring Systems

Do you want to cut your energy use to save money and/or reduce your carbon footprint? You may want to have a professional energy audit completed and purchase an affordable home energy monitoring system. These systems connect to your circuit breaker and send detailed, up-to-date information about your energy consumption straight to your smartphone or tablet in a user-friendly format, affording you the opportunity to take control of slashing your energy costs.

Celebrating 10 Years of Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce Membership

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celebrating 10 years of Chamber Membership

At Banker Insulation, we are proud to accept this award from the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce, as we celebrate 10 years of Chamber Membership! Don Stiles, Branch Manager, and Felix Thompson, Production Manager, represent the local Flagstaff team. Established in 1977, Banker Insulation is one of the Southwest’s largest, independently owned contractors with eleven locations in four states.

The services we provide include insulation, fireplace, sound control, and wall spray. We also proudly supply products from Greenfiber, Heat-n-Glo fireplaces, John’s Manville, Lennox Hearth, and many more premium-quality manufacturers. Our Flagstaff showroom is located at: 511 S. Flagstaff Ranch Rd., Flagstaff, AZ 86001. The phone number to contact the Flagstaff branch is (928) 774-7532.

Residential Energy Consumption: How We Use Energy

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residential energy consumption

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average home spends $2,000 on energy costs per year for a 1,971-square foot home. Adopting energy-efficient technologies will not only lower your monthly expenditures, it can also improve occupant comfort, as well as quality of life.

Here’s a closer look at residential energy consumption along with some ideas to improve your home’s efficiency.

Heating and Cooling

Nearly half – 40% – of the average home’s utility bill goes towards heating and cooling. Switching from a manual to a programmable thermostat is an easy way to efficiently control the climate in your home. With a programmable thermostat, you can set the temperature to different, desirable levels during set times throughout the week. This can save you up to 10% a year on heating and cooling costs.

Water Heating

Water heating accounts for about 18% of your home’s energy use. Reducing your water use, and employing energy-saving strategies, such as installing a tankless or demand-type water heater and low-flow fixtures can help you reduce your monthly water heating bills.

When shopping for a new water heater, it’s important to calculate your household’s hot water demand to determine what size water heater you’ll need, ensuring there’s enough hot water to go around. You should also consider setting your water temperature to a comfortable 120˚F.

Finally, if your hot water heater is warm to the touch, consider insulating it to save up to 16% annually in water heating costs. Follow manufacturer recommendations.

Electronics

The average household has more than 20 electronics for a variety of purposes, such as daily work or school, entertainment and communication. Using energy-efficient products, those with the ENERGY STAR label, can save you money and prolong the life of your products. Many electronics continue to draw power, even when they’re turned off, so a surge protector can save an addition $100/year when you turn it off each night.

Lighting

Switching out five of your most frequently used lights with ENERGY STAR bulbs can save $75 a year on energy costs. Using automatic timers, motion sensors, and smart light bulbs to automatically turn lights on and off can also help you save money. Smart bulbs coupled with phone apps, afford you the opportunity to control your lights when you’re not home. You can also dim them without having to install dimmer switches.

Last Minute Holiday Gifts: Energy-Efficient Edition

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Last Minute Holiday Gifts

Tis the season for friends, family, and giving. If you still need last minute gift ideas, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most popular energy-efficient products. Watch out – you may even find yourself adding them to your own holiday wish list.

Instant Pot

$100

These pots – great for preparing any number of sides and entrees – use up to 70% less energy than conventional cooking methods. With pressure cooking, heat is evenly and quickly distributed, so dinner is ready in a fraction of the time it takes other cooking methods (i.e., boiling, steaming, baking, and slow cooking). This makes cooking convenient; especially for families always on the go.

Smart Speakers

Price Varies

There are a lot of options for smart speakers out there, but two devices reign supreme: Google Home and Amazon’s Echo. They both let users control their music, podcasts, and a wide assortment of smart home products. They are also both available in full and mini sizes. Which one is best? Ultimately, it’s a matter of preference, and which smart home ecosystem the receiver already owns or is planning to invest in.

Indoor Air Quality Monitors

$150

Know someone with allergies? Give them the gift of an air quality monitor, which allows them to accurately measure up to six main air quality indicators, including TVOC, CO2, PM2.5, PM10, temperature, and humidity. Users can visualize their indoor air quality with a compatible app. Smart home integration means that it works with select smart speakers. Its portable design allows users to set it anywhere they’d like.

Smart Thermostats

$250

Heating and cooling accounts for half the energy bill in most homes – more than appliances (big and small) or electronics. Smart thermostats, such as the Nest Learning Thermostat, work with smart speakers like Google Home and Amazon’s Echo to provide demonstrated energy savings and environmental benefits. Nest learns your schedule and preferred temperatures, programming itself for automatic comfort in about a week.

LED Smart Bulbs

Price Varies

With smart light bulbs, you no longer need to remember to turn off the lights, or come home to a dark house. Smart light bulbs are available in different shades of white, from warm to cool white, and color changing LEDs. Most are compatible with select smart speakers to allow you to control your lights with your voice. They also work with standard light fixtures; recessed lighting included. Pair with other smart devices for total home automation and energy efficiency.

Winter Energy Conservation Tips

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Winter Energy Conservation Tips

Use less energy without sacrificing comfort with these six winter energy conservation tips.

Change Your Filter Regularly

The changing season – from fall to winter – is the perfect time to change the filter in your HVAC unit. This easy, cost-effective task allows your heating system to operate more efficiently, ensuring better distribution of heat. You should check and change your filter once a month; HEPA filters every few months.

Reverse Those Ceiling Fans

During winter, switch the direction that your ceiling fan blades turn, so that cooler air is drawn upwards and warmer air pushed down into your living spaces. This allows you to turn the temperature down and still stay warm. There is generally a small switch on the fan that allows you to reverse the blade’s direction. Remember, clockwise in winter, and counterclockwise in summer.

Turn Down the Thermostat

When you’re home and awake, set your thermostat as low as is comfortable, dressing for warmth. When you’re asleep or out of the house, turn your thermostat back 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours a day, and save up-to 10 percent a year on heating/cooling costs. Smart or programmable thermostats can adjust the temperature for you.

Insulate Your Attic

To maintain comfort, heat loss must be mitigated in the winter by ensuring an effective resistance to the flow of heat, which is something insulating materials do quite well. Plug your zip code into the U.S. Department of Energy’s Home Energy Saver tool to find insulation recommendations tailored to your specific zone and home.

Replace Worn Weatherstripping

Worn weatherstripping around doors and windows creates drafts, letting cold air in, and heated air out. Caulking and weatherstripping – found at your local home improvement store – are two cost-effective ways to cut heating/cooling costs and increase occupant comfort. Before air sealing, you should schedule an energy audit.

Schedule a Home Energy Audit

An energy audit can help you determine where your house is losing energy and money.  A professional technician – often called an energy auditor – will check for leaks, examine insulation, inspect your heating system, perform a blower door test, and more using an infrared camera. The technician will then recommend low-cost improvements to save energy, such as increasing your insulation or sealing air leaks.

Use LED Holiday Lights

Incandescent holiday lights are terribly inefficient, and despite careful storage, often emerge damaged. LEDs, while a little more expensive, are a much better option. They use up to 75% less energy and last 25 times longer. Because they also produce very little heat, they are much safer to use for both indoor and outdoor lighting. Additionally, during the biggest holiday shopping weekend – Thanksgiving through Black Friday – many retailers sell LEDs for a fraction of the cost, making them very affordable.

How to Make Scary Tombstones

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tombstones

Craft four nice size, eerily realistic looking tombstones from insulation foam board / Styrofoam in under four hours using the following step-by-step instructions; just in time for Halloween (13 days away!). Add fresh dirt, a shovel, and plastic skull at the base of your tombstones for that extra chill factor.

Materials Needed for Scary Tombstones

  • insulation foam board / Styrofoam
  • permanent marker
  • serrated knife
  • monster mud
  • carbon paper
  • latex gloves

Step 1: Outline Tombstones

With one large sheet of insulation foam board / Styrofoam – measuring 2” x 2” x 8’ – you should be able to make four nice size tombstones. The sheets can be found at your local home improvement store. Use a permanent marker to sketch an outline for your tombstones. Tip: Keep shapes simple so it’s easier to cut out.

Step 2: Cut Styrofoam to Size

Cut foam along sketched outline with a serrated knife. We recommend doing this outdoors since this step can be quite messy. Keep blade perpendicular to foam and use caution while cutting.

Step 3: Write the Epitaph

Use carbon paper to draw out your design and write the epitaph. Lay the carbon paper over the cut-out tombstone and trace over the paper to transfer the patter / epitaph onto the foam. You may want to go back over the transfer marks with a permanent marker, if they are not dark enough.

Step 4: Create an Aged Look

Working in a well-ventilated area, use a soldering iron to go back over the transfer marks, melting them into the Styrofoam. To create an “aged” look, break off tiny pieces around the edges of the store, or carve out small cracks using an X-acto knife.

Step 5: Apply Monster Mud

Using homemade “monster mud,” apply a thin amount to the tombstone, spreading with your latex gloved hands or a paintbrush. You may find it helpful to use both, ensuring the mud gets into the smallest crevices. You can also spray paint using charcoal gray or black. Get the instructions for Monster Mud.

Step 6: Set the Scene

Secure your handcrafted tombstones to the ground using wire hangers, plant wire or wooden stakes. Simply cut out enough wire and stretch along the length of the stone to set the graveyard scene up in your yard.

Happy Halloween!