Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
May 13, 2013
You should get your furnace and AC serviced annually to make sure they’re operating safely and efficiently. And we find it’s best to do that with a regular service agreement. Hopefully this will prevent problems before they happen. Some things a technician will check as we go into the cooling season are:
Evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils. Dirty coils reduce the system’s ability to cool your home and cause the system to run longer,
Refrigerant level: Too much or too little refrigerant will make your system less efficient increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
Blower components should be cleaned and adjusted to provide proper system airflow for greater comfort levels. Airflow problems can reduce your system’s efficiency by up to 15 percent.
These fixes are part a good service visit, but is it’s a good idea to inspect and change air filters on a monthly basis and that is something you can do.
Most of our locations offer our service agreement customers a discount on both service and replacement since we can schedule them before the busy season. An ounce of prevention can help your system run better and help you stay cool.
Thanks,
Jason
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Tags:air conditioning, comfort, service agreement, spring, spring cleaning, tune-up
Posted in Air Conditioning, Heating & Cooling Tips, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
May 6, 2013
A fairly comprehensive list of ailments sufferable from your very own home was posted in this article.
It is disheartening to read that more than “30 million homes have significant health problems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. More than 20 million housing units have a lead-based paint hazard. And more than 6.8 million homes have radon exposures above the level at which remedial action should be taken, as determined by the EPA.”
Building materials, new and old can affect our indoor air quality. Moisture can lead to problems as well especially when it helps foster the growth of mold. Lead is still an issue in older homes, and carbon monoxide, one of our regular topics is also a concern.
How in the world do you keep track of all of this? Certainly knowledge is power. Learning more about hazards can help you avoid them. We’ve had numerous posts on CO, information in our learning center and there are other resources as well such as the EPA.
One quote from the same piece that I really appreciated was this: In our cars, we have oil and check engine lights,” says Rebecca Morley, executive director of the National Center for Healthy Housing. “There’s no such light for a house.” This is true, and one of the reasons why an energy assessment of your home that is focused on health and safety is so critical. It can be like a check engine light going off, then its’ just a matter of finding a mechanic to fix it.
Thanks,
Jason
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Tags:carbon monoxide, Check engine light, CO, energy assessment, EPA, IAQ, lead, radon
Posted in Health / Safety / Indoor Air, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
April 3, 2013
Winter is past and we are gearing up for round two of our exterior insulation Deep Energy Retrofit project in New York. there was a feature in the NEWS , check it out!
As the weather gets nicer, we often consider new siding and new windows, it also may be time to consider new insulation. Any time is a good time to improve R values and reduce air leaks. If going extreme is not what you are prepared to do with a full exterior retrofit, consider that if siding is being replaced it is a great time to blow in dense packed fiber insulation.
If you are in the Syracuse, NY area and want to know more about what we are doing call us! 315-474-6549 or check out our website http://greenhomesamericacny.com/
Thanks,
Jason
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Tags:achrnews, DER, energy-efficiency, exterior insulation, HVAC, siding, Syracuse, windows
Posted in Energy / Efficiency / Renewables, News, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
July 16, 2012
Despite what some might think, bigger isn’t always better. We talk about the right size furnace or air conditioner for our homes, it makes sense that a dehumidifier should be sized right too.
First of all, I suggest you take care of everything you can to reduce moisture in the first place. (Home as microbiology experiment? Moisture, keep it reasonable and stay safe) This is a lot like what I suggest in terms of heating and cooling in a home. Air seal and insulate first to make the home more efficient, then change the HVAC system. The same principle applies to choosing a dehumidifier: reduce the need first, and this will allow for a smaller unit. It might be smaller, but it will use less energy.
Since basements and other spaces sometimes need some dehumidification, consider the following chart:
ENERGY STAR® qualified models are better since they use less energy, and you can check the EnergyGuide sticker to see what yearly energy consumption a model has.
Thanks,
Jason
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Tags:dehumidifiers, energy, energy star appliances, home, homeowner
Posted in Air-Sealing, DIY, Efficiency, Energy Loss, Green, GreenHomes America, Health / Safety / Indoor Air, Home, Homeowners, Insulation, Uncategorized, Utility Bills | Leave a Comment »
June 19, 2012
Our advisors and installation crews spend a lot of time in houses. We use ladders and power tools and crawl around underneath and above homes, especially attics. We look for air leaks, low insulation levels, electrical concerns, and other hazards. Safety is a great concern, and occasionally we come across the unexpected; such as sharks.
Sharks: A major safety concern in attics
I’m sure that air leakage from the electrical box is providing plenty of nice indoor air smells, steak cooking, people sleeping. Seal those leaks and I’m guessing the sharks won’t be so interested. More insulation in this space is needed too. Summertime air conditioners have to work twice as hard when there’s so little insulation and air sealing in your attic. When you want to keep the conditioned air conditioned, hot or cold, putting a good cap on your home is a great start. What shark would stick around after that? No good indoor smells, no cool air, not a great place to hang out.
What’s for dinner?
If you have sharks in your attic consider a home performance assessment, it’s a great way to take a bite out of your high energy bills and make a home more comfortable and safe.
Thanks,
Jason
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Tags:air leaks, attic, comfort, energy, home comfort, insulation, safety, sharks, summer
Posted in Air-Sealing, Energy Audits, Energy Loss, Environment, Green, GreenHomes America, Home, Homeowners, Insulation, Uncategorized, Utility Bills, Wild Stuff | Leave a Comment »
May 2, 2012
Many Americans love their TVs, and it must be “love” otherwise why would we spend so much on something that takes up so much real estate on the living room wall! Until recently they used a lot of energy too.
According to a recent posting from the NYT, “Incorporating LED and laser technology has helped slash the energy consumption of new TV models by nearly 50 percent within the last three years.” But really it’s not efficiency claims selling these sets in some parts of the country, its “technology” or “better picture quality”.
What sets these TVs apart is the Energy Forward label which identifies a small group of the most efficient Energy Star appliances. The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, a utility supported non-profit organization based in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, is behind the label and they have taken an interesting approach. Since TV watchers are prone to “geek out” by wanting the best set, it seems leveraging this “weakness” and making the best sets energy efficient is a win-win situation.
Collectively, small savings add up when everyone tunes in to the evening news on a high efficiency TV. The important shift recognized here is that comfort and efficiency don’t have to conflict. We fix homes to make them more comfortable. It just so happens that is a wonderful side effect of reducing energy usage as well!
Peace,
Jason
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Tags:comfort, efficiency, energy, Energy Star, geek, home, home comfort, LED, savings, technology, television, TV
Posted in Efficiency, Energy / Efficiency / Renewables, Energy Geeks / Energy Policy, Green, GreenHomes America, Technology, Uncategorized, Utility Bills | Leave a Comment »
April 6, 2012
One of our top advisors a few years back had a unique experience on an assessment visit. Leaving the doors open to his vehicle, he unknowingly acquired some unwanted guests. It made me think about our homes and another unwanted “guest”: uncontrolled airflow via attics and elsewhere in the home. (A great resource if you haven’t seen it already can be found in our learning center)
When we test airflow in homes we use cubic feet per minute as a unit of measurement. Ideally this can help people visualize how much air moves through your walls ceilings and floors. The large fan we place in the 
doorway of the home measures this flow and allows us to compare the amount of leakage in your home to others of similar size. Many of us don’t often think in terms of cubic feet, but you know, I’d guess it’s about the same as a good sized chicken.
You would be surprised by the amount of leakage in the average home when you can’t see the holes. They are hidden behind walls and floors, connections in the ceiling. In places we don’t really think about. Every chicken’s worth of air that moves uncontrolled in or out of your home costs, not only in terms of money, but also comfort. There could be 
hundreds of them entering or leaving your house every hour. Not sealing those leaks is like leaving the door open all year long.
Keep the chickens where they belong. Close the doors.
Thanks,
Jason
Photos courtesy of John Scipione Branch Manager, Syracuse NY.
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Tags:air flow, air-sealing, Attics, chickens, energy assessment, energy-efficiency, windows and doors
Posted in Air-Sealing, Energy / Efficiency / Renewables, Energy Audits, Green, GreenHomes America, Health / Safety / Indoor Air, Uncategorized, Utility Bills, Windows and Doors | 2 Comments »
March 27, 2012
Boy that’s just ugly.
Older homes, especially ones that had steam systems, often had pipe insulation like this; it looks a bit like white corrugated cardboard. I suspect it was as much to protect people’s foreheads from being scalded as they walked through their basement as it was to deliver the heat where it needed to go!
Fairly effective as an insulator—with the pockets of air and resistance to high heat—Aircell type pipe insulation starts to be a concern in the home as it deteriorates.
Materials containing asbestos are troublesome if they can become “friable”. This means something that was once considered solid can disintegrate quite easily. Asbestos found in vermiculite is a problem because it may already be dust. Pipe insulation made with asbestos breaks down over time and turns powdery when it is bumped.
Keep in mind that not all white pipe insulation contains asbestos, other materials are now used. Asbestos was banned in the late ‘70s and should have been out of circulation by the early ‘80s. The best course of action is to leave it alone if you’re not sure. Leave it to the experts if it needs to be removed, they know what to do. A healthy, energy efficient home is in reach; knowledge is half the battle.
Thanks,
Jason
Image used with permission by Asbestorama on Flickr.
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Tags:boilers, furnaces, Health /safety/ indoor air
Posted in Boilers, Consumer Protection, Energy / Efficiency / Renewables, Furnaces, GreenHomes America, Health / Safety / Indoor Air, Insulation, Pipe Insulation, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
March 8, 2012
Here is an excellent reminder from the CDC for those who need to adjust to daylight savings this Sunday March 11, 2012: change the batteries in your CO detector. 
I’ve mentioned the dangers of CO in our homes in past posts such as in Testing: more than efficiency for safety’s sake or A Bad Idea: unvented gas fire place. I suspect CO may even have an unintended influence on us after Thanksgiving dinner.
It’s a simple thing to check the batteries or maybe just test the unit as some are hardwired. It is also important to make sure your CO detector alarms at low levels of carbon monoxide. The UL standards for CO detectors start at a level of 70 PPM for a 1-2 hour exposure. Higher levels are obviously worse, but I think the lower range is just as dangerous. CO in the air robs us of oxygen and to be safe, I’d like the levels in my home to be zero.
The U.S. consumer product safety commission suggests that most folks are not affected in the low exposure ranges of 1-70 PPM. Funny because others, such as The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has established a recommended exposure limit of 35 PPM. We spend as much time if not more in our homes than on the job. This is important!
35 PPM is the same maximum level Building Performance Institute certified advisors watch out for when performing assessments on homes, but really we don’t want CO in our homes at all. As we change our clocks and the days get longer, let’s consider longer and healthier lives as well!
Thanks, Jason
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Tags:BPI, CDC, CO, CO detector, daylight savings, health and safety, spring, UL 2034
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
December 8, 2011
Somewhere high on my list of favorite songs is Psycho Killer by the Talking Heads [and I really enjoyed the Modern Day Saints frenzied live version of the song from the Illinois bar scene in the late 1980s]. One of the lines from the song goes “you’re talking a lot, but you’re not saying anything”. And that gets me to today’s partial dissection of that full page Heat Surge HT ad that is staring me in the face right now. It has lots of words. Yes, it does have THAT going for it. I would NOT buy the product, however.
Murkier than Fiction!
I will point out some of my “favorite” portions of the ad that might be worth a careful read so you can make sure you understand what they’re saying, and what they’re not.
- Amazing technology! Or, I think, not so amazing after all. “Hybrid-Thermic heat technology is an engineering genius so advanced it actually uses a micro-furnace from the Coast of China and a thermal heat exchanger to perform its miracles.” Hmmm…I’m not saying that there aren’t fine products coming out of China, but I would hardly call this genius. And “a micro-furnace from the Coast of China”? Sounds rather pedestrian. Although I do suspect they’re able to have it manufactured less cheaply in China than in the U.S. Ah, maybe THAT is the genius part—they can make it for less, sell it for more, and make more money??
- The unit “produces up to an amazing 4,606 British Thermal Units (BTU’s) on the high setting”. OK, let me see, 1 watt-hour of electricity produces 3.413 BTUs. If the high setting is 1500 watts (or 1.5 kilowatts), over an hour it would optimally produce…wait for it…5,120 BTUs!!! This amazing technology is able to convert electricity to heat at a lower rate than some of the $30 heaters from the big box store! (Some of the electricity is used to create than nifty flameless fire glow, not heat.) Thank goodness for the Coast of China engineering genius!
- An infographic tells us that if we have the home thermostat set at 59 degrees, the room temperature might be, get this, 59 degrees! Well, yeah, because that’s what you set the thermostat at! Could a 4,606 BTU/hour raise the temperature of the room to 74 degrees? Yes. Doesn’t take a miracle to do that, though. The $30 space heater will do it, too. And, as we’ve discussed before, while space heaters (including super-dooper, amazing, miracle, trademarked Hybrid-Thermic space heaters) can be used for raising the temps of trouble spots, lowering your house temperature can create it’s own problems—frozen pipes, anyone? Condensation in cold rooms? Be careful, even if simple infographics don’t warn you of this.
- The ad states the product is a “Consumer ‘Best Buy’ ” on the HeatReport.com website. Hmmmm…I can’t speak to the copywriter’s intent here, but this I did find it a bit confusing at first glance. On closer examination, this claim, citing reviews on a website that sure looks like its run by the Heat Surge folks, shouldn’t be confused with “Consumers Digest” or “Consumer Reports”. In fact, Consumer Reports had a nifty review of their previously named Heat Surge product—and the Heat Surge “Fireless Flame (registered mark)” aside, I wouldn’t call it a glowing report from Consumer Reports. Speaking of recommendations, this product actually makes my “Don’t Buy” list because I just don’t think it’s worth it? It seems MSNBC’s Consumer Man came to a similar conclusion–and was worried about the potential for people to be misled by these ads. Go figure!
- How about that map!? It doesn’t mirror the DOE climate zone map. Or the more detailed maps I’ve seen other experts use. But that Heat Surge map did teach me a couple of things. For example, Phoenix is in the “Cold Zone”, the same as Boone, North Carolina. Miami is in the “Frost Zone”. Burlington, VT is in the same zone as Norfolk, VA and Seattle, WA. Go figure. We prefer to look at actual local weather patterns and “heating degree days” when consider the heating needs of a house. But then, I guess this map is to stagger calling—never mind that no time zone considerations come into play. Seems awfully complicated! Maybe an astute reader can give a better explanation!
I’ll wrap it up with a quote from the ad “if it does not have the Heat Surge name on it, you are getting ripped off.” I would have to disagree. In my opinion, exactly the opposite is true—unless you really like the aesthetics of that Amish mantle. It’s your money, though. You get to decide! Caveat emptor!
If you want to be more comfortable and save energy in your home, you’re generally better off getting the right home energy audit, and doing things like air-sealing and insulating properly.
You’ve probably seen the ads. Do you have a favorite part? How about any doozies from the Bob Vila Eden Pure ads? Or the Heat Surge’s equally lame cousin, the Cool Surge? It’s an election year—I wonder if these guys write campaign speeches, too? Let us know what you think (Or just share your favorite Talking Heads song!)
Cheers,
Mike
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Tags:Bob Vila, BTU, cool surge, Eden Pure, Heat Surge, Heat Surge HT, hoax, Hybrid Thermic, myth, Pyscho Killer, review, scam, Talking Heads
Posted in Consumer Protection, Scams, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
You should get your furnace and AC serviced annually to make sure they’re operating safely and efficiently. And we find it’s best to do that with a regular service agreement. Hopefully this will prevent problems before they happen. Some things a technician will check as we go into the cooling season are:
