Austin Design's Energy Audit

Our energy audit was fun and a great success. Beth Paulson, an Energy Analyst/Technician and 13-year veteran of the Center for Ecological Technology, came to our office fully equipped to dig right in and determine:

1) How our building uses and consumes energy

2) How airtight or leaky our building is
3) The efficiency and safety of the electrical and mechanical systems and the structure itself

To begin, Beth surveyed the attic and the basement. On the attic floor, we discovered a foot of cellulose insulation along with an absence of a proper air barrier. In making office upgrades, holes created for utility wires have produced air leakage sites allowing warm air to escape into the unconditioned space in the attic and then to the outside.

After documenting these findings, Beth moved on to explore the two full basements (divided by a crawl space). Beth’s Delmhorst J-LITE wood moisture reader, which she tested on structural beams and wood products stored in the cellar, showed high wood moisture content. Ductwork from the furnace and plumbing pipes appeared to be uninsulated and more holes for utility wires were discovered.

Otto, our friendly standard poodle, looked on as Beth set up the blower door test. With the blower door running, one could feel outdoor air coming into interior rooms through electrical receptacles, wainscoting, around doorways, and vents.

Additional testing included individual pressure pan tests on the return and supply registers to determine the leakiness of the duct system, as well as an infrared imaging camera to determine insulation settling, heat loss, and possible rodent tenants.

We are very excited to see Beth’s report and data analysis. From those baseline numbers, residential energy modeling software will allow us to run several different scenarios to determine and prioritize the most cost-effective and energy-conserving retrofit measures.