April 8, 2010

Cost Effective Changes

Posted by Laura under Home Owner
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Blower Door Test

Key Green Energy Solutions offers comprehensive Home Energy Assessments (home energy audits) to evaluate your home’s energy use.   The assessment will tell you:

  •     *  How to improve the energy efficiency of your home
  •     *  Where to start – our clearly written report
  •          prioritizes your issues
  •     *  What local rebates are available to you

Information about our services and rates can be found under the tabs at the top of this page.  Because we are an independent audit service, you are free to choose your own contractor based on the unique needs of your home.  This gives you increased flexibility and reduced costs.  We can refer you to the experienced companies in the greater Charlottesville/Albemarle VA area who are best suited to perform your improvements and we’ll be there for you every step of the way to answer questions.  To discuss your home energy concerns, call Laura Fiori at 434-989-3514 or email Laura@KeyGreenEnergy.com.

 

June 12, 2010

WINA Radio Real Estate Matters Interview

Posted by Laura under Uncategorized
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Today I spoke on the WINA radio program called Real Estate Matters with Michael Guthrie.  We discussed how Home Energy Audits will provide a homeowner with detailed information about the energy efficiency of their home.   The purpose of the audit is to identify and prioritize which improvements to the home will create the biggest energy savings. 

A Charlottesville, VA nonprofit, the Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP), is sponsoring the Home Performance with Energy Star program in our area.  By making home improvements that save at least 20% in energy costs, an existing home can be certified as a Home Performance with Energy Star Home (www.LEAP-VA.org).  This is a great way for sellers to differentiate their home from others on the market.

 

February 11, 2010

In what year did Code begin requiring wall insulation?

Posted by Laura under Home Owner, Insulation, Professional
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1973

 

February 7, 2010

Bath Fan

Posted by Laura under Fans, Home Owner
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Your bath fan is designed to remove moisture from your bathroom.  Run the fan while showering or bathing and until the mirror clears to remove about 75% of the moisture in the room.  Run the fan for 15 minutes after the mirror clears to remove 50% of the moisture in the room.  As we should try to keep the humidity in our homes at 50% or less, running the fan for 15 minutes after the mirror clears is a good idea.

 

February 1, 2010

Blower Door Testing in Cold Weather

Posted by Laura under Equipment, Professional
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Heated air is less dense than cold air, so houses tested in cold weather appear leakier than they really are (by about 1 percent for each 10 degrees F difference between indoor and outdoor temperature) unless an adjustment for temperature has been made.  Otherwise, testing will indicate the amount of less dense air flowing through the blower door, and not the amount of colder, denser air flowing through the holes.  From the Journal of Light Construction article:  Blower Door Testing by David Keefe, January 2010 issue.

 

January 27, 2010

What year was your home built?

Posted by Laura under Home Owner, Professional, Year Built
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Many historic buildings have energy saving physical features and devices that contribute to good thermal performance. Studies by the Energy Research and Development Administration show that the buildings with the poorest energy efficiency are actually those built between 1940 and 1975.
Read more about historic buildings here:  http://www.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief03.htm

 

January 26, 2010

Natural Gas usage in Cville

Posted by Laura under Home Owner, Natural Gas, Professional
[2] Comments 

 Charlottesville Gas has given natural gas users a valuable piece of energy efficiency information.  Analyzing their data according the method described below, Charlottesville Gas has determined that for homes that heat with natural gas  (more…)

 

January 14, 2010

HVAC System Maintenance

Posted by Laura under Home Owner, HVAC
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Having your HAVC system serviced is similar to changing the oil in your car.  Regular maintenance will make the equipment last longer.  Have it serviced every 2 years for the first 6 years, and every year thereafter.  Change the furnace filter regularly as recommended on the filter package.

 

January 14, 2010

Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Posted by Laura under Carbon Monoxide Detector, Home Owner
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This is a must if you have any appliances/equipment fueled by natural gas, propane, wood or oil.  Proper placement of a carbon monoxide (CO) detector is important. If you are installing only one carbon monoxide detector, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends it be located near the sleeping area, where it can wake you if you are asleep.  Read manufacturers’ recommendations on placement.  For more information:  http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/466.html.

 

January 14, 2010

Water Heater Blanket

Posted by Laura under Home Owner, Hot Water Heater
1 Comment 

It is always a good idea to insulate your hot water heater with an insulated blanket.  With ambient air temperature at approximately 70 degrees or below and water temperature in the tank at 120 degrees, insulation buffering these extremes makes sense.

 

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