We could spend all day comparing different types of insulation materials, but when it comes down to it, cellulose insulation is just the best all-around, especially in practice. It’s Eco-friendly, cost-effective, safe, easy to install around uneven surfaces, and even provides good sound dampening. We at EPB like to take it a step further and […]
Duct Leakage – An HVAC Epidemic!
March 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment
What is Duct Leakage? Duct leakage can be defined as a percentage, or a surface area value. The percentage rating is determined by the ratio of a home’s calculated leakage rate vs its air handler flow rate. The surface area value is useful for visualizing the total area that is leaking, and estimating the amount […]
Home Energy Retrofit: The Whole-House Approach
March 11, 2014 by 1 Comment
Home energy efficiency is best achieved by a “whole-house” approach, rather than a piecemeal one. Everything in your home is interconnected. When you change something, it affects other things as well. Air follows the path of least resistance, and hot air rises. Thus, for example, if you seal up your doors and windows, but you […]
Zero Duct Leakage – Ring 4 Club
April 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Here at EPB we don’t like duct leakage, in fact we hate it. To check to see how much duct leakage there is on a system we hook up a Duct Blaster. A duct blaster puts a small amount of pressure (25 pascals) on the duct system after we tape up all of the grilles […]
Efficient Air Conditioning
April 12, 2013 by 3 Comments
Efficient Air Conditioning – What you need to know Electricity can be pricey these days. If you want to install or upgrade your air conditioning system, you should be aware that there is a wide range of quality out there. This is one of those things that pays for itself if you have it done […]
Do It Yourself Home Energy Audit: A One Stop Guide
April 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Do It Yourself – Home Energy Audit What is a Residential Energy Audit? (often more positively termed: Energy Assessment) An Energy Audit is a way to use Building Science and Home Performance concepts to perform a comprehensive in-depth testing of a home in order to find out where the energy concerns are, how to […]
Indoor Air Quality
April 9, 2013 by 1 Comment
Indoor Air Quality: Test it and Improve it Considering the amount of time we spend in our homes, and that we are generally breathing the whole time, it’s a good idea to ensure that our air is clean and healthy. There are a number of factors that can affect indoor air quality, some of […]
What is Home Performance?
February 4, 2013 by 1 Comment
What is Home Performance? Home performance is a comprehensive, whole-house approach to identifying and fixing comfort, energy efficiency, air quality and durability problems in a home. The goal is to identify and prioritize these issues with a home energy audit then find a home performance contractor to address the energy concerns. An energy audit technician […]
Proper Duct System
January 5, 2013 by 2 Comments
Goals When Installing an Efficient Proper Duct System: Properly engineered ducts should achieve the following: 1. Minimal leakage 2. Good insulation (ideally R-8) 3. Sized to provide ideal air flow to each room 4. Minimal air flow resistance 5. Designed to work efficiently with a correctly sized furnace Unfortunately, the vast majority of homes fail […]
