Energy Audits & Assessments

Energy & Environment LLC can conduct an Energy Audit of your building whether it is residential or commercial. During the audit, we check to see how energy efficient the structure is and determine if improvements are needed and their estimated savings and costs. Energy audit services use a professional to systematically inspect and analyze the energy systems of each building based on a standardized scale. The resulting rating is a structured assessment of the energy efficiency of the building which also recommends cost-effective measures to make the structure more energy efficient. Implementing these recommendations will reduce energy bills and make your facility more comfortable.

E&E strives to provide relevant building performance data to encourage energy and water efficiency upgrades. We place our findings in an energy audit report for you. The estimates in an Energy Audit Report are based on data obtained from a detailed inspection of your building. The information is analyzed using Home Energy Rating System (HERS) software, which takes into account local weather, energy prices and implementation costs. HERS raters are energy specialists. They can quantify expected energy use and determine cost-effective improvements for the owner. They also are trained to visually assess how well energy efficiency measures have been installed and they perform diagnostic testing on certain building components. Reduce your energy costs and help the environment. Detect inefficiencies and identify money saving solutions that will improve your bottom line. Contact us today!

A Review of your Energy Usage Including:

  • Electricity
  • Building Envelope
  • Natural Gas
  • HVAC and Ventilation
  • Compressed Air
  • Water and Sewage
  • Steam
  • Lighting Systems

Each assessment from Energy and Environment includes an evaluation of each portion of your building envelope including non-invasive infrared scanning.

Utilizing information about the age, construction, structural integrity and condition of the building. Energy and Environment LLC will propose appropriate energy-saving retrofit options.

Roof and Ceiling

Utilization of “cool roofing” technologies
(reflectivity and emissivity)

Effectiveness of existing insulation (R-value)

Moisture detection

Doors Assessment

Air leakage
Energy efficiency
Effectiveness of existing insulation (U-value)
Maintenance issues
Controlled and efficient egress/ingress
Weatherization / Infiltration

Walls and Foundation Assessment

Vapor barriers
Effectiveness of existing insulation
Moisture detection
Windows Assessment
Air leakage
Energy efficiency (solar heat gain and shading)
Effectiveness of existing insulation (U-value)
Visible transmittance (light visibility)
including overhangs
Maintenance issues
Controlled and efficient ventilation
Weatherization/Infiltration

Blower Door Test - How They Work

Blower Door

(Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy)

A blower door is a powerful fan that mounts into the frame of an exterior door. The fan pulls air out of the house, lowering the air pressure inside. The higher outside air pressure then flows in through all unsealed cracks and openings. These tests determine the air infiltration rate of a building.

Blower doors consist of a frame and flexible panel that you can place in a doorway, a variable-speed fan, a pressure gauge to measure the pressure differences inside and outside the home, and an airflow manometer and hoses for measuring airflow.

Air leakage can increase heating and cooling costs over 30% and contribute to comfort, health and safety problems. Finding hidden air leakage sites, called bypasses, can be difficult without the use of a blower door. This diagnostic equipment uses a fan to pressurize (force air into) or de-pressurize (force air out of) a building. When the fan operates, it is easy to feel the effects of infiltration – air leaking through cracks in the building envelope. Blower doors have gauges which can measure the relative leakiness of a building. One measure of a home’s leakage rate is air changes per hour (ACH), which estimates how many times in one hour the entire volume of air inside the building leaks to the outside. Leakier houses have higher ACH’s, therefore higher heating and cooling costs, and greater potential for moisture, comfort, and health problems. To determine ACH, the blower door creates a pressure difference of 50 Pascals between inside and outside. Fifty Pascals is approximately equivalent to a 20 mph wind blowing against all surfaces of a building. The leakier the house, the harder the fan must work to maintain the pressure. The amount of air the fan blows, measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM), is used to determine ACH.

Measuring Duct Leakage with a Duct Blaster

A duct blaster combines a small fan and a pressure gauge to pressurize a house’s duct system and accurately measure air leakage of the ductwork. This test is similar to a pressure test of a plumbing system. Duct leakage can increase heating and cooling costs over 30% and contribute to comfort, health and safety problems.

Energy-related features most often tested by HERS raters include air conditioners, ducting, and the building envelope (including exterior roofs, walls, doors and windows). HERS raters often use special pressurization fans to measure air leakage from duct work and/or the building envelope as a whole. This is what is called the “blower door test”. A comparable system checking the airflow of air conditioning systems is called the “duct blaster test”. If weather conditions are correct and the site dynamics call for it, a thermal imaging picture may be taken using heat-sensing infrared cameras to seek out poorly installed insulation in walls, floors and ceilings.

In addition to HERS raters, there are businesses, such as Energy and Environment LLC, which offer individual or comprehensive repairs and energy efficiency improvements. These are referred to as whole-house or building performance contractors. Such contractors are well versed in diagnosing energy efficiency problems and installing the improvements.

Contact us today for an Energy Assessment.

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Energy & Environment LLC
2125 Bolton Road NW
Atlanta, GA 30318-1107
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404-794-2023 Office
404-794-2022 Fax

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