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 Mobile ViewAIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT INTERIORS of BUILDINGS ACOUSTICAL SEALANTS AGE of a BUILDING - how to determine AIR BYPASS LEAKS AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS Find Heat Loss & Air Leaks Heat Loss Investigation Sequence Blower Door Test Data Results Smoke Gun for Air Leaks Smoke Pencil / Smoke Gun Suppliers Attic Energy Losses - InfraRed Basement Energy Losses- IR & Visual Duct System Air Movement Living Space Heat Loss Targets & Hidden Leak Points Thermography IR Infra Red & Thermal Scanners Convective Loops & Thermal Bypass Leaks Insulation Air & Heat Leaks The Bottom Line on Energy Retrofits AIR LEAK MINIMIZATION AIR SEALING STRATEGIES ANIMAL ALLERGENS APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY RATINGS ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN BUILDINGS ATTIC LEAKS, CONDENSATION & ATTIC MOLD ATTIC VENTILATION BASEMENT HEAT LOSS BASEMENT LEAKS Moisture or Mold BASEMENT WATERPROOFING BATHROOM VENTILATION BLOWER DOORS & AIR INFILTRATION BRICK LINED WALLS BUCKLED FOUNDATIONS due to INSULATION? BUILDING NOISE DIAGNOSIS & CURE CATHEDRAL CEILING INSULATION CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR COMBUSTION AIR for TIGHT BUILDINGS CRAWL SPACES DEW POINT CALCULATION for WALLS DEW POINT TABLE - CONDENSATION POINT GUIDE ELECTRICAL INSPECTION, DIAGNOSIS, REPAIR ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS ENERGY AUDIT - How to Use a Free One ENERGY SAVINGS MAXIMIZE RETURNS ON ENERGY SAVINGS PRIORITIES ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT CASE STUDY ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT LEAK SEALING GUIDE ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT OPTIONS ENERGY USE MONITORING ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS FIBERGLASS INSULATION FIBERGLASS HAZARDS FIBERGLASS MOLD FIREPLACE Damage & Unsafe Hearths - Settlement FLAT ROOF MOISTURE & CONDENSATION FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP FLOODS IN BUILDINGS-mold FLOORING CHOICES OVER CONCRETE SLABS FLOORING TYPES & DEFECTS FOUNDATION WATERPROOFING FRAMING DETAILS for BETTER INSULATION FRAMING DETAILS for DOUBLE WALL HOUSES FREEZE-PROOF A BUILDING HEAT LOSS in BUILDINGS HEAT LOSS DETECTION TOOLS Find Heat Loss & Air Leaks Heat Loss Investigation Sequence Blower Door Test Data Results Smoke Gun for Air Leaks Smoke Pencil / Smoke Gun Suppliers Attic Energy Losses - InfraRed Basement Energy Losses- IR & Visual Duct System Air Movement Living Space Heat Loss Targets & Hidden Leak Points Thermography IR Infra Red & Thermal Scanners Convective Loops & Thermal Bypass Leaks Insulation Air & Heat Leaks The Bottom Line on Energy Retrofits HEAT LOSS INDICATORS HEAT LOSS PREVENTION PRIORITIES HEAT LOSS R U & K VALUE CALCULATION Heat Tapes: Use on Roofs for Ice HEATING COST SAVINGS METHODS HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET ICE DAM PREVENTION Ice Dams: Comparing Two Houses INSULATION CHOICES INSULATION FACT SHEET- DOE INSULATION IDENTIFICATION GUIDE INSULATION LOCATION in BUILDINGS - WHERE TO INSULATE INSULATION LOCATION & QUANTITY for ATTICS INSULATION LOCATION for BASEMENT FLOORS INSULATION LOCATION for BASEMENT WALLS INSULATION LOCATION for BRICK VENEER WALLS INSULATION LOCATION for CAPES, CRAWLSPACES INSULATION LOCATION for CATHEDRAL CEILINGS INSULATION LOCATION for GREENHOUSE or SOLARIUM INSULATION LOCATION for PASSIVE SOLAR FLOOR SLAB INSULATION LOCATION for SOUND CONTROL in BUILDINGS INSULATION LOCATION for SWIMMING, INDOOR INSULATION MOLD INSULATION R-Values & Properties INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT INSULATION R-Values & Properties Air Bypass Leaks, Thermal Tracking AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS AIR LEAK MINIMIZATION AIR SEAL STRATEGIES ATTIC CONDENSATION CAUSE & CURE BASEMENT HEAT LOSS Blocked Soffit Intake Vents BLOWER DOORS & AIR INFILTRATION BRICK VENEER WALL INSULATION CATHEDRAL CEILING INSULATION CATHEDRAL CEILING VENTILATION ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS FIBERGLASS DUCT, RIGID CONSTRUCTION FRAMING DETAILS for BETTER INSULATION FRAMING DETAILS for DOUBLE WALL HOUSES Inspect Attics for Moisture or Mold Inspect Basements for Moisture or Mold Inspect Building Exterior Inspect the Ridge Vent System from the Attic Inspect the Soffit Vent System from the Attic Insulation Air & Heat Leaks INSULATION for GREENHOUSE or SOLARIUM INSULATION CHOICES INSULATION FACT SHEET- DOE INSULATION PLACEMENT in BUILDINGS INSULATION R-Values & Properties LOG HOME WALL INSULATION VALUES PHENOLIC FOAM INSULATION POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM INSULATION POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM BELOW SLABS POLYSTYRENE FOAM INSULATION PASCAL CALCULATIONS RADIANT BARRIERS RIGID FOAM USE INDOORS ROOF VENTING ENERGY SAVING DETAILS ROOF VENTING NEEDED? ROOF VENTILATION SPECIFICATIONS PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN METHOD PASSIVE SOLAR ENERGY MONITORING PASSIVE SOLAR FLOOR TILES, PHASE CHANGE PASSIVE SOLAR HEAT PERFORMANCE PASSIVE SOLAR HOME, LOW COST PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER SYSTEMS SLAB INSULATION, PASSIVE SOLAR Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation UFFI VAPOR BARRIERS & AIR SEALING at BAND JOISTS VAPOR BARRIERS & CONDENSATION in BUILDINGS VAPOR BARRIERS & HOUSEWRAP VAPOR CONDENSATION & BUILDING SHEATHING URETHANE FOAM Deterioration, Outgassing Vermiculite Insulation LOG HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY LOG HOME GUIDE MOBILE HOME INSPECTIONS MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS Mold Growth Resistance of Foam Insulation MOLD INFORMATION CENTER NOISE / SOUND DIAGNOSIS & CURE ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE PAINT FALURE, DIAGNOSIS, CURE, PREVENTION PLASTER & BEAVERBOARD & DRYWALL PASCAL CALCULATIONS RADIANT BARRIERS RADIANT HEAT RADIANT HEAT Floor Mistakes to Avoid RADIANT SLAB FLOORING CHOICES RADIANT SLAB TUBING & FLUID CHOICES ROOF VENTILATION SPECIFICATIONS ROT, FUNGUS, TERMITES TERMITE SHIELDS vs TERMITICIDE ROT, TIMBER FRAME SAFETY HAZARDS & INSPECTIONS SEARS KIT HOUSES SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS SOUND CONTROL in BUILDINGS STAIN DIAGNOSIS STAIRS, RAILINGS, LANDINGS, RAMPS STUCCO OVER FOAM INSULATION STUCCO PAINT FAILURES STRUCTURAL INSPECTIONS & DEFECTS SUMP PUMPS GUIDE THERMAL EXPANSION of MATERIALS THERMAL MASS in BUILDINGS THERMAL MASS FLOOR SLABS THERMAL MASS in UPSTAIRS THERMAL MASS WALL DESIGN THERMAL TRACKING & HEAT LOSS Ceiling Thermal Tracking Marks Wall Thermal Tracking Stains Floor Carpet Thermal Tracking Stains Air Bypass Leaks Marks on Insulation Thermal Tracking to Diagnose IAQ Stains HVAC Supply Registers Pet Stains on Floors Pet Stains on Walls Human Occupant Stains on Walls Stains from Candles, Woodstoves, Fireplaces Other Stains on Indoor Walls & Ceilings What to Do About Thermal Tracking VAPOR BARRIERS & AIR SEALING at BAND JOISTS VAPOR BARRIERS & CONDENSATION in BUILDINGS VAPOR BARRIERS & HOUSEWRAP VAPOR CONDENSATION & BUILDING SHEATHING VENTILATION in BUILDINGS WATER ENTRY in BUILDINGS WIND TURBINES WINDOWS & DOORS WINTERIZE A BUILDING WOOD Burning Heaters Fireplaces Stoves More Information  InspectAPedia ® Home & Site Map InspectAPedia Blog - News Updates Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Mold Inspect/Test Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Accuracy & Privacy Policies Contact Us |
This article series discusses how to find points of heat loss and air leaks in existing buildings using a variety of tools and inspection methods including infra red, smoke tests, visual inspection, and tests. This detailed article accompanies a building weatherization and energy-savings company through a detailed building inspection for heat loss points and air leaks. The author accompanied Princeton Energy Partners as they used the blower door, thermal imaging, smoke guns, and visual inspection to pinpoint building air leaks, convective loops, heat loss points, air infiltration and air exfiltration on a building. Readers should also see AIR BYPASS LEAKS as well as HEAT LOSS in BUILDINGS and HEAT LOSS INDICATORS. For advice on sealing against air leans during new building construction, see AIR LEAK MINIMIZATION. The importance of setting priorities for sealing these points of energy wasted is emphasized and discussed, and sketches as well as photographs of common points of building heat loss, or unwanted heat gain, and air leaks are provided. Accompanying text and sketches are reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss. Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution. © Copyright 2010 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. How to Find Points of Heat Loss & Building Air LeaksThis article explains how to survey a building for air and heat loss or gain points and how to correct them. As we introduced above, in this article the author, Steven Bliss, accompanies a building weatherization and energy-savings company through a detailed building inspection for heat loss points, convective loops, and air leaks. The author accompanies Princeton Energy Partners as they use thermal imaging, smoke guns, and visual inspection to pinpoint building air leaks, heat loss points, air infiltration and air exfiltration on a building. The importance of setting priorities for sealing these points of energy wasted is emphasized and discussed, and sketches as well as photographs of common points of building heat loss, or unwanted heat gain, and air leaks are provided.
The text below expands, paraphrases, quotes-from, updates, and comments an original article, "House Doctors with Better Medicine, Princeton Energy Partners use the latest diagnostic tools to comb a house for the major causes of heat loss. Their findings are often astonishing. Their strong prescriptions bring results", Steven Bliss, (see links just above) from Solar Age Magazine and written by Steven Bliss. Building Heat Loss Investigation Sequence & MethodsIn the original article presented in the four links above, the energy sleuth team investigates a ca 1900 home in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, with the goal of saving the client the most energy dollars possible based on a day's work of building investigation for air leaks, convective loops, and other energy loss points. The energy-savings crew uses three principal tools: a blower door, an infrared scanner, and a smoke gun. Example of House Leakiness Measurement Data Using a Blower Door Test
House Air Change Rate per Hour Before Sealing LeaksFor the home studied in this article, the house leaked at 32 air changes per hour (ach) at 50 pascals of pressure. (We need to use a standard pressurization in order to compare leakage rates among homes or within the same home under different conditions such as before and after sealing.) Just how leaky is that? New energy efficient houses have natural air infiltration rates of 0.2 to 0.5 air changes per hour (ACH). So this 1900's home in Pennsylvania starts with an air leakage rate that is 64 to 160 times as leaky as a new, tight, energy-efficient home. House Air Change Rate per Hour After Sealing LeaksAfter sealing the leaks discussed below and before addressing leaky windows - often the major energy loss on older homes - the air changes per hour was reduced from the starting 32 ach down to 24 ach - a 25 percent improvement, for very little materials or labor cost. The crew pointed out that the sealing operations described below were more for comfort than energy savings, reducing drafts, eliminating cold spots in the home. Following the discussion of building convective air loops, air leaks, heating leaks below, we discuss the priorities of action in saving home heating or cooling energy costs. Using the Smoke Gun to Demonstrate Air Leaks & to Decide Where to Seal Building Openings
Attic Energy Loss Detected by Visual Inspection & Infra Red Scan Identifies Major Air Leaks in a Home's Attic
See ATTIC LEAKS, CONDENSATION & ATTIC MOLD and see ATTIC VENTILATION for more details. For cape cod style homes, also see INSULATION LOCATION for CAPES, CRAWLSPACES. Share this Article
... Technical Reviewers & References
Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
Basement Energy Loss Detected by Visual Inspection & Infra Red Scan Identifies Major Air Leaks in a Home's BasementIn the basement the crew find and seal the bottom of a plumbing chase and a missing window that was concealed behind a makeshift wall panel. A coal chute is found and sealed. See BASEMENT HEAT LOSS for more details. We -DJF- recommend investigating and correcting building moisture sources such as wet or damp crawl spaces and basements. We have found this same convection current moving moisture and air between a wet basement and the attic in interior partitions both in older homes and even in brand new modular homes whose mating-walls were not sealed against such air-flow. See MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS. for more details. Where both top and bottom of leaky interior partition walls or modular home mating walls are accessible, we seal at both ends in leaky homes. Un-wanted Air Movement in Duct SystemsWith the building pressurized using the blower door, a smoke test in this home showed air movement into a heating supply duct. The duct system should be a closed circuit, with the same induced pressure (from the air handler unit) throughout - a difficult leak to seal in an older home whose ducts are concealed in finished floors, walls, ceilings. In other buildings we -DF- have found major duct leaks such as a partially or even entirely disconnected duct sections blowing warm air into the crawl space instead of the living room, or blowing cool air into an attic knee wall space instead of the bedrooms below. On a hot summer day the coolest place in that last home was inside the attic knee wall space! Look for major duct leak defects such as these, or if installing new HVAC ducting, be sure that the ducts and all connections are properly routed and sealed. See LEAKY DUCT CONNECTIONS and DUCT SYSTEM DEFECTS, problems with the air duct system, air filters, supply registers, return air registers, for more details on tuning up HVAC air ducts. Air Leaks & Energy Loss Points in the Living Space of a Home: cold corners, closets, kitchen soffits, plumbing chases, windows
Find These High Priority Targets & Hidden Leak Points to Save Heating & Cooling Energy CostsBeyond simple caulking and weatherstripping, it is important to look at the whole building - moisture and moisture sources, air quality, heating and ventilation equipment, and HVAC controls - in order to determine what steps will be most cost-effective in saving energy for that particular building. In older, multi-family buildings with primitive heating controls, shell tightening may fail to lower fuel costs if indoor temperatures are quite uneven between building areas. If after weathersealing, the tenants on the south side of a building get too warm (during the heating season) and respond by opening their windows, that effect increases the drafts and convection currents in the building, making other areas (and tenants) too cold. The cold tenants turn up their thermostat even higher. The correct solution may be a more intelligent heating control, and possibly insulation between the tenant areas. We -DF- see this problem particularly in two-story multi-family homes with an upstairs and downstairs tenant and a single heating system with a single thermostat located on the first floor. The upstairs tenants are too hot and the downstairs tenants are too cold. Slowing warm air movement between floors by insulation and sealing may be helpful, but an optimum solution includes separate heating zones and zone controls, or even separate heating systems entirely, permitting accurate heating cost apportionment among the tenants. In Europe BTU monitoring and accurate heating cost apportionment among tenants is required by law. Air leaks at Attic Hatches, Attic Stair Tops, Whole House Fans
Convective Air Loops & Leaks - Thermal Bypass Leaks in BuildingsThe energy contractors claim that their work consistently saves the homeowner considerably more money than is predicted by the reductions in air infiltration alone. This seeming magic is attributed to the elimination of "thermal bypasses", that is, the myriad ways heat gets out of the building other than through wall and ceiling components following the rules and regulations of ASHRAE. Prominent among these heat leaks are convective loops - wall and ceiling cavities that act as room-sized heat exchangers, relentlessly pumping heat out of a building even if there is no direct air leakage from indoors to outdoors.
Our photo (left) shows the black stains deposited by dust particles (this is not mold) when building air leaks past fiberglass insulation, seen from the attic side of a 1960's contemporary framed home with lots of air leaks. In our photo and in many air leak problems at fiberglass-batt insulated cavities, the problem is one of installation and construction leak problems, not a defect in the fiberglass insulating batt itself. See Air Bypass Leaks, Thermal Tracking for details. The claim of fiberglass batt air leakage, supported vigorously by the foam insulation industry, is equally vigorously counter-argued by the fiberglass insulation companies who point out that properly installed the air flow rate through the fiberglass itself in fiberglass insulated cavities is very low. Where air leaks occur around fiberglass batts, look closely: you will probably see that the leaks are at the perimeter of the insulation and at locations where openings in framing, drywall, or insulation were cut to admit recessed ceiling lights, electrical or plumbing penetrations, or similar openings. If airflow were simply through the fiberglass batt in any uniform way, the dust stains on and inside the insulation would also be expected to be uniform. They are not.
We full agree with PEP, however, that predicting air leaks through fiberglass-insulated cavities is very difficult, since leakage depends on the quality of installation workmanship. We have indeed occasionally found workmanship errors that resulted in unanticipated air leaks though foam-sprayed insulation as well, particularly when the insulation (of either type) was installed in a hard-to-access space such as a crawl area. Our pair of photos above were taken in a tight, hard to enter crawl area where the icynene spray foam insulation was not so carefully applied. Our smoke test found air movement from the damp, occasionally moldy crawl area into an opening in the foam insulating blanket. We pulled a bit of this already-leaky material off to see what was behind and found (photo above right) a leaky metal return air duct. When the air handler was running it was drawing cold, sometimes nasty, crawl space air into the duct system through this leak. Estimating convective loop heat lossesIn addition to their effect on energy bills, the impact of convective loops in buildings can be gauged by measuring attic temperatures before and after sealing off thermal bypasses such as chases and wall partitions, or it can be roughly modeled from the temperature difference and the height of the convective loop. Stacked Bathrooms & Plumbing Chases Form Convective Loops
The Bottom Line on Energy Retrofits Using Caulks and SealantsEnergy retrofitting reduces drafts and cold spots and, according to PEP, produces some unanticipated benefits such as fewer rodent problems and fewer frozen pipes. Still, to sell the service to big buyers - the developers, housing authorities, and government agencies - it has to show an attractive return on investment. Says Gadsby referring to conventional weathersealing treatments, "To do a job for $1200. that's going to save $50. a year is just not the way to do business." In some cases the savings have been spectacular. For example in a 1982 retrofit, PEP spent three months retrofitting the 450-unit Glenhardie Condominium Comlex near Valley Forge, PA, for $62,000. The 20-building development already had its insulation and heating system upgraded when it went condo four years earlier. After three months of house-doctoring, consisting solely of attic work, the annual heating bill was reduced from2093 to 1329 therms of natural gas, resulting in a first-year savings of $40,600, not including the $9,300. tax credit. More typical was a proposal to the Baltimore Housing Authority, in which PEP agreed to treat apartments for $550. each while they were undergoing rehab. PEP's work was to be staged over two to three visits. With annual heating bills in that housing stock running $1200 to $1300 (1984 costs), the simple payback would be under three years. In terms of air infiltration alone, said Gadsby, recently-built townhouses generally measure in at about 10 to 15 ach (1984 data) at 50 Pascals before house-doctoring and are sealed down to about 6 ach after. Costs for weatherizing are held down by providing the service in a one-day blitz, or in new construction in a series of quick hits. In general, a weatherization company can do more effective work for less money during construction or rehab than with retrofitting, since the problems are more visible and accessible. The cost to the homeowner was estimated to be one half to two-thirds what it would cost to retrofit after construction, and you're probably going to save an extra 5 to 10 percent on energy costs as well. Here we include solar energy, solar heating, solar hot water, and related building energy efficiency improvement articles reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss. Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
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03/11/2010 - 09/05/2006 - InspectAPedia.com/Energy/Heat_Loss_Tools.htm - © 2010 - 1988 Copyright Daniel Friedman All Rights Reserved - InspectAPedia® is a Registered U.S. Trademark
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