At 8:00 a.m., Andrew from BGE arrived at our home to provide a quick home energy check-up.  This residential service is provided for little or no money to help homeowners address a variety of issues that are easy and inexpensive to correct but can lead to big long-term savings.  The cost of the mini-audit is $40, but if you allow the auditor to provide you with at least three energy-saving devices, the fee is waived.

Andrew started in the basement and began to examine our boiler and hot water heater.  He found several problems that we were unaware of that involve efficiency and safety.  For example, he found that our boiler has some buildup and needs service.  This reduces its efficiency to well below the 80% at which it should operate.  In addition, he also let us know that our hot water heater was set at a temperature that could scald a child in under five seconds.  He adjusted it to a safer level.  While in the basement, he discovered that there are holes where the plaster is crumbling where the flues used by our boiler and hot water heater to reach the chimney enter the wall.  This could cause dangerous gases to back up into the house if the chimney became obstructed by something like a bird nest.

Next, he installed some insulation on our radiator pipes, giving us one of the items we needed to have the fee waived.  He then swapped the shower head in our basement for a low-flow model, giving us our second installed item.

Then we moved to the first floor.  He checked our windows on the first floor and examined our major kitchen appliances.  All except our dishwasher are new enough that they aren’t too power-hungry.  We use compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) throughout our home, and he verified that we use them in high-use areas like the kitchen.

Since we moved into our house, we have had problems keeping our sun room warm in the winter.  It had, at one point, been an outdoor space that someone had enclosed.  We have taken measures like adding radiant heat under the floor and installing insulating blinds, but there are significant gaps around the windows that let the heat out and cold air in.  Andrew examined all of the windows and made specific recommendations for each.  He gave us the names of several products that we could use to close the gaps and fill in the voids.  His advice focused on making the biggest improvements for the least amount of money.  For example, the windows in that room are a poor fit in their frames, and replacing all the windows would solve our problem.  However, that would cost tens of thousands of dollars to complete.  The suggestions Andrew gave us would cost less than $50 and, while not solving our problem completely, would provide a drastic improvement.

Andrew then wanted to see our attic.  We explained that the only access was though a small cut-out in the ceiling of a bedroom closet.  Undaunted, he retrieved his ladder from his truck and met us upstairs.  He did have to contort himself somewhat, but he managed to gain access to the attic.  When he climbed back down, he let us know that the insulation up there is only R-30.  While the recommendation is higher, again he explained that there would be diminishing returns if we increased the insulation.  He suggested that we leave it the way it is and focus our efforts elsewhere.

All of our second floor windows have been replaced, so we had no issues there.  We then asked him some questions about insulating a crawl space that runs along side our bedroom.  He told us what we needed to buy and how to attach it.  Finally, he examined our second floor bathroom.  He verified that the fan vents to the outside and not to the attic and gave us some tips on how to keep humidity under control.

We all went back downstairs so that Andrew could review his finding with us.  At that point, he presented us with six CFLs, which completed the requirement to waive the fee.  He gave us a verbal summary of everything that he had found and answered a few of our remaining questions.  He then presented us with a three-page energy audit report that listed all of the issues he had discovered, divided into nine categories.  He had assigned a priority level, 1 through 4, to each group of issues on the report.  Safety issues and high energy loss issues were categorized as priority 1, and items like replacing our aging dishwasher were assigned a priority of 4.

He then let us know what incentive programs BGE currently has available to help homeowners recover some of the costs of remedying  the issues he had uncovered and gave us a comprehensive guide that listed the programs.  He also gave us additional documents like an energy saver’s booklet from the U.S. Department of Energy.

By 9:00, Andrew was gone, and we had our to-do list for getting more efficiency and safety out of our home.

Before he left, we asked Andrew about the Quick Home Energy Check-Up program.  He said that is has been very popular in Mt. Washington and that the rest of his appointments that day were all within a few blocks of our house, with the exception of one in Roland Park.  Let’s keep Andrew and the rest of the energy audit team at BGE busy in our neighborhood!  If you have already done so, sign up for an appointment for your own home, and let your friends and neighbors know about the program by spreading the word.  The price is right, and all it takes is an hour of your time.  Programs like this one can really help us reduce our energy usage for The Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge.

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The Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge

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Reminder – Eco Fair this Saturday!

Eco-Friendly Renovations Part 2 – Crest Road