add ventilation

This house was built very airtight -- we had to recommend adding at least 85 cubic feet per minute of heat-recovery ventilation.  Humidity had become an issue in the basement, as evidenced by a dehumidifier unable to keep up.  We recommended they consider a heat-pump water heater.

This house was unoccupied for most of the year, so its utility bills were extremely low, eliminating the cost-effectiveness of any efficiency improvements.  We were able to make recommendations for improvements, but our calculations of cost effectiveness were thrown off by the low bills.

On the day we audited this house, the air conditioner was being serviced after being out of commission for several days.  The family (including three children and an elderly grandmother) had sought refuge from the summer heat by sleeping in the partly-finished basement.  Both the water heater and furnace (in the unfinished part of the basement) produced unsafe levels of carbon monoxide during our tests.  Fortunately the exhaust vented out the flue pipes correctly, so tragedy was averted!

This rental home had a humid basement and no ventilation in the bathrooms or kitchen, and it was 63% too airtight to meet guidelines for air quality.  We recommended adding a heat-recovery ventilator to improve the air quality and reduce the possibility of mold growth.

This log home was built extremely air tight and performed much better than we expected considering there was no insulation beyond the logs that made up the walls!  Even the exposed framing around a new bathtub (see photo) did not leak air from either the attic or basement.

This home was built quite air-tight -- 43% tighter than recommended -- and was having significant moisture problems both upstairs, where the walls would sweat in wintertime and grow mildew in summertime, and in the crawl space where water was standing.  We recommended improving drainage away from the foudation, adding a vapor barrier to the crawl space floor, and adding a heat-recovery ventilator and a heat pump water heater.

This all-electric house had recently had a new heat pump installed, but the heating bills were quite high.  We determined that the emergency "strip" heat had been coming on at a higher temperature than it should, and referred the owner to an HVAC professional.

The house was 17% more airtight than the standard, so we recommended adding a heat-recovery ventilation system.