install programmable thermostat

This small, two-bedroom house was very well built -- except for the parts that weren't.  The windows in the lofted bedrooms were particularly leaky.  The water heater and furnace were all the way at one end of the house, on an exterior wall.  The plumbing and ducts ran through the unheated, vented crawl space.  In the course of our inspection we also found the dryer vent entirely clogged with lint.

The owners of this house had only recently moved in, after renting it to others.  The tenants had used the thermostat very frugally so that the heating bills were unusually low and the computer model could not be made to match accurately.

We found a gas leak at the end of an old disconnected pipe where an appliance had been.  We recommended removing and recycling the pipe, capping off the junction.

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.

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 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.

We were asked to evaluate the public housing in Strong City for their 5-year report to HUD.  They elected to have us audit only one unit (a row house) rather than all of the units.  The unit we inspected was in excellent condition.

We found high carbon monoxide levels when the water heater started up and advised the landlords to install CO detectors in all units for the safety of the tenants.

This was quite a large house, but built recently and well so that it was performing quite well.  However, they had humidity issues in the finished basement which appeared to be due to poor air circulation.  We recommended balancing the ducts and installing a larger dehumidifier.

One of the main recommendations we were able to make was to remove the south-facing skylights.  Skylights can be very nice, but when exposed to the full summer sun, they let in a lot of heat!

Notable air leaks included the whole house fan, recessed ("can") lights, and the basement windows.