home energy assessments/efficiency upgrades

[chiver78]

do other states have programs like we do here in MA? Mass Save is an organization that will send a field agent out to assess your home for ways to improve the energy efficiency AND give you a discount on the work that needs to be done to achieve that efficiency improvement. from their website:

Mass Save Energy Saving Programs
Mass Save® is an initiative sponsored by Massachusetts’ natural gas and electric utilities and energy efficiency service providers. We work closely to provide a wide range of energy efficiency services to help residents and businesses manage energy use and related costs.

We believe everyone has a role to play in creating more energy efficient communities. When we make smart energy choices, we can manage our energy costs, enhance the value and comfort of our homes and businesses, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Whether you’re a renter, homeowner, or business, we have lots of ways to help you save energy and money. Find solutions for:

• Home
  
• Business
• Industry Professionals

I had a pair of guys from a local construction company at my house Friday and Saturday. they cut access panels into my attic crawlspace and blew about 8" of insulation in there, installed door sweeps and a lot more weatherstripping than what was already there. this was all after the field guy gave me a couple hundred dollars' worth of stuff on his visit - some "smart" power strips and enough LED light bulbs to power everything in the house that wasn't already LED. the work this weekend had a price tag of over $2500, but it cost me about $500 for everything! I clearly haven't seen any utility bills yet, but we can already feel the difference with the improved insulation situation and how well the 2nd floor is retaining the heat. yay!

if you've thought about looking into this sort of thing, get on it! and to the MA posters - I would heartily recommend the construction company I used. they are on the Cape though, keep that in mind.

[mroped]

It is good to have an efficient home. Doors and windows that are well sealed, lights that are not just spinning your meter and so on.
Extra insulation blown in the attics and walls it is also a very good idea.
There is however something to consider: air exchange in the house.
Not having a good air exchange as a result of "over tightening" with strips and so forth, it is not good for the house or yourself for that matter.
The line is very fine always and is worth paying attention to details.

[cranberry]

I had a home energy assessment done by Mass Save at my home in western MA years ago. It's a great program.

[ArchietheDragon]

nice.     And since you are paying for it, you might as well use it. 

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

We had one done last April with similar results.  

We were offered the blown in insulation, but haven't pulled the plug yet because we are still dealing with all of the other house issues.  We will get it done though, before the exterior gets painted since they will have to drill small holes in the clapboard to blow the insulation in to some of the eaves.  

Overall, it was good to know where things stood, but it felt like our inspector focused too much on the lightbulbs.  I wanted to know if my house was as tight with the new roof and insulation as it was before the tree fell.  So far this winter, I'm not sure that it is but the warm weather until now hasn't given us much to work with.  

And, for what it is worth, many local libraries have a meter of sorts that you can plug all of your appliances in to to see how much power they are drawing and to determine if they are energy efficient -- especially good for folks who buy houses with appliances already in place (rather than buying their own as they move in).  It's free, and you get it for a day or a week or so.  

[buystoys]

We did the program in NY when we lived there.  It was interesting to see where our leaks were since the biggest leak was from our front door but the living room always felt comfortable.  Once we got the leaks all fixed, we immediately noticed that the base of the front door wasn't sealed well and had that repaired.  Hard to say how much we saved on heating costs because oil was going up rapidly that year.

We keep saying we want to do the energy review here in TX, just haven't gotten around to it yet.  We already replaced windows and added insulation in the attic as those were OBVIOUS lacks.  You could feel a breeze (and see the sheers move) if you stood at our kitchen sink and the wind was from the south. 

[Deleted]

I am pretty sure our utility doesn't offer this sort of program.  We are supplied by TVA, which is a government program.  The power they provide is cheap.  But as I said, I don't think they do audits to save you money, etc.

[TheHaitian]

Feb 15, 2016 14:19:09 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

do other states have programs like we do here in MA? Mass Save is an organization that will send a field agent out to assess your home for ways to improve the energy efficiency AND give you a discount on the work that needs to be done to achieve that efficiency improvement. from their website:

Mass Save Energy Saving Programs
Mass Save® is an initiative sponsored by Massachusetts’ natural gas and electric utilities and energy efficiency service providers. We work closely to provide a wide range of energy efficiency services to help residents and businesses manage energy use and related costs.

We believe everyone has a role to play in creating more energy efficient communities. When we make smart energy choices, we can manage our energy costs, enhance the value and comfort of our homes and businesses, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Whether you’re a renter, homeowner, or business, we have lots of ways to help you save energy and money. Find solutions for:

• Home
  
• Business
• Industry Professionals

I had a pair of guys from a local construction company at my house Friday and Saturday. they cut access panels into my attic crawlspace and blew about 8" of insulation in there, installed door sweeps and a lot more weatherstripping than what was already there. this was all after the field guy gave me a couple hundred dollars' worth of stuff on his visit - some "smart" power strips and enough LED light bulbs to power everything in the house that wasn't already LED. the work this weekend had a price tag of over $2500, but it cost me about $500 for everything! I clearly haven't seen any utility bills yet, but we can already feel the difference with the improved insulation situation and how well the 2nd floor is retaining the heat. yay!

if you've thought about looking into this sort of thing, get on it! and to the MA posters - I would heartily recommend the construction company I used. they are on the Cape though, keep that in mind.

Awesome now I need to get on it!