FAQ

Does Your Home Have Some of These Common Problems? EnergyMen Explains!

• Some of My Rooms Are Too Cold or Too Hot
• I smell musty odors in the kids playroom, and worry about mold and mildew
• Both bedrooms upstairs are drafty and uncomfortable
• We love our house, but its old, and I know it doesn’t have much, if any insulation. My bills this winter skyrocketed higher than ever, and we were still wearing sweaters inside!
• My windows are always foggy in the winter, sometimes there is a pool of water on my sills1
• My son has asthma and I have persistent allergies. My doctor says it might be partly caused by the air in my house! What can I do?
• I’ve got the biggest icicles in the neighborhood, and my roofing contractor said it could ruin the roof, and maybe even the house, but he can’t fix it! What can I do?
• Some rooms in my home have almost no air coming in from the registers – so it’s always too hot or too cold in there. No one seems to know what is causing the problem, or how to fix it.
• I’ve got the oldest furnace in the city – a real antique. It still works ok, but I am thinking of replacing it and taking advantage of the tax credits. What should I do?
• I nearly fainted when I got my gas bill this past month! I can’t see paying this much money on utilities all winter, but keep getting conflicting information about how I can permanently fix the problem.

Problem: Some of My Rooms Are Too Cold or Too Hot

EnergyMen Explains:

Many homes have rooms that are uncomfortably cold in the winter, or unbearably hot in the summer. Big temperature variances from room to room can be caused by a number of issues, ranging from leaky ductwork, air leakage, inadequate insulation, failure of your HVAC components and more. Often, this can also cause higher than normal energy consumption as well as the comfort issues.

EnergyMen Solution:

Air sealing, duct sealing, improving insulation levels, weatherizing windows or replacing them, cleaning and tuning your HVAC equipment are a few of the ways to eliminate this persistent problem. Let EnergyMens building science based home assessment unlock your homes secrets, and help discover the best, most cost effective ways to improve your families health and comfort, while saving money on utility bills.

Problem: I smell musty odors in the kids playroom, and worry about mold and mildew.

EnergyMen Explains:

Water leakage and/or excessive humidity is a common issue in homes both old and new. Water can infiltrate through leaks in roofs, walls and foundations or from small gaps in windows and doors. In many cases, it is not visible because it is behind drywall or in inaccessible parts of your home.

Excess humidity can result from normal day to day activities like cooking, showering and drying clothes. An oversized air conditioner (a surprisingly common occurrence) will not remove humidity properly either. If the problem is severe, mold and mildew can start to grow and structural problems like rot can happen. Over time, water is a houses worst enemy.

EnergyMen Solution:

Determining on how extensive the problem is (just a place or two as opposed to a whole wall, for example) and its location, we can isolate whether it is water leakage or high humidity as the root cause. EnergyMen will immediately determine the source of your mold and mildew related leakage and stop the source of mold and mildew growth. We can ensure your rooms and appliances are properly vented to the outside to prevent showering and cooking and other everyday activities from contributing to your problem.

Problem: Both bedrooms upstairs are drafty and uncomfortable.

EnergyMen Explains:

Cold air leaking into your home can occur around things like light fixtures, plumbing, electrical outlets and gaps in corners in addition to doors and windows. Whenever cold air leaks in, the same amount of warm (and expensive!) air leaks out. The biggest leakage area is typically the attic – the ever popular recessed, or “can” lights are a major factor too. This can create very uncomfortable conditions for you and your family. If you added up all the small areas of leakage in most homes, you would be surprised to learn that it is equivalent to an open window – or even an open door!

EnergyMen Solution:

Identifying some air leakage is easy – usually windows and doors – but some leakage occurs in places hidden away, like attics, crawlspaces, basements and the like. EnergyMens air sealing process uses state of the art equipment to ensure ALL leaks are detected and sealed. This ensures vastly increased levels of comfort, while providing significant savings on energy consumption and utility bills.

Problem: We love our house, but its old, and I know it doesn’t have much, if any insulation. My bills this winter skyrocketed higher than ever, and we were still wearing sweaters inside!

EnergyMen Explains:

Most homes have inadequate levels of insulation. When energy was cheap, the solution used to be “turn up the heat!” (or A/C in the summer). For many reasons, that is no longer an option for any of us. Today, EnergyMen insulation retrofitting is the solution. When properly installed, insulation works in both winter and summer by slowing the movement of heat (out in winter/in in summer). This will increase comfort levels and significantly lower your costs to heat and cool your home all year long.

It also provides a significant noise reduction benefit in most homes.

EnergyMen Solution:

EnergyMen uses the best, customized insulation solution for your home, based on its comprehensive energy assessment we do prior to any work. We insulate attics, walls, crawlspaces and more – everywhere your home needs it. You should also know that insulation works best when air is not allowed to flow thru it (insulation is not an air barrier in most cases). So we always recommend air sealing as the initial step in a complete insulation solution.

Problem: My windows are always foggy in the winter, sometimes there is a pool of water on my sills!

EnergyMen Explains:

Older, inefficient single pane windows or a higher than desirable indoor humidity level will cause condensation and frost on windows or pooling of water on sills to occur. Moisture in the air condenses when it touches a cold surface. Over time, excess moisture in a house can lead to windows and sills deteriorating, as well as mold and mildew issues.

EnergyMen Solution:

While it is difficult to completely eliminate moisture on existing windows, EnergyMen can help by ensuring that adequate venting and airflow exist, coupled with moisture reducing efforts.

Replacing older windows with EnergyStar rated or better products can usually eliminate this issue completely, as well as provide improvements in comfort and energy efficiency.

Problem: My son has asthma and I have persistent allergies. My doctor says it might be partly caused by the air in my house! What can I do?

EnergyMen Explains:

Dust, allergens of all sorts and many other pollutants travel thru your home, carried in the air leaking into your home from the outside. Your appliances are burning gas or fuel, and may not be adequately vented. Your garage might be supplying unwanted VOCs (volatile organic compounds) right into your kitchen or family room.

Most homes rely on what is known as “natural air changes”, which means that indoor ventilation actually depends on the leakage of air in and out of houses thru the various holes and penetrations, together with doors and windows. If the ventilation is inadequate (as it is sure to be at least part of the year), the pollutants are trapped inside, where they can cause, or contribute to health issues for the entire family.

EnergyMen Solution:

Step one of solving this issue is to control the source of the pollutants. Happily, air sealing and duct sealing can eliminate much of the uncontrolled leakage of pollutants and allergens into your home. Second,we ensure your combustion appliances are operating cleanly and are properly vented. Depending on the EnergyMen Home Assessment data, we might also recommend additional ventilation to be installed following air sealing efforts – in particular if indoor air quality is an issue for you and your family. (One of the first things our technicians do when examining a home, is to determine the required ventilation for occupants safety, based on nationally recognized building science standards. This data is then used to determine what level of additional energy saving ventilation might be recommended). As with all EnergyMen work, your health and safety are of utmost concern.

Problem: I’ve got the biggest icicles in the neighborhood, and my roofing contractor said it could ruin the roof, and maybe even the house, but he can’t fix it! What can I do?

EnergyMen Explains:

Warm air rises thru the attic and heats a roof when air barriers and insulation are inadequate or missing – a common problem in lots of homes. Snow melts and refreezes as it runs down the roof, creating ice dams and icicles. As your roofer knows, this can force water under the shingles of the roof and sometimes even into your ceiling or walls inside your home.

Over time, this can contribute to roof, ceiling and wall water damage, mold and mildew issues and structural decay (remember, the worst enemy of a house is water!).

EnergyMen Solution:

By sealing all air leaks in the attic (please see common home leaks _here) and installing adequate levels of attic insulation, EnergyMen can reduce or eliminate this major threat to your homes quality and longevity. This will also reduce energy waste, lower your utility bills and improve your families comfort.

Problem: Some rooms in my home have almost no air coming in from the registers – so it’s always too hot or too cold in there. No one seems to know what is causing the problem, or how to fix it.

EnergyMen Explains:

Leaky Ductwork is an issue in virtually every home built with forced air systems (using ducts to distribute heated or cooled air throughout a house). Experts estimate that most duct systems in homes today leak as much as 30% or more! This results in high energy waste and cost, and making it nearly impossible to heat and cool the house, no matter what temperature you set your thermostat on.

EnergyMen Solution:

Leaks in your duct system can be identified (it’s called the EnergyMen “DuctBlaster Test”) and sealed. Some ductwork in your home should be insulated as well (if some of your ductwork is in attics or crawlspaces, it likely needs insulation). Making sure your homes’ heating and cooling equipment is operating efficiently will ensure the proper airflow throughout your home.

Problem: I’ve got the oldest furnace in the city – a real antique. It still works ok, but I am thinking of replacing it and taking advantage of the tax credits. What should I do?

EnergyMen Explains:

Older appliances, even those still working properly, have low efficiency levels – meaning you spend more money, and waste more energy to do the work the machine was designed for. This is especially true when compared to todays EnergyStar rated products.

They can also negatively affect health, safety and comfort issues. Combustion appliances like water heaters and stoves and furnaces can leak toxic carbon monoxide and other dangerous gases.

EnergyMen Solution:

If your furnace, boiler, refrigerator, water heater, air conditioner, dishwasher, clothes dryer or washing machine are ten years older or more, you can dramatically improve your energy footprint and savings by upgrading to a newer product. You will also benefit from newer technologies and materials used in todays appliances to make better use of water, eliminate Freon (which contributes to holes in the earths protective atmospheric layer), be recyclable and provide more features and controls – all the while consuming much less energy to do the same work – often more, in fact.

In addition a great number of appliance retrofits are qualified for government and utility incentives, which makes it easier to make the decision to upgrade a sound economic one.

(for details, please see our incentives page).

Problem: I nearly fainted when I got my gas bill this past month! I can’t see paying this much money on utilities all winter, but keep getting conflicting information about how I can permanently fix the problem.

EnergyMen Explains:

For sure, one reason for our high energy bills is the increase in the cost of oil imports – but that’s not something the average citizen can control, or even do much about. What we CAN do is eliminate the energy we waste, right now, in our own homes, condos and apartments.

Today, buildings in America consume about 40% of our energy nationally – double the amount our cars and trucks use! Our homes account for half of that number – so we spend as much on heating and cooling where we live, as we do driving and delivering by car and truck and rail.

As most of us know, much of the attention (and investment) has been paid to create improvements in car fuel economy and hybrid technologies, much of which comes with a significant penalty in cost, lower comfort and performance, and reduced utility and convenience.

EnergyMen Solution:

Here is the real low hanging fruit! We typically save from 25%, to as much as 50% or more of your homes energy consumption by doing what you might call your “Home Energy MakeOver”, delivered by your “Home Comfort Heroes”  (that’s us, the EnergyMen).

And none of this comes with a change in your lifestyle, or giving up comforts and conveniences that have become a part of our lives. In fact, our work ADDS to your comfort, while conserving energy and saving money every day.

Looking over the list of problems common to most homes, together with our (non-technical) explanations and solutions above, you will find the methods and ability to change the way we all consume energy – one home at a time. Let’s start with yours…

Call EnergyMen now, or fill out our simple form, and let’s start saving today!