By Dana Hull
dhull@mercurynews.com
Since we bought our house in 2006, my husband Matt and I have had at least 5,000 “What Should We Fix on Our Fixer-Upper?” conversations.
Our small north Oakland bungalow was built in 1910, and we love it. But it definitely needs help. First we tackled the seismic work on the foundation — that was a no-brainer. Next came insulating the attic. Then we had a baby, and all of the other projects on our growing to-do list slid into a gaping black hole.
Still, the conversations continued. We finally decided to get a home energy audit in which a specialist in building science will examine your house from top to bottom — heating and cooling systems, appliances, insulation, air leaks, lighting.
Older and even some newer homes typically have single-pane windows, outdated heating and cooling systems or inadequate insulation. Other houses may suffer from poor indoor air quality, mold or uneven heating and cooling. An energy audit prioritizes what work should be done first, with a goal of helping you save on energy bills and make your home more comfortable.
Now is a good time for an audit. Some energy-efficient upgrades may be eligible for up to $1,500 in federal tax credits, which are set to expire Dec. 31. And though it has not actively marketed it, PG&E is quietly participating in a pilot program called Energy Upgrade California, which also offers rebates to homeowners who agree to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
Several Bay Area companies, including Sandium Heating & Air in San Jose, SolarCity in Foster City and Energy Conservation Options in Oakland, are Energy Upgrade California contractors in PG&E territory. We hired Recurve, a San Francisco company that used to be called Sustainable Spaces. It has been around since 2004 and does both energy audits and green energy remodeling. A friend recommended them, and Recurve’s website is always up to date with information about available rebates and incentives. The audit cost $395, with $295 back if you end up hiring Recurve to do work on your house.
The first step was to give Recurve our recent PG&E bills, so the company could get an idea of our gas and electric usage. We don’t have a flat-screen TV or air conditioner, and our October PG&E bill was just $67.
The next step was the audit itself. Andrew Dunn, a polite 26-year-old from Georgia, arrived in a hybrid company car with bags of high-tech gear, from his laptop and iPhone to a digital tape measure, thermal imaging camera and fan for the “blower door” test that would measure the air flow in our house. The son of a builder who studied physics and engineering in college, he approached our house like a giant puzzle waiting to be solved.
Dunn immediately saw things about our house that had completely escaped my attention. He figured out that the hot water heater was 14 years old and that its location in the kitchen, near the stove, was dangerous. He asked how often we had it serviced — the answer is never. He mentioned that the floor furnace was probably pulling up damp air from the crawl space beneath the house.
He zeroed in on the fireplace in the dining room, which we never use — it was designed to burn coal, not wood. He asked us if we realized that the chimney didn’t have a flue. I felt like an idiot: When the heat was on, any warm air in our house was going right up the chimney. (Our son Jasper explained that we had to keep the chimney open for Santa Claus at Christmas.)
He measured the length and width of each room in the house with a digital tape measure and entered all of the data into his laptop; Recurve has developed software that models each house and evaluates its overall energy efficiency. He used the infrared camera to check the insulation in our walls. He ventured into the attic and climbed into the crawl space. He checked for carbon monoxide.
Jasper and I went out to a neighborhood park, and when we got home an hour later our front door was outfitted with a large red vinyl curtain that contained a powerful fan blowing air into the house. As you walked around inside, you could feel mini tornadoes of air currents.
“You’ve got a lot of leaks,” Dunn said. “The fireplace, the old cat door off of the laundry room, the plumbing under the kitchen sink. Sealing up all of these leaks would be incredibly cost-effective.”
Dunn stayed at our house for about four hours. A few weeks later, he came back with detailed spreadsheets. Recurve had analyzed our energy bills for an entire year and found that in most months we were spending more on gas than electricity, which surprised me. Our house had good insulation in the walls and attic, and our overall energy usage was low. The No. 1 issue was air sealing: We needed to seal all of the gaps and drafts, in places like the chimney, where warm air was leaking out and cold air could come in.
“You want to make your home like a thermos,” said Dunn. “If you sealed up all the leaks, then you’d really cut down on your heating needs.”
Recurve then laid out three options for doing work on our house. The first would cost us about $11,000, the second was about $13,000 and the third about $15,000 — in our minds “cheapest” “middle of the road” and “fancy.”
In each option, the top priority was sealing up the air leaks. The second-biggest recommendation was to replace the gas furnace and add duct work and registers to each room, and replace the hot water heater. Each option offered slightly different ways to go about it: Get a new furnace and a tankless hot water heater, or a hydronic air handler instead of a furnace.
We agonized for weeks — should we do this? Since our energy use is low, did making these energy-efficient improvements even make sense? We sent Dunn neurotic e-mails with detailed questions; he provided detailed answers.
In the end, we decided to go for it, but we’re still trying to decide among the three options. It’s exciting to think about becoming as energy-efficient as possible, and hopefully qualifying for a tax credit and PG&E rebate while we’re at it.
Jasper has learned a lot through the process, too. The other night he was working in his play kitchen. “I’m checking my kitchen,” he said. “I found some leaks.”
Contact Dana Hull at 408-920-2706. Follow her at Twitter.com/danahull.
You must own a single-family home or duplex and purchase natural gas and/or electricity from PG&E.
You must be up to date on your property taxes and liens.
You must get a home energy audit to qualify for any rebates.
The rebate amount is based on how much energy you save after making improvements to your home. A 20 percent energy reduction would earn $2,000 in rebates. Each 5 percent reduction beyond that earns an additional $375, up to $3,500.
For more information about Energy Upgrade California and to find a local contractor, go towww.energyupgradecalifornia.com.
Some energy-efficient products may also be eligible for a federal tax credit. To learn more, go towww.energystar.gov and search for “tax credits.”
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