Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [energy-audit]

19 questions
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8 answers

How can I audit my furnace?

I want to keep track of when my furnace is on, with an eye to reducing how much energy I use to heat my house. I could compare it with weather data (temperature, wind speed, precipitation). I could see what it saves to turn the heat down when we're…
Jay Bazuzi
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Is there a way to find out how often your furnace is running?

With winter finally setting in, and being the first year in our new house I would like to put some sort of measurement on how often the furnace is working, before I get the bill. Are there any known methods of measuring how much fuel furnace is…
Tyler
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Energy Audit (WellHome)

We recently had an energy audit done by WellHome, a new division of Masco, which is a manufacturer of many types of home/building fixtures and services. They seemed to do a very thorough job, using high-tech equipment including thermal imaging which…
Jim Garrison
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How to calculate maximum demand charge from appliance wattage

My roommate and I are planning to switch to the Terms of Use - Residential Plan that Georgia Power offers (see link below). The one item on this plan where I'm not sure of my calculations is the Demand Charge. The demand charge is a $6.64 fee per KW…
Dustfinger
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Why is the upstairs a lot hotter in a 2 story duplex?

I've lived in my current duplex for about 5 years now and every summer, my upstairs portion of the duplex gets noticeably hotter than downstairs. I couldn't give an exact measurement but 10 degrees Fahrenheit hotter would not surprise me. Over the…
osij2is
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Using a 16A energy monitor in a 10A socket

I'm in Australia (220-240 / 50-60Hz) and wanting to monitor some appliances energy usage. The sockets here are 10Amp standard. Am I going to run into dire trouble if I use a 16A monitoring device between the 10A Wall socket and the devices (10Amp…
Adam Douglas
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Understanding results of an energy audit

We had an energy audit done a couple of years ago on our 20 year old home. Basically, they hooked up a blower to the front door, and tested the amount of air leakage. The written report suggested a number of improvements, most of which we did: new…
chris
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Does a storm door help prevent heat loss?

One person advised me that I'll cut down on the heat loss in my kitchen by installing a storm door. Another said I'd get better results by replacing the door itself, and then I can either install a storm or not, it doesn't really make any…
aparente001
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Utility of new smartphone-based thermal cameras in identifying cold spots in the home

Winter is coming up, and for those of us in the Midwest, that means that winterizing needs to be done. I'm moving into a house built in 1956 that may have some cold spots around doors, windows, and vents; my girlfriend's duplex could probably use a…
nerdenator
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How do I maximize light gain and minimize heat gain for my glass wall?

How to get maximum benefit of daylight while optimizing air-conditioner benefit for a glass wall (currently) of size 11' * 8' (total 88 square feet exposed). Facts: The glass wall never gets direct sun rays. The external temperature (in summer) is…
Optimight
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The best device to measure instantaneous energy usage

What is the best way to measure instantaneous energy usage in an electrical circuit? Wattmeter, ammeter, something else? My use case is as follows: I have a room which I use for short term rental (STR). The guests sometimes leave the room and leave…
Faheem Mitha
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How much power/electricity should my central air's blower fan use?

Main Question I've already visited this similar, but different question and saw a commenter mention that about 500W seems appropriate for blower fan of an HVAC system. The past few months we've had high electricity bills compared to the same…
nabingham
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What is the correct Air Flow change per hour for my house?

I recently just got my house air sealed. Before air sealed the Building Air Standard (BAS) was 1.4 now it is 1.2. Based off a 1300 sq ft house. What should the BAS be? Is there a calculator to determine if I have the correct air flow per…
MOE12
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Home energy monitoring in split floor with one compressor

I have an odd situation where I live on a floor split in two and I want to split the electricity bill fairly with my floormate. I am looking at the home energy monitoring systems that have all the little ampmeters that go around the hot wires in the…
tristatedud
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Where can I find the U-factor (U-value) for a Pella window?

I am trying to compare the Pella windows sold by the Pella sales person with the Pella windows sold at the big box stores (Lowe's, Home Depot). I have found a spec sheet with this information for Lowe's. I found a spec sheet for Pella Pella but it…
aparente001
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