My friend, Alva Morrison, has been in the weatherization industry for many years, working for the state of NM helping families in need tighten up their homes with insulation, caulking and funding. As energy audits got popular for the general public, his natural next step was to become an Energy Rater. Special training and equipment is needed for this job, which entails sealing up a house, running air through it, analyzing air leakage through computer software and offering recommendations.

When my construction was done, Alva and I decided to do an energy audit. Instead of guesswork, I wanted documentation of my energy savings were and how I could make improvements to further save.

A blower door test determines energy usage. Alva determined the volume of the house, then we talked about construction details. He plugged that information into his software, then we sealed up the windows and exterior doors, leaving the interior doors open for maximum air flow.

He installed the blower in the kitchen door. The red canvas was sealed all the way around to make the door air-tight. The blower was plugged into his laptop, then turned on to create air movement, which was registered in the software. We looked for areas where air was coming in. Alva caulked a few old window frames, and rechecked the figures.

We were surprised at some of the results and recommendations. Here are his comments:

“Nan’s house is a great example of what can be done to turn a pretty average house, built to code a couple of decades ago, into a modern energy-efficient home. If built as is today, it would exceed qualification for the USEPA Energy Star certification, even though many of the walls still have 2×4 insulation in a 2×6 wall. The main factor driving the house’s lean performance is a thick blanket of attic insulation. But the solar hot water and the balmy sunroom, with a thick adobe wall to catch and hold the heat, provide solid backing. Add to that a refrigerator, which squeezes kilowatts until they scream, and you have a working person’s house to take us all through the next century of global warming both economically and comfortably. All these things were added to the house by Nan at moderate expense.

“Analyzing possible improvements was very interesting. Tearing off sheetrock and re-insulating the walls seemed like it should be a no-brainer. But when we ran it through the computer, it only showed a savings of around $25 a year- not much reward for all that trouble. The moral is, heat goes up, not sideways.

“However, we found another weaker spot in the building’s ‘heating envelope’: the uninsulated foundation. A quick rework of the house through the energy rating software showed that digging a barrier of four inch rigid foam in around the perimeter of the foundation would return $175 a year – and that?s if the cost of wood and gas stays the same (don’t hold your breath for that!). Get out your shovel, Nan!”

As you can see, an energy audit gives you a lot of information on how to improve your home. I had him calculate a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) score, because I wanted to be able to show others the entire process.

The number of a HERS score is based on the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), which is 100. My score was 88, meaning my house is 12% more efficient than the code. The lower your number, the more efficient your home is. When I make improvements, Alva can plug that information into his software, re-analyze the results and give me new recommendations

Many municipalities, including Taos, are beginning to require HERS scores on new construction. I highly recommend an audit, and, speaking as a RealtorR, I use them as effective marketing tools for homes. Buyers can see current efficiency and how it can be improved. There are fewer surprises and disappointments after purchase.

Food has been coming out of the greenhouse year-round. Due to some unanticipated condensation problems and failing flashing around one skylight, the greenhouse is not in full use. There is no soil in the bed yet, but I have been successfully growing in containers. This picture is my tomato garden on Jan 31, 2009. Once the construction issues are resolved, I will have achieved my goal of a true food-and-heat-producing solar greenhouse.

Find a certified local Energy Rater through RESNET – Residential Services Energy Network http://www.resnet.us

The entire remodel with more details and pictures is on my website: Solar Retrofit 2007 http://www.nanfischer.com/remodel1.html

It’s such a an obvious idea that sometimes we forget about it. If you own a dishwasher, it is always better to make sure it is completely full before running it. It takes the same amount of water to wash a half full dishwasher as it dos a full one. Why waste the water and energy on a half full cycle?

The other simple idea when it comes to this appliance is you should not rinse a dish before putting it in the dishwasher. All modern dishwashers have large disposal systems to break down waste before sending it down the pipe so you need not worry about the food going down the drain. Also, rinsing a dish before putting it in the dishwasher wastes water and is exactly what the dishwasher will do in the first cycle anyways.

Studies have shown that dishwashers use only half the energy, one-sixth of the water, and less soap than hand-washing an identical set of dirty dishes. Even the most proficient hand washers could not beat the saving of a normal dishwasher. Energy Star dishwashers use even less energy than those tested and you could qualify for a rebate if you buy one. As long as you always run the unit full and don’t pre-rinse your dishes, you can save time, money, and relieve yourself of a daily chore. You still have to put the dishes away when they are clean.

The basis for generating electricity has not changed in over 120 years, when it was first created for the purpose of powering inventions in 1881. In a traditional turbine based power plant, some force is used to turn turbines which are attached to electrical generators. The force that turns the turbines tends to be steam, but the how the water is boiled to create the steam varies. Generally, either fossil fuel (oil, coal, natural gas) or nuclear fusion is used, though geothermal and solar power towers have also been used as to turn water into steam.

There is another way to turn turbines – via the direct method – which is how hydroelectric plants are run. When using hydroelectricity, a river (or part of a river) is damned, and the flow is diverted over the fins of a turbine, which turn it, thus generating electricity. Wind power also works this way by turning the blades of windmill, which in turn spins the turbines to generate power. For both methods to work effectively, a minimum amount of power needs to be constantly generated by water or wind to keep the turbine spinning. For hydroelectricity this is pretty easy, but for wind it requires that the installation site have certain natural characteristics to maximize turbine performance.

When we talk about solar for the home, we are not talking about a turbine-based solution. Instead we are talking about photovoltaic panels (also known as PV). Unlike the hydroelectic towers mentioned above, these panels do not heat water to produce steam and turn a turbine. Instead, they directly convert solar energy to electrical current. This electrical current can be immediately used, stored for later use, or redistributed to the electrical grid for a fee.

In our next installment we will talk about how PV can work in your home and the options available to you.

Using solar energy to generate electricity in your home is always a great step for people with the desire to go green. Solar is a freely available and renewable resource that is available anywhere in the world. With recent technical advances in solar cells, the amount of light needed to generate large amounts of power has decreased–which makes solar energy applicable for use in almost any home with normal electrical usage. With the rising costs of natural gas and oil, solar also serves as a great investment for your home.

Over the following weeks we will try to tackle all these questions and provide you with a how-to guide on how to choose, install, and pay for a solar array for your home. There are many ways to go about this and new options exist for the home (and in some cases, apartments). If you are curious about how to add solar energy to your home and have specific questions, feel free to leave a comment and we will try to answer as many as we can over the course of the series.