Here's How A
Healthy Home Check-Up Works
A specially-trained Comfort and Indoor Air
Quality Consultant will visit your home and - using advanced
diagnostic instruments and testing procedures - will identify
problems that affect your indoor living environment. Your
consultant will then provide you with a personalized plan to
solve these problems, permanently.
Initial Consultation
Your checkup starts with an initial interview with a Comfort and
Indoor Air Quality Consultant. Your input provides valuable
information, such as whether any rooms feel clammy when the air
conditioner is running, or if any parts of the house need to be
dusted more often than others. We encourage all the adults in
your home to participate in this initial consultation since
everyone's perception of comfort and indoor air quality is
unique.
Equipment Inspection
The inspection begins with your heating and cooling equipment.
Is it efficient, dependable and safe? Your consultant will
visually inspect your equipment for any signs of deterioration,
improper installation, or insufficient maintenance. He or she
will let you know the average life span of your type of
equipment. Your consultant will also evaluate your system's air
filtration and purification efficiency, to determine if
improvements would better clean your indoor air.
Insulation Inspection
Even the best heating and cooling system will have trouble
keeping you comfortable or will cost more to run if you don’t
have enough insulation. Your consultant will visually inspect
insulation levels throughout your home and determine if they
meet currently recommended levels. More importantly, he or she
will look for hidden defects, such as hollow wall cavities, that
allow air and heat to bypass your insulation. Attic ventilation
levels will also be checked.
Infiltrometer™ Blower Door Test
All houses should have some air leakage but most leak too much.
Symptoms of excessive leakage include uneven temperatures
throughout the house, wasted energy, excessive dust, cold
drafts, dry air in winter, and clammy air in summer. On the
other hand, some homes are too airtight and may have unhealthy
indoor air.
To measure a home’s air tightness,
Department of Energy scientists at Princeton University invented
the blower door instrument. It is often featured in magazines
and on television, including National Geographic, Better Homes
and Gardens, Popular Science, and This Old House.
Using an Infiltrometer™ (a computerized
blower door system) your Comfort & Indoor Air Quality Consultant
will evaluate how leaky or airtight your entire home is, and
where improvements can be made.
Air Leakage Evaluation
Not all air leaks are created equal. From an air quality
standpoint, those around your windows and doors are good leaks,
since they let in fresh outdoor air. Bad leaks let in dusty,
moldy or polluted air from your attic, garage, or crawl space.
Leaky air ducts often bring in dirty air, and cause your heating
and cooling equipment to perform well below peak efficiency. As
part of the Infiltrometer™ blower door test, your consultant
will pinpoint where your home’s worst air leaks are, and where
improvements can be made.
Air Flow Diagnosis
If your air duct system has hidden design flaws or blockages,
your air flow will be restricted or unevenly distributed. This
wastes your money and can make your home uncomfortable. Studies
conducted for electric utilities nationwide show that over 66%
of heat pumps and air conditioners suffer from this problem.
Your consultant will conduct 'static pressure' tests - like a
blood pressure check for your ducts - to reveal any hidden
blockages or design problems.
Personalized Improvement Plan
Once the inspection and testing are complete, your consultant
will explain the results, and give you a prioritized plan of
recommended improvements. Many - such as adding insulation or
weather-stripping - can be performed by homeowners as weekend
projects. Other improvements may require professionals. Upon
request, your consultant will prepare a proposal for repairs
your CI Member Contractor can perform, and can recommend other
contractors for services they do not offer. |
