After kind of a slow start last fall, the SMUD Home performance program part of the Energy Upgrade California program has been going in full swing for a few months now. I thought it would be interesting to share some results of the program by profiling a recent project I completed in Fair Oaks. In the interest of full disclosure you should know that I was recently informed by the California Building Performance Contractors Association that this project at 53% improvement got the highest percentage rating of any other project in the SMUD program to date. Though your actual mileage may vary, I haven’t done a project that got less than 40%, which translates into a $4,000 rebate from SMUD.
The home is relatively small at just over 1300 sf on a nice quiet street in Fair Oaks. Built in the mid 1950”s it still had the old steel casement windows and 25+ year old furnace in a closet in the kitchen. The home is currently owned by a young married couple and had one previous owner that took good care of the property. Because of the high cost of keeping the house warm, the homeowners had gotten used to going around in sweaters, while the old single pane windows dripped with condensation on the interior. This is a result of warm interior air coming into contact with the cold glass, just like a cold glass of ice tea on a summer afternoon.
I performed an energy assessment on the home in November and we performed the retrofit in mid December. The existing ducts were leaking at a rate of 43% and the shell leakage was at 2605 cfm50 when it should have been closer to 1300 cfm50. There was no insulation under the cold floor and little in the attic. The inside relative humidity was 65% which is the perfect amount of moisture to cultivate mold, dust mites and other air quality problems. Ideally indoor RH should be in the 35% to 45% range maximum.
Though the house is adorable on a beautiful lot on a great street and had been well maintained, it needed a lot of help to insure it could be enjoyed for years to come.
Here’s How We Did It
We addressed the energy loss, high moisture content and comfort problems during the week and a half long retrofit by installing the following measures:
Attic and crawlspace air sealing
By sealing all penetrations, wall top plates and bypasses we got the infiltration rate down to 1205 cfm50. A 46% improvement! Even high levels of fiberglass or cellulose insulation have their R value significantly reduced when air is able to pass through them because of leakage.
Crawlspace vapor barrier and insulation
Crawlspaces can give off up to 100 pints of moisture a day with or without standing water or wet soil. We installed a 6 mill plastic vapor barrier on top of the soil with seams taped and sealed up the foundation wall. This blocks a large amount of moisture from migrating into the house. The home owners noticed the difference right away in how the hardwood floors felt on their bare feet.
Attic insulation
We increased the insulation levels to R-40. This is one area we could have gone higher but because of the low attic we decided it would be sufficient.
High Efficiency HVAC
We like to use Amana equipment. It performs well and has a lifetime warranty. We replaced the old 80% efficient furnace with a 95% AFUE model and a 16 SEER air conditioner. We installed the new equipment in the attic which got it out of the living space and enabled us to reclaim the old closet and repurpose it as a nice sized pantry. A double bonus!
Energy Efficient Windows
I think if you asked the homeowners what their favorite feature of the project is, they would without hesitation say the new windows. When I came to do the original assessment every window in the house was literally dripping with condensation. Towels from taking a shower never air dried in the winter, even with the exhaust fans running. There was a constant drafty feeling when you got within a few feet of the windows.
We replaced the old steel casements with high efficiency Energy Star® rated vinyl windows. With both a U-value and SHGC of 0.3 these windows will perform great in any season. Gone is the drafty feeling. Gone is the condensation that leads to mold and dry rot. They look fantastic too!
The point I’m trying to make here is that to really improve a home’s energy and environmental performance you need to take a “whole house approach”. You can piecemeal these things over time and you may see some small overall improvement. You can also make matters worse. To get the most value for your investment requires an experienced energy professional that can truly assess your home’s needs, like a doctor examining a patient. To ensure that all the systems in your home are working together and not in conflict with each other, takes someone trained in building science not just a contractor trying to sell you a bigger more powerful HVAC system or new windows.
Click here to read about the homeowners opinion of the project and the savings they are seeing in their utility bills as a result!
Rebates Available
As I said earlier this home was rated at a 53% improvement in energy usage. That qualified it for a $5,000 rebate from SMUD, the maximum amount available. On top of that they received $1,300 from the Cash for Appliances Program for the new HVAC system and are eligible for $1500 federal tax credit. That’s a total of $7,800! That saved them over 30% on the cost of their project. Combine that with their monthly energy savings and the increased value and comfort of their home and it’s a total win!
As you may have heard the Cash for Appliances Program ended December of 2010 and the federal tax credit though extended, was reduced to 2005 levels of $500 max. But the SMUD program which is the most generous in the state is still available through the end of 2011.
Prescriptive vs. Performance
There are two levels of participation in the program. The first and basic level is called the prescriptive approach. This requires a brief visual assessment of the insulation levels and duct leakage levels of your home. It requires air sealing, insulation and duct sealing. The maximum rebate amount available for this level is $1000.
The other option which is considerably more involved is the Performance level. This requires a full assessment by a BPI accredited energy professional. It also requires the minimums of air sealing, insulation and duct sealing. Depending on the individual needs of your home it may also include HVAC system replacement, window upgrades, and water heating and lighting improvements.
The rebate amounts are based on a computer generated energy simulation done by the energy professional. The baseline is a 20% improvement which qualifies a homeowner for $2,000. For every 5% improvement after that, the rebate increases another $500 maxing out at $5,000 for a 50% improvement.
In addition for a limited time SMUD is offering a subsidy to defray the cost of the initial energy assessment. Normally in the $500 to $700 range, SMUD is offering a comprehensive assessment performed by a highly trained and accredited energy professional for just $99! Again there are two paths you can choose. If you just want the assessment done for now and might wait on the improvements, then you should contact an Independent Home Energy Rater on the SMUD website. If you are interested in a one stop shopping experience where the assessment and improvements can be done by the same company which also offers financing options, then pick a SMUD Qualified Energy Professional. Both can offer the $99 assessment.
Time Is Limited
This unprecedented level of energy rebates won’t be around past 2011 so now is the time to take advantage of this opportunity. If your home is uncomfortable and experiencing some of the same issues as the home in our example, contact Sacramento Building Performance at 916-416-0676 or by email at info@sacsustainable.com. I’d be happy to speak with you about your home and provide more information on the process.
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