NWREporter November 2009

Have you given your home a health check up?

By: Jolene Anderson

For many Americans, their home is their single most important investment and is also where they spend the majority of their time. But how many of us think about giving our homes a "health check up?" If you could hire a professional who could give your home a health check up, test your home for energy leaks and could recommend easy retrofits, which could create healthier indoor air quality, save on utility bills and save hundreds if not thousands of dollars from your upcoming 2009 tax return, through federal tax credits, most of us would ask where do I sign.

Local contractors such as Home Performance, Inc, Vesta Home Performance Retrofitting, Inc and Northwest Homecrafters, Inc., specialize in addressing the problem of providing a complete energy audit and retrofitting Seattle's single family homes to current energy standards from a holistic point of view combining science, technology and the latest advances in sustainable building. As members of Home Performance Washington, a local association of Washington State businesses offering whole house energy efficiency solutions, they can perform a professional energy audit designed to assess your home's energy usage and recommend the most efficient way to enhance your home's energy efficiency, indoor air quality and overall comfort.

Professional energy auditors have successfully completed a training and certification program to ensure the auditors and contractors are fully qualified to assess your house and implement the changes required to make the home more energy efficient.

A professional energy audit assesses the most efficient way to increase the energy performance of the entire home from a holistic approach.

According to the American Lung Association, American adults spend about 90% of their time indoors, and thanks to our more tightly insulated/sealed homes and workplaces, the concentration of pollutants indoors may be even higher than outdoors.

Major indoor pollutants include environmental tobacco smoke (secondhand smoke); combustion by products stemming from improperly vented gas appliances, pet dander, pollen, molds, and dust mites; volatile organic compounds present in paints, cleaners, pesticides, copiers, printers, glues, and adhesives; lead dust from old, lead-based paints; and asbestos. For more information, visit: www.alaw.org.

Healthy homes address four key principles: air-tightness for energy-efficiency/pollutant control; ventilation for fresh air and moisture control; source control for potential pollutants; and effective monitoring and maintenance. A professional energy retrofitter or remodeler can recommend and retrofit homes utilizing affordable construction techniques and materials which reduce exposure to common asthma and allergy irritants, such as dust mites, molds, mildew and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), like formaldehyde, acetone and toluene.
The Federal Government has provided consumers with an incentive to make the changes to create more energy efficient homes and healthier homes through its Federal Tax Credit rebates such as: windows and doors, insulation, roofs, (metal and asphalt), water heaters, solar panels, geo thermal heat pumps and appliances. For more details visit: www.energystar.gov.

According to a recent study, improving the nation's residential carbon use by 25% is equivalent to doubling the gas mileages of all of the cars in the United States. In an effort to reduce our carbon footprint, many major cities in the US are looking at a mandatory requirement for each home to have an energy audit done at time of sale. The City of Seattle has no such law to date, but is providing information and resources for consumers to voluntarily have an energy audit done on their home.

Companies such as Home Performance, Inc, which specialize in holistic home energy solutions, are knowledgeable and savvy and can make a significant difference in the comfort and energy efficiency of most homes. For instance, an energy audit can identify air leaks in the home which account for 20-70% of the home's heat loss and draw polluted air from crawl spaces into upper living areas. Recent research conducted by David Hales, of Washington State University's Extension Energy Program, indicated as much as 40% of the air we breathe in our homes comes from the crawl space. According to Owner, David Vollan, they are typically able to reduce this uncontrolled of air leakage by 20 -50%.

Professionals such as Vesta Performance Retrofitting and Northwest Homecrafters, Inc. are knowledgeable about assessing and recommending a "whole house" approach to energy retrofitting which will reduce the energy consumption, improve the overall health of the home and its residents and result in a tax savings to the consumer. Through their association with Master Builders of King and Snohomish County and the BUILT GREEN© program, Home Performance Washington and attending regional sustainability conferences, the consumer can have confidence in their industry knowledge and commitment to providing state of the art information combining science and technology.

Many of the "home improvements" must be placed in service between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2010 to qualify for federal tax credits. By calling a certified energy auditor now, consumers can take advantage of low interest loans available now for remodeling and realize a healthy return on investment through a healthier indoor air quality, reduced utility costs and a tax savings on their 2009 tax return.

The City of Seattle offers regular Green Building Events. For more information, contact: rebeccabaker@seattle.gov.

Submitted by: Jolene Anderson Lifestyle Editor, Representing SKCR Mayor's Green Task Force City of Seattle.