My Neighbor Chuck

Written by John Richau September 2008 for CalHERS

I’m lucky enough to have two fun and kind neighbors, Chuck and Nancy. Enjoying their retirement, this 70-something couple have been my surrogate parents for nearly 10 years. Chuck always has sagely advice that I take seriously and my living room is populated with exotic plants Nancy has given me over the years. So when I noticed that air conditioning contractors were visiting them, my ears perked up. That’s because I’m a HERS rater and HERS Raters spend their days inspecting and verifying, among other things, air conditioning systems. HERS raters can be thought of as a police force looking out for energy efficiency “crimes”.  Chuck and Nancy were complaining about their family room being too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer so I decided to investigate.

Of the four A/C contractors that came out, one suggested moving the thermostat; two recommended replacing the ducting system and A/C unit; and one recommended just replacing the A/C unit. The bids were in the $8,000 range, a big chunk of change for people living on a fixed income. Keep in mind this was to remedy one room where they spent much of their time. The rest of the home was quite comfortable according to Chuck.

I looked out my kitchen window and saw the last A/C truck roll away from our neighborhood . That was my queue to investigate. I had some time so I tested my neighbor’s ducting system because I suspected an air delivery problem…perhaps a disconnected duct. Disconnected ducts, by the way, are not uncommon in older homes and reports indicate millions of home in California are sending cool air into hot attics wasting energy and money through these disconnected duct or leaks in the system. My duct test resulted in an 8 % leakage rate, relatively low for an existing home.

The next step was to investigate the room in question itself and it didn’t take long for me to figure things out.

I opened a closet in the offending room and when I looked up I saw an opening to the attic of approximately 9 square feet. Wow, not rocket science at all. While this may seem obvious, it wasn’t to Chuck and Nancy. And it wasn’t to the A/C contractors.

It’s not that the air conditioning contractors were shifty or dishonest. In fact, Chuck called the most reputable A/C companies that I know of in Fresno. It was simply that these guys and gals were not trained to spot energy efficiency and their focus was on air conditioning systems when, really, they should have been “building performance” or “the house as a system’.

HERS raters live in the world of energy efficiency and our training often lets us see what is not obvious to others. I did an energy audit for a family that had very high bills in the summer months as well as being very uncomfortable in their own home. They were convinced a $40,000 solar PV system would take care of their problem. But their issue was simple, they had no shade. The sun beat down on the eastern side of their home and continued in the west in the afternoon. The walls heated up so badly no amount of cool air would have remedied the situation. They were very warm to the touch. A big part of their solution was to install trees and/or overhangs to shade the walls and exposed concrete. Oh yes, there was a lot of concrete to the south that was heated all day and that heat conducted into the kitchen and living room areas.

I have friends that are “Building Performance Contractors” (BPC) and I’m amazed at the level of understanding they have about how a home operates. Issues such as indoor air quality, comfort, and energy efficiency are addressed by their extensive training. BPCs differ from HERS raters in that they are typically contractors…the men and women that actually install things, and a HERS rater is an inspector.

Another important distinction of a HERS rater is that they typically are not selling anything and are truly an independent 3^rd party. The BPC usually has a package of items that they will suggest to the home owner and they may offer a discount, or eliminate, the initial auditing fee.

Home owners would do well to call a HERS rater or BPC first when addressing energy efficiency and/or comfort issues in their existing home. And here’s why…

One window contractor I see around my city runs an ad that guarantees 40% energy savings by installing their windows. And while I appreciate the comfort gained by new windows, the 40% savings seems dubious to me. Looking closer at the fine print, I saw that the ad stated the maximum refund was $500 and would be paid if the home owner didn’t get the 40% savings that had to be proven through a long drawn out process. I’ve been through a lot of training and 40% reduction in utility bill is a tall order for just windows alone. But I am open to empirical evidence. Please let me know if this true and I will jump on the retrofit window bandwagon.

Anyway, Chuck hired a handyman to seal up the attic hole. It cost $225 and their family room is very cozy now. Next thing we’ll address are his windows to the west and see if we can’t get some shade on them.

Chuck and Nancy are not atypical. In fact, I’d say they are well within the bell curve of home owners in California. I was their neighbor and, although they knew I was a HERS rater, they didn’t really understand what a HERS rater did. I really think there’s a widespread lack of unawareness about HERS raters amongst the general public and this is a shame. Why? Because we have so much to offer good people like Chuck and Nancy.