‘Blower door’ test a simple way to cut energy costs
Q: We’ve had a couple of contractors come to our home and talk to us about energy-saving ideas. They’ve both said we need a blower door test. Is this some kind of gimmick or would it really help us?
A: In a world where e-mail messages every day promise us great riches and incredible bargains, people are getting more skeptical about sales claims and any kind of idea that is new to them. However, in this case, the answer is a resounding “do it!”
One of the biggest reasons you may have high energy bills is the air leaking into and out of your house. Remember when you were little and your mother kept telling you to close the door when you went out because she wasn’t paying to heat the whole neighborhood? Even then, moms knew what they were talking about.
You can walk around your home and hold your hand near windows and doors, in front of electrical outlets and against walls and see if you feel any air blowing. Odds are good that there are places in your home that need to be better sealed — usually around openings from the outside for wires and pipes, in places where different building materials meet, and where cracks and holes have opened up over the years in walls or floors. Sealing these openings will dramatically reduce your cooled or heated air from flowing outside and will keep outdoor air where it belongs.
Since the 1970s, though, contractors have been using blower door tests to bring more accurate measurements to unwanted airflow problems that drive up a home’s energy bills and reduce the comfort level.
It’s actually a fairly simple test — a special panel system with a variable speed blower is securely fastened into one of your home’s doorways, and the blower speed creates a pressure difference between the inside and the outdoors, causing air to flow through any openings.
The contractor will probably use something like a little smoke stick that will allow him to actually see areas where the air is moving. These problem spots can then be sealed to stop the airflow. It also helps identify leaky places in the ductwork, a major cause of high energy bills in homes.
Your contractors will probably perform this test for a fairly low cost, and repairing sources of unwanted airflow is usually not terribly expensive. Getting it done right by using the blower door test assures you that you’ll find the problem areas so you know the job gets done right. Take their advice and get the test performed, then have them seal the leaks.
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Q: I’ve grown to really hate summer. It seems all I do is laundry. It’s not just the time it takes to wash these clothes from my three kids and all the guests we get, but I see a big jump in our utility bills during these summer months. Do you have any suggestions on ways to save energy on clothes washing and drying?
A: Lots of ‘em. No matter how efficient your washer and dryer are, there are some simple things you can do to keep your energy costs as low as possible. Here are just a few ideas:
•Today’s washers and detergents can do a pretty good job using warm or cold water. If you don’t really need hot water, don’t use it.
•Pre-soaking heavily soiled clothes or using your machine’s soak cycle can eliminate the need to wash dirty clothes twice.
•Wash full loads, but be careful not to overload the machine.
•Separate the clothes into heavy and light items before washing them. The dryer won’t have to run as long for the lighter items. You might even keep small items out of the dryer until you have finished the rest of the clothes so that the built-up heat in the machine can dry them without needing to run another cycle.
•Make sure the lint filter in the dryer has been cleaned before you use the machine.
•And my final tip — if possible, use a “solar dryer.” These simple gadgets feature a clothesline run from two poles outdoors, with the sun providing the heat for drying. You may remember these from the old days. The work just as well today.