Come for the Lifestyle.

Energy Audit from page A41

Stay for the Friendships.

Come and experience the incredible value and comfort of
The Park at Trowbridge. Settle in and feel a genuine sense of
belonging and purpose with a diverse set of friends both new

Brian Halprin and Brad Lavey assemble the frame of a blower door to be used
to suck out air from the home.

and familiar. Our wildly popular LiveWeNprogram offers
over 200 scheduled social, cultural, educational and fitness
opportunities and outings every month, so there's always
something fun to do. Learn new arts and crafts, play billiards
or attend one of our exciting and lively exercise classes.
Whatever it is you're looking for, you'll find it all here. See

for yourself why our residents love our lifestyle of simple
excellence and truly believe that "life here is grand."

at Trowbridge

The Brightest Tomorrows Begin Here. ®

For more information or to visit, call today! (248) 352 0208

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24111 Civic Center Dr. • Southfield, Ml 48033

www.horizonbay.com

Alb

A HORIZON BAY SENIOR COMMUNITY

1449900

encourages homeowners to develop a
proactive maintenance program, mak-
ing sure the furnace is clean, the filters
are good and vents are cleaned out, for
example.
Halprin began Novak's energy audit
in late October and continued the
audit through early November because
of the home's complexity. He kept her
abreast of his findings along the way.
He uses all the new and spiffy tools,
notably a blower door that is noth-
ing more than a huge fan that sucks
the air out of homes. An infrared gun
finds weak spots in the insulation that
can account for more than 50 percent
of heat loss.
"The size of the home and its com-
plexity and proportions determines
how much energy loss there is and the
cost to plug up the leaks:' Halprin says.
His house, 1,800 square feet with a

1,000-square-foot basement, is easier
to evaluate than a larger house built
in the 1960s with many additions over
the years.
Novak's house has two different
heating systems to accommodate the
additions, a courtyard, a lot of roofs,
angles, shapes, crawl space, partial
basement and jogs in the walls. The
home also has a 7x14-foot exercise
pool that chews up energy
Halprin and Lavey have visited the
house twice, "measuring the height of
the windows and crawling around in
the crawl space, sealing the house and
sucking out the air to determine where
the leaks are;' Novak says.
Halprin uses a software program
that works in coordination with a
national data base of appliances and
their efficiencies, similar to Energy
Star. Novak's audit will cost $2,100. L

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A42

November 20 2008 119

NM

Brian Halprin, right, talks to homeowners Linda and Erick Novak of Franklin
about their energy audit.