Energy Audit

A scientific look at your home can save you a lot of money.

Brad Lavey of Green Building Services checks the fireplace of Linda Novak's home for air leakage.

Steve Raphael

Special to the Jewish News

E

nergy shortages, soaring fuel
prices and the green revolution
have converged to create a rela-
tively new service to combat energy waste
in the home — the energy audit.
In a matter of a few hours, a trained
inspector using state-of-the-art equipment
can walk through and around a home and
determine how energy efficient it is.
"The audit gives homeowners a road
map specific to their home that addresses
the exact site of the problems and the cost
to repair energy leaks:' says Brian Halprin.
Halprin is co-owner of Green Building
Services PLLC in Bloomfield Township.
He also owns Halprin Construction Inc. in
Bloomfield Township.
Real estate-broker Linda Novak learned
that her rebuilt 4,200-square-foot Franklin
home wasn't very energy efficient. She
says she was "horrified" at electric bills
in excess of $800 per month. Her gas bills
weren't much better. Novak hired Halprin,
her long-time friend, to perform an
energy audit.
A complete energy audit entails survey-

ing the entire building envelope — the
separation between the interior and the
exterior environments. The envelope
serves as the outer shell to protect the
indoor environment as well as to facilitate
climate control. The physical components
of the envelope include the foundation,
roof, walls, doors and windows.
An audit alone doesn't save energy but
is merely the first step toward energy
efficiency, says Energy Star, created by
the United States 16 years ago as a means
to set standards for energy efficiency
in appliances. Appliances carrying the
Energy Star logo can save on average 20
percent to 30 percent on energy bills. The
standard has been adopted worldwide.
Energy Star provides extensive infor-
mation on implementing recommended
improvements to enhance efficiency, lower
utility bills and increase living comfort.
The information is available at energystar.
gov.
Individuals can perform a simple ener-
gy audit themselves or hire a professional
for a more thorough assessment. Taking
just five minutes and with 12 months of
utility bills in hand, a homeowner is able
to compare his home's energy efficiency

Brian Halprin and Brad Lavey inspect the heating
system of Linda Novak's home.

to similar homes nationwide and get rec-
ommendations for energy-saving home
improvements from the Energy Star Web
site. The homeowner also would need the
ZIP code, age of home, square footage and
number of occupants to ensure a complete
audit.
Costs vary, but for the most part hom-
eowners bear the entire cost of the audit.
Michigan Consolidated Gas has a limited
energy audit rebate program of $250 to
100 MichCon customers who make the
changes recommended by a contractor.
The state of Michigan in 2007 offered a
$250 tax credit for doing an energy audit.
Halprin says his prices vary based on
the complexity of the home, but 35 cents
per square foot is a frame of reference. He
says owners can recoup the investment on
their upgrades within five to seven years.
"Each home is made up of multiple
systems:' notably heating, insulation, ven-
tilation and lighting and "all have a rela-
tionship to each other:' says John Eckstein,
owner of Performing Home, a Palo Alto,
Calif.-based Energy Star approved vendor.
"It is by paying close attention to the rela-
tionships between these systems where
the greatest opportunity for improving the

performance of our homes lies.
"Taking a holistic, or whole-house
approach" to construction and remodeling
is a new concept, he adds. "The holistic
approach is not about solar panels or
rainwater catchment systems or wind tur-
bines. It's about the ductwork, air sealing
and insulation!'
Homeowners usually enter the audit pro-
cess hoping for improved air quality, more
stable temperatures and smaller utility bills,
he says, adding, "The byproduct is that the
home also becomes greener:"
Energy audits have been around awhile
on the East and West coasts and only
now are catching on in the Midwest and
Michigan.
Halprin began doing home energy
audits last year with his partner Brad
Lavey, a green home and commercial
construction builder for 10 years. Halprin
defines his work as "environmentally con-
science construction!'
A lot of the problems Halprin finds
result from inadequate insulation, old
windows, inadequately ventilated roofs
and high-energy-use appliances. He

Energy Audit on page A42

November 20 • 2008

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