ENERGY STAR Version 3

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Permalink Reply by J.C. Martel on November 11, 2010 at 10:27am

I think Version 3 incorporates more concrete building science and techniques into the program, but more checklists will be needed. The Version 2 program required the thermal bypass checklist, and this new version requires more work on behalf of the mechanical contractor. From what i've heard talking with homeowners and program managers, HVAC is the area that most needs improvement. Heating and cooling is 46% of our home energy use; it's the reason why people have major comfort issues; and there's signficant room for improvement, starting with correct sizing of the AC and ducts, proper sealing, closed combustion, heat flow, etc...

I'm not an ENERGY STAR verifier though.

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Permalink Reply by Allison A. Bailes III on November 11, 2010 at 11:13am

You're absolutely right, JC. HVAC is the hardest part to get right in programs like ENERGY STAR. There are a lot of factors at work that make it so, and it's definitely a good thing for ENERGY STAR to be raising the bar.

I just wrote up my review of Day 2 of this class, which you can read by clicking the link at the bottom of the Day 1 review, which I've linked to above.

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Permalink Reply by J.C. Martel on November 11, 2010 at 1:57pm

i read your blog - it's good. there's no way a sample of homes turns out 80-85% with gas leaks, as that contractor told the group in the training. no way.

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Permalink Reply by Allison A. Bailes III on November 11, 2010 at 2:08pm

I'd like to believe it's impossible, too, JC, but Scott Suddreth is one person in this field who has earned the utmost credibility. I don't know the details (number of houses, magnitude of leaks...), but Scott definitely knows what he's doing. I'm with you, though. It sure seems hard to believe.

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Permalink Reply by J.C. Martel on November 11, 2010 at 2:55pm

i worked in Weatherization Asst Program for a few years and we found gas leaks very seldomly. We certainly did find some so it's worthwhile to check, absolutely, but much less than 10% of the homes had leaks, maybe even as low as 3%.

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Permalink Reply by Amanda Evans on November 12, 2010 at 11:46am

I think it might depend on how slowly you check the line and how finely the gas leak detector is calibrated. In trainings we have had 10 people check the same gas line with no problems and then the 11th person finds a leak by going much more slowly and carefully and having the calibration set more finely. After that everyone can find it. This is going tediously slowly (1 inch per second), whereas some trainers teach to go at 1 foot per second. Maybe that's where the differences of opinion come from?

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Permalink Reply by J.C. Martel on November 15, 2010 at 9:51am

That's interesting, Amanda. Unfortunately it was so long ago that i can't remember our calibration settings. It sounds reasonable though.

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Permalink Reply by Kyle Brown on November 16, 2010 at 10:35pm

Gas leaks in 80% of existing homes....? I believe it. It's been about 100% here lately! In fact, i was just in a home today with very nice looking piping. It literally looked like it was installed yesterday. However, I found a slight leak on top of a pressure regulator on the main line and a fairly significant leak just past the gas pressure regulator inside the furnace. This particular house did not have natural gas service and utilized propane. Of course, you all probably know this but propane has a specific gravity of about 1.5. It's quite a bit heavier than air. This makes propane leaks very dangerous because it tends to pool and can be very explosive. We perform BPI inspections and training and use their "1 inch per second" protocol for sniffing gas lines. I'd recommend using this rule. We currently use a Bacharach 19-7075 gas leak detector.

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