An energy audit is an inspection of your home or facility that uses building science to analyze many factors that affect the energy use, safety, and occupant comfort. The findings can help you determine the best way to solve problems including:

• High utility bills
• Rooms or that are too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer
• Condensation on the windows or walls
• Mold or mildew problems
• Allergies and asthma made worse by poor indoor air quality
• Electricity usage is too high for renewable energy options
• Deciding whether you need new windows, more insulation, new furnace or air conditioner, etc.
• Planning to remodel or build a new house
• Concerns about old heating equipment leaking low levels of carbon monoxide, natural gas, or propane.
• Lots of static electricity in the winter
• Furnace always seems to be running (or always needing a space heater)
• Dehumidifier never turns off
• Smells from the attic, garage, or fireplace
• Excessive noise from outside

If any of these problems resonate with you, it’s time for an energy audit. Midwest Building Performance offers solutions to help you make smart, cost-effective decisions that will last the life of the building.

Our certified professionals use building science principles and special equipment including a blower door, thermal imaging camera, and other diagnostic equipment to evaluate various aspects of the interior and exterior of your home or building, including:

• Insulation
• Heating and cooling systems
• Water heater
• Exhaust fans
• High indoor humidity
• Low indoor humidity
• Water leaks
• Windows
• Lighting
• Appliances
• Air leakage
• Attics and crawlspaces
• Attached garages
• Safety concerns

You will receive a comprehensive report within 5 business days following the audit that contains the details you need to make strategic decisions. Your recommendations are prioritized with safety, efficiency, and cost effectiveness in mind. This report will help you with things like:

• Should I install new windows or insulation or a new furnace? And which should I do first?
• Is my furnace or water heater spilling carbon monoxide into the home?
• Is my home leaking air or is it too tight? (According to Energy.gov, “The average home has enough air leakage to add up to a two-foot square hole. That’s like leaving a medium-sized window open 24 hours a day.”)
• Are the exhaust fans effectively removing moisture from the room to avoid mold and mildew problems?
• Is the air flowing through the duct work and registers effectively throughout the house?
• Are the heating and cooling systems sized correctly for the building?
• Why is my basement always getting flooded?
• Am I eligible for incentives from my utility company?

For example,

• Upgrading a furnace may not be the answer when the problem is with poor air flow through the ductwork or a lack of insulation around the building.
• Mitigating a mold issue without eliminating the source of the water will only allow the mold to reappear down the road
• If you install an overpowering exhaust fan for the new oven in the kitchen, it may back-draft the water heater down in the basement.

Make Your Home & Building More Comfortable, Safe, Healthy, and Energy Efficient! Call (309) 645-2557 to schedule your energy audit.

It’s up to you! You are welcome to join us during the audit or stop us at any time to ask questions. At a minimum, we recommend being there at the beginning to answers some questions and give us a brief tour of the building, and we recommend being there at the end to get a verbal summary.

Our goal is to provide your written report within 5 business days of the energy audit.

We certainly can! Some of our clients prefer to use us a a third-party inspection service, while others prefer if we oversee the work being done on the project. So, we are happy to help you in a way that makes the most sense. See our “Performance Contracting” page for more information.

HVAC PERFORMANCE TESTING

HVAC Load Calculations: When we evaluate homes, we want to know if the heating and cooling systems are properly sized for the needs of the home.  We will gather data from the home and enter it into an ACCA Manual J approved software to determine what the size of the systems should be and then compare that to what systems are actually installed.  Systems may be over-sized, under-sized, or right-sized.  Incorrect sizing can lead to excessive energy usage, premature equipment failure, and comfort complaints from uneven temperatures in the home.  The data we collect about the home that provide accurate calculations include total square footage, ceiling heights, orientation of the home to the sun, number of occupants, window styles, attic insulation, wall insulation, and even the overall building tightness as measured by a blower door.

TOTAL SYSTEM AIR FLOW TESTING

STATIC PRESSURE TESTS

When paying a visit to the doctor, the nurse typically gets your vitals such as blood pressure.  We do the same thing with duct systems.  Measuring static pressure at key locations in the ductwork is a great way to understand why a system isn’t performing the way it should.  A typical forced-air furnace is designed for .5 iwc, but what happens when the design of the system is higher than that?  Our consultants can take measurements at different points of air flow to answer several questions.

• Is the size or type of air filter being used too restrictive for the system?
• Is there a blockage of the A-coil?
• Is there a restriction on the supply or return side of the system that is impeding proper air circulation around the home?
• Can the installed duct system support the air flow needs of the installed heating and cooling system?

TEMPERATURE RISE / TEMPERATURE DROP MEASUREMENTS

When the doctor’s office takes your temperature, they want to know if it’s too high to low.  We also want to know if the airflow through your system has air temperatures that are in the proper range.  We will measure the temperature rise (for heating systems) and the temperature drop (for cooling systems) and compare the results to manufacturer’s specifications.

ZONE PRESSURE DIAGNOSTICS

With the air handler running or the blower door operating, our consultants can perform zone pressure diagnostics to determine the cause of comfort problems that may exist with air leakage or an imbalance of supply and return air flow.  A room may be getting over-pressurized due to high airflow or lack of a return pathway.  A room may be getting depressurized due to a strong return and a week supply.