A Dallas Energy Audit uses an infrared camera and Blower Door to perform a complete and concise audit of the thermal envelope of a home or business. The house is depressurized by 50 pascals, which simulates a 20 – 25 mile per hour windy day to test for leakage in the Building Envelope as air leaks back into the house in small gaps and holes around the structure.

The thermal Building Envelope of a home is comprise of the insulated surfaces of the roof/ceiling, exterior walls, doors, windows and foundation of the home. . The insulation in the walls and attic insulation limits the flow of energy and moderates the transfer of energy into the home.

The Dallas Energy Audit can be expanded to include a Duct Pressurization test to isolate HVAC duct leakage from leakage in other areas around the house. The house can also be profiles in computer software to help determine which improvements are most effective and generate an energy use rating (HERS) that is much like the MPG rating of a car.

Equipment used in Dallas Energy Audit

Infrared Camera

The FLIR T620 high resolution digital infrared camera sees in the long wave infrared spectrum of light is our tool of choice to help determine the energy efficiency of your home. Our infrared cameras are the state of the art digital thermal camera on the market today. It has higher digital resolution that allows for wider inspection conditions and better resolution to help determine energy leakage problems.

This means we can find smaller energy loss problems than our competition and help you save money on your energy bills. This infrared camera is used to visually see small temperature differences (< .1 degrees Fahrenheit) that indicate energy loss or transfer through the building envelope.

The resulting images or thermograms indicate energy flowing into or out of a home. The infrared camera is like a visual thermometer in the infrared band of light. Your house insulation and attic insulation problems are no match for the power of this infrared camera.

Infrared – A Closer Look Inc. has different Dallas infrared services to help you take control of your energy consumption and it all starts with knowledge about your personal energy use. Our energy auditors use thermography as just one tool to help detect heat losses and air leakage in the building envelopes. Infrared – A Closer Look Inc. is here to answer your questions about this new infrared camera technology.

Blower Door and Duct Blaster

Other tools that we use to help determine your energy loss include a Blower Door and/or Duct Blaster test. They can help tell us a lot about air infiltration into your home. Your energy auditors can then take that information and insert it into the RemRate software to generate a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) score that can tell you how energy efficient your home is and how you can effectively tighten the building envelope.

A HERS score is the national standard used to measure a home’s energy efficiency, the lower the rating the more energy efficient the home. This is a great tool that home sellers can use to establish their home is more energy efficient. Coupling the HERS rating these other tools enhances the ability to actually see where the energy leaks are and the best strategy to tighten the building envelope.

The blower door is used to suck air of the house in a way that unconditioned air is being pulled in wherever it can be. Paired with the infrared camera, this is a key way to see and feel where the biggest air leaks are. The blower door also is connected to a manometer which is essentially a small computer that does calculations. The manometer is used to compare the home to that of a new home and to tell the severity of the air leakage.

A duct pressurization test is a good tool to help see how leaky the duct system is. A fan, similar to the blower door, is used to depressurize the duct system as a whole. The manometer on this fan is used to give a percentage of leakage for the ducts. A new home is required to have less than or equal to 4% leakage for the entire house. Older systems can be very leaky and cause electricity bills to be much higher than needed. One percent leakage is equivalent to 1 cent of every dollar spent on heating and cooling that doesn’t make it inside the house.

A zonal pressure test can also be performed with the blower door test. A second manometer is brought around the house into each conditioned room. A hose is places on the outside of the door with the door closed. The zonal pressure testing is used to see how much each room individually is connected to the outside. This lets the homeowner know where the most leaks are and which rooms can use the most work.

“The U.S. Department of Energy now recommends a thermographic scan be done before purchasing a house and also even on new homes.”

Enhanced Infrared Energy Survey

Call for a bid at 940-891-3803. The cost is less than your energy bill next month and you can start saving energy now!

The Infrared Energy Survey thermographic scans can be performed in conjunction with a blower door test to increase air infiltrations and make detection of air leaks easier and to a much smaller detail. The blower door is used to slightly depressurize the house. This helps exaggerate air leaking through cracks and gaps in the building energy envelope. That leakage is even more visible with an infrared camera.

A duct pressurization test can also be performed for an enhanced energy survey. This allows the homeowner to see exactly how leaky their system is and how much money is being wasted heating and cooling unconditioned area. This test should help the homeowner decide whether or not they should consider getting the ducts sealed, which is a potential HUGE money saver.

HERS rating score

Call for a bid at 940-891-3803 and get that MPG type of information for your house that you use when looking for a new car.

The HERS rating starts with a physical inspection of the property to collect information about the building envelope and major energy consuming products in the house. This information is recorded and then entered into computer software that creates a digital profile of the structure and energy consumption.

This rating is the industry standard and can easily tell you and potential buyers how energy efficient house your really is. The lower the HERS score the more efficient the house is. A HERS score is a great thing to have when buying a new home to ensure that you’re getting the quality of home that you’re looking for.