Remember when Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma was poking fun of Al Gore back in February because Washington DC got a little snow?  We hope that the Senator starts to get the idea that the weather and the climate are two separate things.  Below is the NOAAs summary for the month of June for Dulles Airport in Washington DC.   Note the part that says: "EVERY MONTH SINCE MARCH 2010 HAS RANKED IN THE TOP-THREE WARMEST OF ALL-TIME AT DULLES WITH MARCH AND JUNE BOTH BEING THE WARMEST ON RECORD."

HEAT WAS THE MAIN CLIMATE STORY IN JUNE 2010 AT DULLES.

THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 76.8F...WHICH WAS THE WARMEST JUNE ON RECORD...BREAKING THE PREVIOUS WARMEST JUNE RECORD OF 76.1 DEGREES SET IN JUNE 1994. THERE WERE 12 DAYS WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 90 DEGREES OR HIGHER. THIS WAS THE FOURTH JUNE ON RECORD OF AT LEAST 12 DAYS OF 90 DEGREES OR HIGHER AND THE FIRST SINCE 1994 WHEN THERE WERE FOURTEEN SUCH DAYS. THE JUNE 2010 MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS CLOSE TO WHAT IS MORE TYPICAL OF JULY.

EVERY MONTH SINCE MARCH 2010 HAS RANKED IN THE TOP-THREE WARMEST OF ALL-TIME AT DULLES WITH MARCH AND JUNE BOTH BEING THE WARMEST ON RECORD.

THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 97 DEGREES ON THE 24TH BROKE THE OLD DAILY RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 95 DEGREES SET IN 1966 WHILE THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 89 DEGREES ON THE 3RD TIED THE RECORD SET IN 1980.

A TOTAL OF SIX DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WERE EITHER
BROKEN OR TIED...THREE NEW RECORDS WERE SET ON THE 3RD...24TH AND
29TH WHILE THREE WERE TIED ON THE 1ST...20TH AND 28TH.

JUNE WAS ALSO DRIER THAN NORMAL WITH DULLES ONLY RECEIVING LESS THAN A THIRD OF THE NORMAL RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH. THE 1.29 INCHES OF RAINFALL IS FOURTH DRIEST JUNE ON RECORD AND THE DRIEST JUNE SINCE 1988 WHEN ONLY 0.52 INCHES OF RAINFALL WAS MEASURED DURING THE ENTIRE MONTH. ABOUT HALF OF THE MONTH`S RAINFALL WAS RECORDED WITH A THUNDERSTORM ON THE 28TH.

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 The BP oil spill is the worst environmental disaster of its kind in our nation's history. My administration has deployed every tool at our disposal for the response efforts. Thousands are working around the clock, including some of the top scientists and engineers from around the world.

We are working to hold BP accountable for the damage to the lands and the livelihoods of the Gulf Coast, and we are taking strong precautions to make certain a spill like this never happens again.

But our work will not end with this crisis. That's one of the reasons why I invited lawmakers from both parties to join me at the White House to discuss what it will take to move forward on legislation to promote a new economy powered by green jobs, combat climate change, and end our dependence on foreign oil.

Today, we consume more than 20 percent of the world's oil, but have less than two percent of the world's oil reserves. Beyond the risks inherent in drilling four miles beneath the surface of the Earth, our dependence on oil means that we will continue to send billions of dollars of our hard-earned wealth to other countries every month -- including many in dangerous and unstable regions.

In other words, our continued dependence on fossil fuels will jeopardize our national security. It will smother our planet. And it will continue to put our economy and our environment at risk. We cannot delay any longer, and that is why I am asking for your help.

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This is Part 2 of the Home Energy Audit report.  See Part 1 Here.

Once the decision was made to have a home energy audit done on my home, I realized that once again, I had a lot of learning to do.   The more I started looking into it, the more questions I came up with:

1) What is a home energy audit?
2) How long will it last?
3) What will it cost?
4) What kind of Return on Investment should I expect?
5) Who should I hire to do it?
6) What credentials should I look for?
7) What kind of 'Delverables' should I expect after the audit is complete?

I started my research by making phone calls.  I decided to call some of the contractors listed on the GreenBrandywine.com Directory of Home Energy Auditors.  There are quite a few local contractors listed here so I needed to have some criteria by which to narrow the list.  

The first filter was I wanted someone local.  I wanted to support a local business and if was possible to hire someone who didn't have to drive too far, I would be doing a service to the environment.  I found that most or all of the listings in the directory were local businesses, so this didn't help me to much.

The next step was to look for 3rd party certifications.  I remembered from some of the seminars I had attended over the years that there were certain certifications that were the mark of a good home energy auditor.  After looking through some of my old notes and doing some online research, I recalled that the certifications I was looking for were RESNET and BPI.

RESNET claims that their auditors provide Objectivity, Technical Proficiency, High Ethical Standards, and a Complaint Resolution Process.  According to the RESNET website, "RESNET auditor and rater members are fully trained, have demonstrated a high standard of technical proficiency, and have committed to maintain and improve their knowledge and proficiency through continuing education."

BPI (Building Performance Institute) claims to "Set the standared in performance and weatherization."  BPI certified professionals have completed the BPI credentialling program.  According to their website, "Our nationally recognized credentialing program identifies individual excellence in house-as-a-system evaluation, diagnostics and installation. Stringent technical standards and requirements mean that BPI certified professionals are in demand – from homeowners, state and utility energy efficiency incentive programs and weatherization assistance programs."

Both RESNET and BPI are connected with the government's EnergyStar and HomeStar programs.

After making 5 phone calls and having in-depth conversations with two fo the contractors from the directories.  I settled on a local contractor who had both RESNET and HomeStar certification.  (The other runner-up also had these credentials).  The prices and services both contractors provided were comparable.

Ultimately, I agreed to pay $675.  For this the chosen auditor would come to my home for 5-6 hours, climb through my crawl-space, inspect my basement, attic, windows and doors.  He would inspect the interior and exterior of my home, conduct a blower door test and take infrared pictures.  I would be encouraged to be at his side the entire time so that he could point out the problems to me directly.  In addition, I would receive the pictures and a detailed report.  

I was told that I could expect to receive recommendations that would make it easy for me to pay for the inspection within the first year. 

 This is the guy I hired.  The inspection was scheduled for April 13.

Next:  Inspection Day

by Mark Landon

I’ve talked about having a home energy audit done for about 2 years.  The ice dam related damage I experienced over the winter finally got me off the stick.  Solid chunks of ice filled my gutters for about 2 weeks during February after the back-to-back snowstorms.  Snow began melting on my roof, upstream from the gutters.  The water had nowhere to go, so it was forced up under the roof shingles. 

I was fortunate that the damage to the house was modest.  Replacing some drywall in the kitchen was the worst of it.  But I started researching the causes of ice damming and soon learned that one of the ingredients needed to cause this condition is heat in the attic.  Heat in the attic in February sounded like a problem to me, so I started looking for the cause.

I started with an insulation contractor who came to my house, poked his head in my attic and suggested that I should blow an additional foot or so of insulation to bring me up to R-60 for a cost of $2321.00. For this price, he would also seal up the holes where the second floor ceiling lights poke through to the attic.   He informed me I could get a good chunk of this money back in the form of a federal tax credit.  I was considering charging forward with this when I decided to get a second opinion.

The second insulation contractor also offered to up my insulation, but told me he thought my real problem might be with a return duct that runs through my attic.  The duct runs the length of the house, is un-insulated and is not sealed at the joints.  Hmmm…this seems like a problem now that he pointed it out.  Unfortunately, this contractor didn’t do the sealing and wrapping as a matter of course.  He also mentioned that there might be some problem with air infiltration around my second floor, ceiling-mounted light fixtures and bathroom vents.  He informed me that insulation is a thermal barrier, but that doesn’t mean that it stops air from moving through it.  If there are holes between the second floor and the attic, insulation won’t stop air from moving from one space to the other.  Who knew?

At this point, I had two contractors with two opinions.  Had I hired either one, I would have no-doubt seen some improvements in my efficiency.  But the discrepancies in their stories really got me to thinking it was time to take the leap and have a serious home energy audit done.  

Next:  Researching Home Energy Audits