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Frequently Asked Questions:
Q:
What
is your typical home visit like?
Q:
Do you
offer additional services for homeowners who want to reach
super-efficiency?
Q:
What do you have to offer beyond what a homeowner can just find on the
internet?
Q:
Do you work with homeowners who are do-it-yourselfers?
Q:
Are your services appropriate for a small home on a tight budget?
Q:
Do you sell insulation services?
Q:
What products do you sell?
Q:
If you are so green, why are you driving that gas guzzler?
Frequently
Asked Questions:
Q: What is your
typical home visit like?
A: Our typical home energy audit takes about 4-5 hours.
Preparations: Before the visit, the
homeowner obtains energy and water use
utility data.
Home Energy Audit: The home visit begins with
an interview to identify the homeowners' concerns and usage patterns, and
a review of the energy and water use data. Then we perform a home
energy and water use audit. This includes visual inspection of
certain appliances and the
building envelope, measurement of water temperature and flow
rates, and use of a
blower door to
evaluate the extent and location of air leaks in the building.
Based upon the audit findings,
Emerson Environmental prepares customized recommendations for
equipment upgrades or installation and suggestions for changes to the
family’s habits or procedures.
Initial Equipment Installation: If
recommended equipment is available in stock, such as compact
fluorescent light bulbs, low-flow showerheads, and hot water pipe
insulation, it may be offered for the homeowner’s purchase and
Emerson Environmental’s installation.
Contractors: We frequently provide
referrals to contractors for installation of weatherization,
insulation, duct sealing, landscape irrigation controls, and other
equipment upgrades. If the homeowner wishes, Emerson
Environmental can be involved on a on-going basis as an energy
consultant, obtaining bids for
additional work to be done and/or providing consultation with the
homeowner and their contractors on energy and water use issues.
Q:
Do you offer additional
services for homeowners who
want to reach
super-efficiency?
A:
In addition to our standard audit and our project consulting services, we
offer a Standby and Operational Loads Analysis. This analysis is
cost-effective for homeowners seeking to reduce their electrical loads
in order to cover a larger portion of their electrical use with a
smaller photovoltaic system. The Loads
Analysis takes about three hours, utilizing a
Kill-a-Watt device and
The Energy
Detective or
Blue
Line PowerCost Monitor to obtain and analyze detailed data about
passive and active electrical loads throughout the house.
Q:
What do you have to offer beyond what a homeowner can just find on the
internet?
A: Our focus is on
moving items from the homeowner’s “to do” list to the “done” list.
In addition to identifying efficiency maintenance and upgrade
opportunities, we help the homeowner accomplish these tasks.
We utilize tools homeowners would not have at their disposal, such as
a
Kill-a-Watt device and a
blower door; bring commonly-utilized supplies to the home with us; have list of items that can be ordered for
installation in the near future; can offer referrals to contractors
for upgrade installations; and, if the homeowner wishes, we can serve
as an energy efficiency consultant for the upgrade installation projects.
You already have a long “to do” list – our goal is to help you get it
done.
Q: Do
you work with homeowners who are do-it-yourselfers?
A: Yes. We
understand that there is a broad spectrum of interest among homeowners
in performing or managing their home's maintenance and upgrades.
Some homeowners only need assistance
identifying which maintenance and upgrades would be most
cost-effective for their own homes, and then they want to take care of
making these improvements themselves. We are happy to work with
do-it-yourselfers to help them identify the areas in which their
efforts can pay off most effectively.
Other homeowners have busy schedules
and little interest in performing or even managing home maintenance or
upgrades themselves. For those homeowners, we offer referrals to contractors, and can act as
energy efficiency consultant for the installation or
upgrade project.
Q: Are
your services appropriate for a small home on a tight budget?
A: Absolutely.
We focus on the maintenance and upgrades that would be most
cost-effective, maximizing the energy and water savings opportunities
available on your budget.
Q:
Do you sell insulation services?
A: No, we do not sell
insulation services, but we do know companies that we can refer you to
for insulation or other upgrades.
Q: What
products do you sell?
A: We generally bring
with us to the home and offer for sale, if appropriate for that home,
items such as fluorescent bulbs, low-flow showerheads, water heater
blankets, insulation for hot water pipes, weather stripping, and
timers. We may also have in stock home safety products, such as
carbon monoxide alarms.
Q:
If you are so green, why are you driving that gas guzzler?
A: We can’t fit all
our supplies in the back of our hybrid or our bicycle trailer.
Our dream is to someday have an electric (or hybrid plug-in) vehicle
large enough for our supplies, re-roof our house, and install a solar
array to power our
vehicle.
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