Energy Assessments
Almost every home we see has opportunity for weatherization and energy efficiency improvements. At Next Step Living we are diligent to not only identify these efficiency improvements, but to ensure that you fully understand why and how your home can be improved. Furthermore, we make it simple for you take advantage of all available rebates and financial incentives.
The Assessment
The Next Step Living experience begins with a home energy assessment – what is often referred to as an energy audit. This initial step will allow our energy experts to determine where your home is losing energy, and to develop the most appropriate strategy for moving forward.
At the end of this process you will receive a report – an action plan – for how to move ahead and take advantage of the available opportunities. An NSL representative will walk you through the report, helping you to understand every recommendation and to take the next steps.
For Massachusetts residents who are serviced by a sponsoring utility, this assessment is completely free of charge and New Hampshire residents pay only a $100 co-pay.
The Diagnostic
Once we have identified weatherization opportunities throughout your home, the next step (should you chose to proceed) is to diagnose and model the major sources of energy loss. By using the diagnostic methods detailed below, Next Step Living can effectively solve your home energy problems and give you assurance that you now live in a more comfortable, safe, and energy efficient home.
IR Camera
What it does:
The infrared (IR) camera allows us to analyze your home by finding hot and cold areas.
Why we use it:
We can use the IR camera in conjunction with the blower door to more accurately identify where outside air is leaking into the living space. Additionally, we can see cold spots on your walls, ceiling, and floors indicating inadequate insulation. We find both obvious areas needing improvement but also locate hidden leaks and voids in the insulation by utilizing these diagnostic tools.
Recommendations will usually include air sealing and additional insulation to fix the problems we identify with the IR camera.
Blower Door
What it does:
A blower door gently blows air out of the home until the pressure inside the home is lower relative to outside pressure, simulating wind hitting all sides of the home at once.
Why we use it.
We will use the blower door whenever we recommend air sealing. The blower door allows us to accomplish two things:
- Identify costly air leaks exaggerated by the pressure differential between inside and outside. As the home is depressurized, air pours into the home through all cracks, seams, or holes, allowing us to pinpoint unwanted air leaks and drafts.
- Quantify the air leakage in the home by measuring the volume of air moving through the fan. we can quantify the how leaky and inefficient your home might be in cubic feet per minute (CFM).
Health and Safety
Although we are here to make your home more efficient, we inevitably screen for scenarios that might have serious consequences for you health and safety. This type of screening will occur during our initial visit as well as any subsequent visits.
Carbon monoxide testing:
Before we start making any improvements to your home, we test the operating conditions of all the combustion appliances (heating system, hot water, stove). If any appliance is not operating properly, creating an increased risk of unhealthy levels of Carbon Monoxide build up in your home, we help you get this problem fixed before we do our work or, more importantly, somebody gets hurt.
Moisture and mold inspection:
During our home walk through, we look for existing or potential moisture issues. Proper air sealing is a critical next step to prevent these dangerous situations from arising. We are not a certified mold inspector, but our professionals are trained to look for issues that could prove harmful to the homeowner, and Next Step Living will help you to remediate any potentially dangerous problems that we find.