There's a lot to gain from a Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Upgrade.
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| The infrared photo shows where energy is leaving the buidling. | |
The most obvious Home Performance Upgrade benefit is energy savings. Older homes typically have inadequate insulation, leaky single pane windows, outdated heating and cooling systems, and air infiltration sites all throughout the ductwork and building frame. Newer homes are often no better, and suffer from poor construction quality, materials, and mechanical systems. Our field experience shows that even brand-new homes with supposedly high performance insulation and new heating and cooling appliances suffer from all kinds of performance-related issues!
Because most homes aren’t operating at peak efficiency, a typical homeowner could be paying up to 40% of their energy bill on wasted energy. The good news is that all these problems can be fixed.
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| Contractors use a Duct Blaster to pressure test the duct system for air leaks, much the same way a plumber pressure tests water pipes for leaks |
Rather than focusing on a single component of the house, such as single-pane windows, an old air conditioning system, or leaky ductwork, our Home Performance contractors will assess how improvements to all of these components can work together to provide:
When your car is tuned-up, tires inflated, and fluid levels are adjusted, it runs efficiently. So it is with your house. Once your heating/cooling system is tuned, insulation is installed correctly, and air and duct leaks are sealed, you will immediately start seeing a reduction in your home’s utility costs.
Sometimes normal household activities like doing laundry while running the kitchen exhaust fan can depressurize your house enough to cause combustion appliance vents to back draft gases into the home. These back drafts can be dangerous, sometimes spewing carbon monoxide, soot, and toxic fumes into the house with serious health and even life-safety effects.
Other safety issues include mold, mildew, and other growths associated with improper moisture control. These problems not only create an unhealthy indoor environment, but they can also damage the structural integrity of your home, requiring costly repairs. Other irritants like dust and spores can cause discomfort and recurring health problems, especially for those with allergies or asthma.
Home Performance contractors have unique qualifications for testing, detecting, and correcting these types of safety issues. We’ve had many homeowners report significant improvements in indoor air quality as a result of a Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Upgrade. And our contractors perform combustion safety on all jobs where there may be a danger of carbon monoxide leaks and back drafts
A home that operates at peak performance for energy efficiency, comfort, and safety is simply worth more. The comfort, health effects, and other benefits of a Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Upgrade are features that can set your house apart from the rest. And when it comes time to sell your house, your house will sell for more than those that are uncomfortable, have poor indoor air quality and are more expensive to heat or cool.
In order to document it all, your California Home Performance contractor will give you a Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Certificate that you can show to a prospective buyer, indicating the work completed and the new home performance achieved.
The average household's energy use unnecessarily contributes to the degradation of the environment we rely on and live in. Most of the energy we use in our homes comes from burning fossil fuels, which produce greenhouse gases. In fact, our homes emit more greenhouse gas emissions than all of our cars.
Getting a Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Upgrade allows you to have it all—energy savings with a more comfortable, healthier indoor environment for your family and a reduced carbon footprint for the environment —all because a Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Upgrade improves your home's total performance.
Get a referral for a Home Performance Contractor in your area.
888-352-2722 ex. 213 or Request a Referral.
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CBPCA is the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® partner in California. We promote whole-house energy efficiency upgrades for homes and homeowners in California.
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