PSU Task Force Helps Homeowners Reduce Energy Consumption

May 3, 2013

My boyfriend and I bought our first house last April. We were sold on the hardwood floors, stone fireplace, and arched doorways. Built in the 1870s, it had been the one-room schoolhouse for the town of Lemont. And it spoke to our sense of history.

The house was charming—except for the massive iron furnace that is at least 50 years old.

“Does it have a name? It should have a name—Morris or Thor or something,” says David Riley, executive Director of the Penn State Center for Sustainability when he saw the thing. “They don’t make them like that anymore and there’s a reason."

We knew the furnace would need to be replaced. But that wasn’t our only problem.

On gusty days cold air came in around doors and windows. It was time to do something. I poked around online and found the National Energy Leadership Corps at Penn State.

Riley heads the program. He and two students are at our house for an energy audit.

Eddie Udegbe and Fuju Wu are still in training. Wu takes the lead. She explains the purpose of the project then tells us she’ll be asking a lot of questions.

“Different houses have different issues. We want to know your house and help you to have your personal energy profile,” says Wu, a PhD student at Penn State. She flips through several pages of questions: about safety, conservation measures, and renewable energy.

Do we have smoke alarms? Yes. How often do we keep the heat at 68 degrees or lower? Always.

She asks us to grade ourselves on a scale of one to ten, ten being most satisfied. We hazard a guess—maybe a four?

FACING THE FACTS

Riley says it’s time for the home tour.

“We’re going to go outside for a bit, then come back in,” says Riley. “We’d like you to join us.”

Outside, Riley takes infrared pictures with a device that looks like a handheld barcode scanner. Wu jots notes. Udegbe takes pictures on an iPad.

The three circle the house before they head back inside. They check out appliances in the kitchen and laundry room, take more pictures, and measure the windows.

Back in the basement, Riley notices the room is toasty. “Thor the furnace” and the uninsulated pipes are losing a lot of heat. We’re basically heating an extra 500 or 600 square feet of unfinished basement.

“And if you replace your furnace, it’ll get colder down here because you won’t be bleeding so much heat down into this space,” Riley tells us.

Next we all go to another part of the basement, a room that’s a finished addition. I tell the team that we’ve closed it off to save on heating.

“So your unfinished basement is comfortably warm and your finished basement is a Popsicle,” Riley observes.

They measure more windows then head upstairs.

Riley points the camera at a window and wall. The wall glows blue on the screen. The window is an orangey-yellow. This is not optimal. Blue means there’s no insulation. The windows are yellow, heated by the sun. The blinds are down and they’ve trapped the heat.

Riley renders his verdict.

“Everything in this house is backwards. You’ve got a heated-unheated basement. You’ve got windows warmer than your walls. And the few windows that actually are receiving solar energy, you’ve got very well insulated to keep it out of your house,” says Riley.

Sheesh, tell me some good news!

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Before they can make recommendations, Wu says they’ll have to analyze the data. “We will go through all the pictures and all the conversation we have today. And we will have more clear picture about how to recommend you to reduce your energy usage.”

The National Energy Leadership Corps, or NELC, is part of a larger Penn State effort. It’s supported by Penn State’s Energy Efficient Building Hub, located at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. On a visit to Penn State in 2011, President Obama lauded the HUB for its research on reducing energy use in new and existing buildings.

And while the HUB focuses on commercial buildings, the NELC focuses on residential energy savings. Riley has created online modules, activities, and even an iPad app so professors can easily integrate the program into classes.

The goal is to take the NELC national and make a dent in energy consumed by U.S. homes. At the same time, students get hands-on experience in the growing world of green jobs. But Riley says this program won’t prepare students to answer homeowners’ every question.

“They’re there to gather some information and absorb some priorities and concerns of homeowners. And then go back, take some time, get some advice on that report and deliver a report that’s useful,” he says.

A week later, Riley emails us their report. We meet in person to go over it, though usually the student talks with the homeowner about the results.

A couple of things jump out. Our house has scored a 4.8 on the “EPA Home Energy Yardstick.” 

“The HEY is a pretty simple tool that takes your utility costs and the size of your house and it sort of reflects how your house stacks up to others of similar size. Even though it’s not that big, your house is using a lot of energy, and that score from one to ten is a pretty powerful motivator. Got your attention,” Riley tells us.

Every audit ends with five recommendations. Insulate hot water pipes—easy. New siding with built-in insulation—that’s a bigger investment.

And, of course, a new furnace.

“It would really involve having a technician come out to your house,” Riley says.

Penn State’s project is currently small, but Riley hopes they’ll eventually train enough students to be able to offer free or low-cost energy audits to anyone who wants one. And a website is in the works that would provide a lot more resources.

Meanwhile, Riley says our house will be a case study for his classes. And if we do everything they suggest in their report, we’ll save $2,000 a year on energy bills.

Read more stories by WPSU

Tweet