Leaky Homes Waste Energy & Dollars

Written by Bill Bittar
Sebastian Gibilisco, a local builder, finished construction of a new 4,000-square-foot colonial at 143 Elm Street in Monroe. He placed a "For Sale" sign on the lawn but, before he could make any transaction, energy efficiency testing had to be done.

One recent morning, Students from Norwalk Community College's Building Efficiency & Sustainable Technology Certificate Program and Steven Winter Associates, a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) inspector, set up equipment throughout the house.

Eric Gribin, director of Building Efficiency & Sustainable Technology Programs at NCC, said a large fan set up inside the front doorway created negative pressure inside the home by blowing air out.

"It simulates a 20 mph wind, but we're controlling it," Gribin explained. "We can locate a source of leaks for a homeowner. For this house, we're coming up with a number to see if it meets the code, a specified limit for air leakage."

Inside, a duct blaster test determines how much air is leaking from duct work in the basement and attic.

"How leaky is the house? And how leaky are the ducts?" Gribin said. "What it results in is wasted energy and wasted dollars. That's what people care about."

Jim Sandor, Monroe's building inspector, says a new federal Energy Star program requires a process of inspections, testing, and verification for all new construction — residential and commercial — to meet strict requirements set by the EPA. It passed on Oct. 6, 2011 and the state of Connecticut adopted the guidelines.

"The town accepts the test results and puts it into a building file," Sandor said, adding a certificate with an energy efficiency rating is posted on the electrical panel.

Gribin said, "We haven't had many new houses built and towns only adopted and started using it this year."

Sandor said the new guidelines have taken some builders by surprise, adding a lot tell him, "I don't have to do it in my town!"

Green Jobs

Sandor said Energy Star is a federal initiative to reduce the country's carbon footprint through more energy efficient construction.

Norwalk Community College's BEST program and Building Energy Worker Training program, a non-credit program, prepares its students for new green jobs created by energy efficiency guidelines.

A pamphlet on the BEST program says, "The State of Connecticut is using its $64.3 million in Federal stimulus funding to expand the State's existing weatherization programs. According to the Governor, 'there will be a lot more work for installers, heating and cooling contractors, energy auditors, inspectors and other energy-related 'green jobs'.'"

Gribin said his students perform fieldwork, doing independent inspections under a pilot program offered by United Illuminating Co. Gibilisco, whose son had studied at NCC, knew about the program and arranged to have Gribin's students come to his new house.

"This is wonderful fieldwork," Gribin said. "It's really problem solving. This is a living laboratory."

For information on NCC's energy certification programs, visit ncc.commnet.edu/aad/best.