Short answer: we don’t know unless we test your home.

Longer answer: the typical trouble spots include attics, interior walls, electrical outlets, and light fixtures—areas where it is easy for warm air to escape or sneak into your home against your best intentions.

Common household leaks are behind attic knee walls, the attic hatch, wiring holes in the attic floor, plumbing vents going into the attic, recessed lights, furnace flue or duct chase ways, the basement rim joists, and windows and doors. To generalize, your home leaks most at the top and at the bottom. 

Hm. Doubtful. If your salesman is making a claim like this ask for it in writing.  Their response is sure to be memorable. We want to hear the story.

Now, if you were living in a home with open holes instead of windows then perhaps this would be the case.  After all, new windows will have better insulating properties, and thus keep you warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.  

In truth, without doing the calculations, no one knows the energy savings and subsequent financial savings of new windows.  New windows look nice and are something you can appreciate immediately.  However, the energy saving claims need to be substantiated. 

There’s a temptation among homeowners to buy a shiny new product to solve a problem.  It feels good to buy new nice looking things.  Often, however, the first step to gain control over your home is to heal the building shell (air seal and insulate.)  It’s unglamorous, it’s not sexy, and you can’t even see the results.  

Let’s make an analogy.  In an attempt to make ourselves look and feel more attractive, we go out and get a haircut, get our nails done, get a tan, or buy new clothing.  The harder and more necessary task is to eat healthy and stay active on a daily basis.  That doesn’t cost nearly as much money, and it’s not as fun.  

While energy-efficient windows do help tackle drafts and air leaks, the majority of a home’s energy is lost in other areas.  For example, the rough opening around the window, and not the window itself, is often a bigger source of energy loss in a home.  Consider other energy-efficiency upgrades first.  Have you considered low-e storm windows? 

No. 

A house can never be too tight.  Houses do not need to breathe, people do.  Houses need mechanical ventilation.  A tight house uses controlled ventilation for the health and comfort of the inhabitants and durability of the building.  Controlled ventilation brings fresh air into the house and expels polluted air from the house on the homeowner’s terms.

Older homes are often very leaky and have a lot of uncontrolled ventilation called infiltration and exfiltration.  This is not the case in high performance homes of today.  Remember, in a high performance home the goal is control.  We want to bring in a specific amount of fresh air on our terms – when we want it, and where we want it.

Perhaps. We don’t know unless we test. Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.

However, insulation is only effective if air is not moving through it.  Thus, you never want to insulate your home without first air sealing the home.  Air leakage puts extra burden on your heating and cooling system and makes it harder and more expensive to maintain comfort.  Air sealing is the remedy for air leakage.  Building shell work is always air sealing, air sealing again, air sealing some more, and then insulating.  The importance cannot be under emphasized.

Also, a proper HVAC design of your home can determine where additional insulation will be the most effective.  You want an ACCA Manual J room by room load calculation.

That’s a hard no.

Cold climate heat pumps can output 100% of their rated capacity at -5F, and 78% of rated capacity at -22F.

Some locals right here in Madison, WI heat their homes with only a heat pump, and no backup system (fire place or wood burning stove) or no dual fuel system.

A tight, well insulated house is crucial to maximize the odds of success. And an ACCA Manual J room by room load calculation!

It’s in your best interest to at least be aware of the important distinction between a CO alarm and a CO monitor. Watch this video on YouTube from This Old House.

1. Replacing a furnace in an emergency, not planning ahead.
2. Not getting an ACCA Manual J Room By Room Load Calculation completed before replacing HVAC equipment.
3. Replacing your windows trying to fix a comfort issue.
4. Using a recirculating range hood fan.
5. Not having a low level CO monitor in the house if you have combustion appliances.
6. Hiring someone who will tell you what you want to hear.
7. Buying equipment or doing upgrades on your house based primarily on where you get rebate money.
8. Venting a bath fan into the attic.
9. Not using your range hood exhaust fan.
10. Insulating any part of the house before air sealing.
11. Getting your ducts cleaned because you saw a commercial.
12. Not owning an inexpensive indoor air quality monitor.
13. Not testing the home for radon.

1. 3,650 F. Your natural gas or propane furnace burns gas at 3,650 F. That’s a lot of extra heat just to get the air temperature to 72 F.
2. 27%. If 1% of your attic is uninsulated (like the attic hatch,) the entire attic insulation becomes less effective by 27%.
3. $1,856. The average U.S. household spends $1,856 on energy costs each year. 43% for space heating, 19% for water heating, 8% for space cooling, and 5% for lighting.
4. Factors. Thermal comfort at home is determined by temperature, relative humidity, and drafts…not just temperature.
5. D-. A house built “to code” is the worst house that you are legally allowed to build. It’s the bare minimum, a D-.
6. Plumbing. Ductwork, not duck work, is plumbing for air. If you are not okay with your plumbing leaking, then why are you okay with your air ducts leaking? Duct tape, ironically, is not for duct work.
7. Goal. The goal of home performance is not saving money, the planet, or making you more comfortable. The goal is control over your home. This is not about power, it’s about finesse. Houses need to be tuned.
8. It’s All Good. Insulation does not stop heat flow, it just slows it down. Different types of insulation have different abilities to slow down heat flow. All insulation is good so long as it is installed correctly.
9. Biggest Polluter. The kitchen range hood is by far the biggest cause of poor indoor air quality in a home.
10. Stirred Up. Vacuuming stirs up a large volume of dust particles. Circulate and clean the air in your home using the HVAC fan. At the very least, run your fan for a few hours after cleaning.
11. Silent Killer. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas with no color, taste, or odor. It is formed when incomplete combustion occurs. Low level CO monitors help protect you from being poisoned. Or get rid of gas appliances, like we did.
12. Not For Smells. The purpose of a bath fan is to expel moisture. Just as a chimney goes right above the fire, so too should a bath fan go directly above the primary source of moisture.
13. On Or Off. Most HVAC equipment is “single stage.” This means it’s either on at 100% or off (0%.) When taking a long drive in winter, do you oscillate the heat between full blast and off? Of course not. Avoid buying single stage equipment.
14. Service Fee. Your utility company charges you a monthly service fee for natural (methane) gas. It’s about $30/mo ($360/yr.) To avoid this fee, stop using gas. The utility can remove the meter, and your fees.
15. Mold. Mold is always a visual sign of a moisture problem. Stop the moisture, stop the mold. Do this in two ways. First, exhaust moisture sources (baths, kitchen range, dryer) directly outside the home. Second, air seal the home. Moisture gets transported into and out of a home predominantly through air leakage.
16. This Is Not Texas. Bigger HVAC equipment is not better HVAC equipment. Oversized equipment leads to uncomfortable homes and high utility bills. “Load calculations” must be done to accurately determine the amount of heating and cooling the home needs. Then, and only then, should you go find equipment that can match the load.
17. Unstoppable. Heat transfer is constantly happening in our universe. Our best efforts, insulation, only slow it down. Insulation is measured by how much it resists heat flow – thus “r-value.” Bigger numbers are better here.
18. Sources. We can generate electricity from a variety of sources like wind, hydro, solar, geothermal, biomass, splitting atoms, or burning fossil fuels. This diversity of energy sources increases our local and national autonomy.
19. 2,000 Gallons. Breathing dirty air is like drinking dirty water. Your home is a pool of air that is two to five times more polluted than outdoors. You breathe 22,000x/day, taking in 2,000 gallons of air.
20. Sealing Windows. Air flowing into or out of a house needs a pathway (hole) and a pressure gradient. The greatest pressure differential is at the top (attic floor) and at the bottom (rim joist) of the house. Because there are holes in these locations, that is where there is the most air leakage. Seal here first.

1. Online. The energy code for Wisconsin is found here.
2. Seven Air Changes. Your home is considered acceptable if it has seven or fewer air changes per hour when tested with a blower door.
3. All Metal. Building framing cavities may not be used as supply ducts. There should be metal on all four sides of rectangular ductwork.
4. Return Ducts. Building cavities may be used as return ductwork.
5. Sealing Not Required. Duct systems that are totally within the house do not need to be sealed.
6. Attic Insulation. R-49 is the code minimum for attic insulation.
7. Window Insulation. R-2.86 is the code minimum for windows. That’s a window with a “U-factor” of 0.35.
8. Exterior Wall Insulation. For wood framed exterior walls, which is most houses, R-20 is the code minimum for exterior wall insulation. Alternatively, you could use R-13 in the stud bays and R-5 foam board around the outside.
9. Basement Insulation. By code, your basement walls are supposed to be insulated. R-15 continuous insulated sheathing on the interior or exterior of the home, or R-19 cavity insulation at the interior of the basement wall.
10. Furnace. Natural gas furnaces are required to be at least 90% efficient.

Here are some things to consider.

No horse in the race. Don’t ask the barber if you need a haircut. We are an independent consulting company who is not selling any product nor getting kick backs from contractors. Our goal is to tell you the what and why of your home concerns.

Diagnose first. Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice. We are not giving you just another opinion based on what we have seen in the past. All houses are different. We are not guessing. We are testing. Pre and post tests help to ensure accountability on work you pay to have completed.

Zoom out. Homes are a system of systems. What happens to one system impacts the performance of other systems. It’s a domino effect. Your typical contractor comes into a house to look at the component he sells or fixes. In contrast, we zoom out. We understand and test how systems relate to one another and contribute to the issues at hand.

Tools. We use high tech building performance testing tools to diagnose the house. We care about what it is doing – about how it is performing. We can tell you the root reason for the issue you are experiencing, and how to fix it. We don’t just give you another opinion.  Our opinion is backed up with testing data.  We don’t guess, we test.

We don’t fix it. We are not the contractor that you call to fix your house.  We don’t swing hammers, we don’t add insulation, we don’t modify ductwork.  Moreover, we are not salesmen. We don’t push any product, or steer you to a certain action. We test, educate, and offer options.

We are the doctor visit. You can’t walk into a pharmacy and get whatever drugs you want without first going to a doctor. While a the doctor he will perform testing so that you can be accurately diagnosed. You would never be given a prescription without an evaluation. We are the doctor visit for your house. We diagnose homes and give you a “prescription.”

Focus On Energy Trade Allies have to air seal and insulation according to the Material and Installation (M&I) Standards which can be found here.  

You can also schedule a post-installation assessment with testing to verify installation integrity.

Yes. A home performance test, known informally as a “home energy audit,” is carried out by professionals who hold industry-recognized credentials.

Madison Home Performance (MHP) is in good standing as a Focus On Energy Trade Ally.

Also, MHP is certified by the Building Performance Institute (BPI) as a Building Analyst Professional (BA-P.) This credential requires renewal every three years through either testing or earning continuing education credits.

Yes. We have electrified our own homes and removed the gas meter.

Part 1 – The building enclosure (building envelope / building shell / skin.) It consists of the exterior walls, ceiling, floor, foundation, windows, and doors.  It is made better by air sealing and insulation.

Part 2 – The mechanicals (HVAC / engines.) It consists of heating, cooling, and ventilation equipment.  This equipment is often replaced in emergency situations, often oversized, and often single stage.

In a battle between the building enclosure and the mechanicals, the building shell always wins.  New mechanicals cannot compensate for a poorly designed and poorly built building.  Always do shell work before replacing HVAC equipment.  And get a load calculation done!

Let’s keep this real simple. It’s a container. As renowned building scientist Dr Joe Lstiburek says, “a building is an environmental separator.  Its job is to keep the outside out, and the inside in.”

Control.

A high-performance home is a home where complete control is maintained over indoor air quality, moisture, air flow and pressure, and heat flow.  This list is in order of importance. 

When we prioritize health/safety and comfort in our renovations, we end up getting energy efficiency and building durability as an after thought. The later benefits are side effects, and often not the primary goal of homeowners.

In a word: control.  More specifically: increase comfort, enjoy consistent temperatures across different floors and rooms, lower heating and cooling costs, experience healthier indoor air quality, and have a more energy-efficient home.

The typical trouble spots include attics, interior walls, electrical outlets, and light fixtures—areas where it is easy for warm air to escape or sneak into your home against your best intentions.

Common household leaks are behind attic knee walls, the attic hatch, wiring holes in the attic floor, plumbing vents going into the attic, recessed lights, furnace flue or duct chase ways, the basement rim joists, and windows and doors. To generalize, your home leaks most at the top and at the bottom. 

Part 1 – The building enclosure (building envelope / building shell / skin.) It consists of the exterior walls, ceiling, floor, foundation, windows, and doors.  It is made better by air sealing and insulation.

Part 2 – The mechanicals (HVAC / engines.) It consists of heating, cooling, and ventilation equipment.  This equipment is often replaced in emergency situations, often oversized, and often single stage.

In a battle between the building enclosure and the mechanicals, the building shell always wins.  New mechanicals cannot compensate for a poorly designed and poorly built building.  Always do shell work before replacing HVAC equipment.  And get a load calculation done!

Heating, ventilation, air conditioning. It’s the engines or machines of the house.

Your HVAC system is important because it conditions the air in your home.  It makes the air warmer and more humid in the winter, and cooler and less humid in the summer.  In a way, we can say that the air inside your home is expensive air.  You pay to have it at a certain temperature and relative humidity so that you are comfortable. 

• A typical furnace in Wisconsin burns a gas (methane or propane) which then releases heat that is distributed throughout the home.  A heat pump does not create heat by burning anything.  A heat pump only moves heat.  A heat pump moves heat from outside to inside in winter, and from inside to outside in summer.  So it heats in winter and cools in summer.  Think of a heat pump as a two way air conditioner.
• Because they do not create heat, heat pumps can be over 100% efficient.  The warmer it gets, the more efficient they become.  A 400% efficient HP is not uncommon.
• Heat pumps use refrigerant to transfer heat into and out of the home.  
• Heat pumps run on electricity.  
• Heat pumps become less efficient as temperatures get colder.
• You can purchase a “dual-fuel” heat pump which has a natural gas or propane back up for when it gets very cold.

Yes.  People have gone all electric in Minneapolis, MN, let alone Madison, WI.  Heat pump technology, and cold climate heat pump technology in particular, has accelerated the transition off fossil fuels and toward homes that are more safe, comfortable, durable, and energy efficient.

Start with easy things.  Replace your water heat with a heat pump water heat, switch to an induction stove, and you are well on your way to an all electric home.  

One member of our team currently lives in an all electric retrofit home.  It is a 2000 square foot single family ranch in Madison, WI.

Symptoms include lingering odors, musty smells, stale or stuffy air, condensation inside or outside of windows, excessive indoor humidity levels, mold, mildew.

Perhaps, as this depends on your goals.

The price tag for geothermal is high.  Boring down into the earth is not cheap.  Perhaps all the neighbors want to go in on a common ground loop and share the costs?

Other technology exists that challenges geothermal heat pumps.  Explore the efficiency of air to air ducted heat pumps.  Cold climate air to air heat pumps have been tested and proven to work in our climate – putting out 78% of their rated capacity at -22 Fahrenheit.  There is the potential for significant savings when comparing this type of heat pump to a ground source (geothermal) heat pump. Ask us, as our team members live with them.

Most HVAC replacements (>75%) are done when a system breaks and homeowners are in an emotional state of emergency.  Needless to say, high quality decisions are a unicorn.  Plan ahead, or replace your system before it quits.  

An HVAC design can tell you how much heating, cooling, and ventilation your home needs so that you get the properly sized system.  Additionally, the design can tell you what building shell work will have the greatest impact on reducing the heating and cooling load.  In other words, it will tell you what upgrades are worth doing.

Building shell work (air sealing, insulating) that is done before installing new equipment will often lead to smaller HVAC system that delivers better comfort and is cheaper.

Surprisingly, your car’s HVAC system is more advanced than your house’s HVAC system.  A single stage furnace can do at most 4 of the bullet points below.  Your car’s HVAC system can do them all.

• Heat
• Cool
• Load match – put out the exact amount of heating or cooling you need using the dial
• Dehumidify
• Ventilate (fan only)
• Bring in fresh air
• Keep fresh air out
• Direct air to certain areas of the car cabin using the rotating vents

The following statements are indicators that you may need ductwork modifications or ductwork design.

• You have over 24 feet of trunk ducting and no reducers.
• Your trunk reducers on a capped trunk are not tapered.
• You do not have staggered branch take-offs.
• Each branch run is not dampered as close to the trunk as possible.
• Branch take-offs are straight rather than tapered.
• There is a branch take off closer than 12″ to the end of the trunk.

Each tier is a different price because of the time and equipment necessary to complete the testing and/or modeling. Generally, larger or more architecturally complex homes require more testing time and thus incur higher assessment costs. A 1907 Dutch Colonial is not the same as a 1986 ranch, and a 1500 square foot 3 bed/1 bath Cape Cod is different from a 5000 square foot 4 bed/4 bath lake home. All houses are different.

Additional fees will be applied for homes outside of our service area, larger homes, and homes with multiple furnaces, water heaters, or heat pumps.

Yes. Numerous federal tax credits are available until 2032 like the $150 home energy audit tax credit.  Separately, Focus On Energy (WI only) has residential rebates and incentives too. Conditions apply.

Bitcoin, cash, check.

$1875

Before you get any work done to your home.

Slow down. Your first priority is to know your priorities. Then identify the best way to achieve your goals, and finally compare bids and get work done.

Frequently we assess houses that have just had expensive (20k+) and incorrect upgrades completed. This can be avoided. We encourage our clients not to throw money at an issue they don’t fully understand in hopes that it will fix something. Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.

Yes. Hourly video consulting is available, or you can pay travel expenses outside the service area.

Yes. We do hourly consulting on site and can do select tests based on your needs.

1. Clear access to all mechanical (HVAC) equipment.
2. Extinguish fires and clean out fireplaces at least 24 hours in advance.
3. Secure pets in a safe location and allow access to all rooms in the house.
4. Clear access to attic hatches and crawl spaces.
5. Clear the parking space in the driveway closest to the front door for equipment hauling.

No. Nevertheless, it is highly advisable for homeowners to be at the house and easily accessible in case any urgent issues are discovered during the audit. Moreover, a post-assessment debrief provides an excellent opportunity to explain and visually demonstrate the identified home issues. This educational moment has proven to be valuable for homeowners, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding of their home’s performance and potential improvements.

• We take a week to write up a personalized report (tiers 2-4)
• You take one to two days to review the report
• We have a 45 minute online video meeting to discuss the report, answer questions, and identify next steps
• You hire a contractor(s) to complete the recommended renovations.
• You hire us back (optional) for a post-test. A post-test is where we use our testing tools to verify that the work you just paid for was done right. We make sure you get what you pay for.