Kim Busk’s CT Homes & Real Estate Blog

I told you I would share the results of my energy audit by Competitive Resources, Yalesville, CT.  Competitive Resources has been contracted by the Connecticut Electric and Gas companies to audit older homes and fix areas that may be causing you to use more energy.  Funded by the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund,   this program which is FREE is a great way to find out where your home is –energy efficiency wise.

 So today, Greg Sherrod and Marcel LaBire from Competitive Resources came to perform this audit.  Both of these young men were courteous, professional and spent time explaining what they found and what I can do to cut my energy bills.  As an added bonus, I found out Greg is a polished blues singer and was a member of the Michael Bolton choir group who  recently competed on TV in the Clash of the Choirs  (Greg is  in the back with the black sweat shirt on)  SHOUT OUT TO GREG SHERROD!!  

Greg performs regularly and you can find him this weekend in Westerliegh ,Rhode Island with the Bobby Christine Band or look him up on myspace.com.  Greg—keep us posted as to your whereabouts so we can offer our support of local musicians and singers!

 Back to my audit–The first thing they did was install a blower through my front door that takes the air out of your house. If the CFM reading is 1300 your home is considered energy efficient and has relatively no leaks, higher than that and they would start caulking and adding weather stripping and identify where additional insulation might help. My 1960’s ranch came in at 1194CFM—so we have an energy efficient home.  You don’t want too low a reading as that would mean your home is too air tight which may lead to mold and unhealthy air conditions inside your home.  (I do open windows on sunny days to air things out—old school training)

Then, they exchanged my light bulbs (not specialty lights like fan lights) with fluorescent bulbs.  Greg said that for every 1 fluorescent you install it saves you the energy equivalent of 4 incandescent bulbs. This comes out to approximately a 7 per cent savings in electric costs in a year.   While Greg was replacing light bulbs, Marcel was installing energy efficient shower and faucet heads where possible (they don’t touch custom faucets or if you have a filter on your faucet –like my kitchen one) According to Marcel, the new shower head uses air to push the water through using 2 gallons per minute as opposed to the standard shower head which uses 3-4.5 gallons per minute.  Considering my sons take 20 minute showers (guess they have become conditioned to my banging on the door!)  this should prove to be quite a savings!

And my favorite new toy they presented me with—the KILLA WATT meter.  Yes, that’s right Kill-A- Watt! You plug this device into your outlet of your microwave, toaster oven, TV, or computer and then plug your item into it. After a week, check the reading.  You might be surprised to find that by unplugging these items when not in use you can save you quite a bit over time.  (Yes, I will report back on that!)

So thanks to Competitive Resources and the Connecticut Utilities (electric and gas companies) for recognizing we are all struggling and every little bit of help they offer is greatly appreciated.

Filed under: CT Green, General Comments, Home Maintenance