Healthy Indoor Air Solutions

Here are some solutions to provide healthier indoor air quality in your homes.

1. Install a filter with a MERV rating of 13-16 (higher is better) for ducted heating/cooling systems. A HEPA level filter is even better that captures 96% of virus sized particles. This is a great solution for people with allergies or other sensitivities.

2. Seal all ducts with mastic, not tape. This is a requirement of the new Oregon code. This helps reduce leaks that lead to callbacks from air quality and comfort issues.

3. Install balanced ventilation. This is a requirement of the new Oregon code. The supply and exhaust must be within 10% of the same flow rate. You can achieve this in several ways but best is an HRV or ERV which is 1 piece of equipment that saves energy and increases comfort since they integrate heat recovery. While HRVs can cost more than non heat recovery systems, you can save money by eliminating bath fans and integrating the exhaust into the HRV.

Energy Use Effects of Working from Home

As we continue to work from home, you may notice your utility bills spiking. Keeping our homes comfortable over the summer has meant running air conditioners and fans more often or continuously. If those systems are inefficient and if the home is not well sealed and insulated, then you are wasting money and potentially increasing contaminants in the air. Utilities are struggling to keep up with demand and some continue to incentivize residential solar installs to help reduce the load on the grid.

So you want to cut down your energy use and utility bills but how do you do that during a time of uncertainty and financial stress? Here are some things you can do.

1. Practice energy conservation. Turn off those lights and water when not in use.

2. Have an energy consultant assess your home. (That’s us if you are in the Gorge!)

3. Contact your local utility and see if they have incentives for energy efficiency and solar energy upgrades.

4. Contact your mortgage lender to see if they offer refinancing for energy efficiency upgrades. Rates are awesome right now so a great opportunity!

5. Contact your local solar installer to see if solar is right for your home.

Plus, did you know that energy efficient homes sell for more and for faster? HERS rated homes sell for 2.7% more than unrated homes. They also realize a long term financial advantage of lower utility bills and maintenance costs. More great reasons to improve your home today!

Resiliency in Power Outages

Imagine: you are sheltering in place in your grid connected home and it shuts down for days due to an ice storm or wildfire. You have no backup power to stay comfortable, keep food cold and communication devices charged. Now imagine the same scenario but your home has been weatherized so it remains more comfortable for longer and you have a solar energy system with a battery backup that powers your critical loads: refrigeration, lights and communication devices. Through our energy consulting services, we can help discuss and prioritize upgrades that will make your home ready for the future! Click here to learn more about limited time opportunities in the Columbia River Gorge to make your home more resilient.

Healthy Homes & Home Performance - Lights & Appliances

Check out this video to learn how to select new lights and appliances that will help you stop wasting energy!

Healthy Homes & Home Performance - Windows

Check out this video to learn what to look for when selecting new windows for your home.

For the PNW climate, we recommend a U-Value of 0.25 or less and SHGC of around 0.25. Fiberglass frames are our favorite as they are the most stable over time and won’t warp like vinyl. Plus, they are paintable if you ever want to change the color without replacing!

Healthy Homes & Home Performance - Insulation

Check out this video to learn more about the different types of insulation, how to check what type and how much your home has, and how to choose and install new insulation. If your home is insulated, it will most likely have fiberglass batt or blown in insulation as it is the most common and cost effective.

Did you know? If your walls don’t have insulation, you can insulate with blown-in! This will make your home more comfortable and also dampen sound.

Guess what? Our favorite insulation is mineral wool!

Why?

1. Fire resistant

2. Insect resistant

3. Mold resistant

4. Sound dampening

5. Easy to self install

Healthy Homes & Home Performance - Air Sealing

Air sealing is important to help you be more comfortable in your home and improve home health and durability. It’s especially important to do BEFORE you insulate your home. You can use a combination of caulk, foam, gaskets and rigid materials to do air sealing. Watch the video below for a more detailed description of how you can tackle air sealing in your home.

Here are the things to seal around in these 3 areas of your home.

1. Floor: plumbing, gas and electrical penetrations

2. Walls: plumbing penetrations under sinks, outlets and switches, windows and doors

3. Roof: plumbing and electrical penetrations, top plate to drywall, open soffits, any hollow wall cavities

How Not to Waste Your Money with Energy Saving Solutions

Our friend Janine Ehrentraut, with eXp Realty, wrote a blog post about how to not waste your money by implementing energy saving solutions that can also make your home healthier and more comfortable. Check it out here. Also, if you are looking to buy a home and work with Janine, she offers you one of our home assessments for FREE!!!

Healthy Homes & Home Performance - Air Quality Monitors & Purifiers

As we spend more time in our homes, ensuring we have good indoor air quality (IAQ) is critical to our health. In addition to the ventilation strategies we have discussed, changing your furnace filter regularly, and cleaning your home often by vacuuming, dusting and wiping down surfaces with soap and water, you may want to consider an air quality monitor and/or air purifier system.

Air Quality Monitors

Air quality monitors measure different types of pollutants in your home’s air. Before selecting a monitor, consider the things you are interested in monitoring then read product specs and reviews to ensure it is the best fit for you. The following are some types of pollutants that air quality monitors measure.

1. PM = Particulate Matter = fine particles floating in the air such as pollen, dander, dust and smoke

2. VOCs = volatile organic compounds such as paints, carpets, particle board and air fresheners

3. MVOCs = Microbial VOCs for example mold

4. CO = carbon monoxide from combustion appliances such as gas ranges, furnaces, water heaters and fireplaces

5. CO2 = carbon dioxide we produce from breathing

6. Radon gas from the ground under your home

Air Purifiers

Air purifiers clear the air by using different techniques to draw particles out of the air. Look for the clean air delivery rate (CADR) number which measures how much air it filters in cubic feet per minute at the highest setting. The following are some of the different types of air purifiers.

1. HEPA - use a filter to capture 99.97% of particles larger than 0.3 microns, often used during a renovation project with lead paint

2. Activated Carbon Charcoal - often paired with HEPA filters since they can trap odors, gases and VOCs from things like paint and carpet

3. Air Sanitizers - use UV light to reduce and eliminate bacteria, spores and viruses

4. Ionizers - do not require filters but instead use an electrostatic charge to draw particles out of the air to a collection plate or by making the particles heavy to be more easily picked up by your vacuum, these can produce small amounts of ozone so do your research

Healthy Homes & Home Performance - Water Heaters

Do you heat your home’s water with gas or electric heat? Chances are you have a 50 or 65 gallon tank water heater installed in your home. Let’s say that tank is 70% efficient. So for every dollar you put into water heating, 30 cents is wasted! New water heaters waste much less and are something to consider if your water heater is 10 or more years old. If you have a gas water heater, you could replace it with a 97% efficient gas tankless water heater. Then only 3 cents to every dollar is wasted. If you have an electric water heater, you could replace it with a heat pump water heater aka HPWH which is over 300% efficient! But how can that be? Well they use the heat pump technology like your fridge except instead of expelling warm air to keep your beer cold, they take in surrounding warm air to heat the water and expel cold air. Pretty cool right? Most of them have multiple modes for heating including heat pump, hybrid and vacation. Hybrid is a great option during times of higher water heating demand because it combines the heat pump action with the traditional electric resistance elements in the tank. They are also starting to include smart technology so you can monitor and control them remotely from your device!