Replies

1. 
   davidmeiland | May 21, 2009 09:28pm | #1

   Are there other players in the market at this point?

1. 
   iptqcnd | May 22, 2009 03:14am | #2

   No, Retrotec a manufacturer of door fans is located in Richmond I believe, but from my research no one is providing a service like I am contemplating.

1. 
   davidmeiland | May 22, 2009 03:19am | #3

   I think I would try to find energy auditors around the country (yours and ours) and find out what they do and what they charge. You're also going to need some training.

2. 
   clinkard | May 22, 2009 03:33am | #4

   fingersandtoes? I believe you hail from our most western province?

3. 
   rdesigns | May 22, 2009 04:53pm | #5

   I would guess that southern BC is somewhat similar to us here in the Pacific Northwest in that a lot of your power comes from hydro, which is not easy to increase--people are talking about removing existing dams here, rather than building new ones.

   My point is:  your best ally in this will probably be the electric utility suppliers in the region. They all have programs and budget $ to advance energy conservation/efficiency, and homes use more power than just about any other sector.

   Check out the websites of electric suppliers in the area and follow links for energy conservation. You will eventually get to somebody that will likely be interested in a service like you are contemplating. You'll want to talk to whoever directs the conservation program(s).

   They provide in$entives to homeowners who improve their efficiency based on an energy audit, and load calculations on paper can only go so far in doing this. Actual testing like you have in mind is the only way to know for sure what's happening, and each house is different.

   My experience is that very few homeowners, on their own, are willing to spend much on something as intangible as diagnostic procedures like yours--builders even less willing. That's why utilities offer incentives in the form of rebates, reduced power rates, etc.

    

1. 
   Taigert | May 23, 2009 02:52pm | #6

   My first question would be, what training have you had, do you have a degree in this field or a inter-provincial reg tag in a related trade,what is your exp. in the field?

   Are you able to do load calculations, such a Manual J? Are you TABS certified?

   I think if you look a little harder you will find that what used to be BC Hydro already supplies these services to the community.

   Good luck,

   Taigert

2. 
   BillHartmann | May 31, 2009 04:03pm | #14

   "I would guess that southern BC is somewhat similar to us here in the Pacific Northwest in that a lot of your power comes from hydro, which is not easy to increase--people are talking about removing existing dams here, rather than building new ones."FWIW my next door neighbor is a business writer for a trade mag for hydro energy. I was over helping he connected to this wireless DSL modem router which he did not even know that he had until I redid the phone connections and went into the modem to see what kind of DSL signal that he was getting.Anyway he was showing me their website which had some video of a recent convention. And there was this woman congressman speaking at it who he interview. I ask him who it was.She was from Washington and had the Snake River Canyon area and IIRC 5 core hydro dams.Anyway she was saying that they could increase the electrical output 3 times with modern equipment and not building any more dams or changing the enviromental impact..
   William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe

1. 
   rdesigns | May 31, 2009 04:41pm | #15

   Very interesting.

   I know there are things like bulb turbines and other advances on the generating side, which, though expensive, can increase production.

   I have attended energy conferences in the NW (Bonneville Power Administration), and the member utility suppliers all have programs in place for home energy conservation. So it seems that they are looking to make their resources go farther on both fronts.

4. 
   danski0224 | May 23, 2009 03:11pm | #7

   Blower door test won't tell you squat about the actual operating efficiency of the heating or cooling equipment.

5. 
   Nuke | May 30, 2009 05:46pm | #8

   I had an energy audit done on my home about 18-months ago. The company was suppose to be reputable, but I challenge the test results. First, they should have declined the audit based on a couple of major air infiltration problems that should have been corrected beforehand--as a result the results were skewed.

   Still, they did not care at all. Their blower fan kept shutting off because it couldn't work hard enought to generate the minimum amount of negative pressure to make the test reliable, or keep the tests results from skewing.

   Still, they took my money, said my home breathed twice as much as federally recommended (duh!), and left with a broken fan. And their sales pitch ... for $6500 (financing available!!!) they could correct the problems and get my home within 20% of the federally recommended target value.

   I said no thanks. Based on the skewed results alone and their unwillingness to acknowledge the problems that existed, I declined the offer. I recanted the next day asking on three separate communications for detail of work that would be done for the $6500 and in every reply got no detail at all.

   That being said having a reputation means nothing. Especially if its coming from an HVAC company looking for $6500 to seal leaks based on skewed results from work-in-progress repairs.

1. 
   jonblakemore | May 30, 2009 06:32pm | #9

   So you called them in with known major air infiltration problems and are now disappointed that they did what you asked them to? 

   Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA

1. 
   Nuke | May 30, 2009 11:05pm | #10

   Yes, and I asked if it would cause a problem--they said know. Hmm. After that, I called the EMC, which also offered the test, but they declined until the repairs were done. Strange, HVAC company aligned to their business needs, and the EMC aligned to mine.

1. 
   jonblakemore | May 31, 2009 07:51am | #12

   If you asked them before, that does seem out of line. 

   Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA

1. 
   Nuke | May 31, 2009 03:28pm | #13

   It wasn't until I asked my EMC, when they refused to consider conducting a test, that I realized that maybe the HVAC was attempting to dupe me.

6. 
   rich1 | May 30, 2009 11:48pm | #11

   The energy audit dudes for the federal energuide grants already do blower door tests.