Uncomfortable drafts, window condensation, and high energy bills are symptoms of unwanted air movement and inadequate insulation levels. Greenspring Energy can professionally assess your home or business and recommend the most cost effective insulation and air sealing services. Our Nationally Certified auditors are trained to identify the thermal bypasses that waste your energy dollars.

How does it work?

Greenspring Energy will begin with an energy audit or building envelope analysis in which we use a combination of diagnostic equipment and a visual inspection of your property. Once we have compiled the data and information from your property, we prepare a custom report for you and point out the areas that you can improve the efficiency of your home or business. A combination of air sealing and insulation is usually necessary to effectively make your property more comfortable and reduce your energy bills.

Some typical problems that we see in both old and relatively new buildings:

• Insufficient insulation in the attic - Energy Star standards call for R-49
• Incorrectly installed insulation - knee walls (vertical walls) often lack insulation
• Recessed lighting – recessed lights create a path for air to move through your ceiling
• Window seals - often the areas around windows are the main areas for air leakage and drafts, not the window itself
• Attic access hatchway - homes do not have an insulated and well sealed hatchway

What is Air Sealing?

Air sealing is a process that dramatically reduces gaps and cracks in your building envelope, such as those around windows, doors and in your duct system. These undesirable gaps and cracks add up, allowing conditioned air to escape and unconditioned air to enter. Achieving a tight building envelope is important for getting the most out of the money you spend to heat and cool your home or business. A tight building envelope also helps protect against indoor air pollution and undesirable moisture movement.

What is Insulation?

Insulation keeps your home or business warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The three main types of insulation are fiberglass, cellulose and spray foam. Each of these types of insulation have unique benefits and applications, and through our analysis we can recommend the best and most cost effective insulation for your property.

Why do I need air Sealing and insulation?

A tight building envelope and proper level of insulation reduces the amount of warm or cool air needed to keep your home or business comfortable. Consider the following example. A fleece jacket will keep you warm on a cold day without wind. As soon as the wind picks up, cold air passes through the fleece. The addition of a wind breaker gives you the additional protection you need from the wind. Your building works in the same way. The building envelope is essentially your home’s wind breaker. The insulation in your walls and attic is the fleece jacket.

How do I get started

You can call your local Greenspring Energy office, or send an email to audits@greenspringenergy.com and we can schedule an energy audit or building envelope analysis.