Welcome to Energy-Sleuth™ the home energy audit division of Infrared Imaging Services LLC

Did you know that according to the US department of energy the average family in the North East spends about $2,379 a year on home utility bills? Unfortunately, a large portion of that is wasted!

Energy Sleuth™ uses a "Whole  house" approach to reducing your  energy costs by showing you how to save in all categories of energy usage. This chart shows where we use energy in our homes. As you can see, heating, AC and hot water make up 55% of your energy usage. That leaves 45%, almost half, mostly in electricity! Source: 2007 Buildings Energy Data Book

Energy-Sleuth™ is an  Residential EnergyScanIR™ Service Provider. We specialize in saving home owners money on their monthly energy costs.

Our whole house energy audit combines the power of thermal infrared Imaging technology, diagnostic blower door testing and a comprehensive check list to give you the "big picture" of where your energy dollars are leaking and exactly where to make improvements! Get an audit, follow our recommendations and you will save money on your monthly energy bill!
 
Infrared Imaging is recognized as the fastest and most cost effective way to find energy leaks. Infrared  is a proven diagnostic technique recommended by the US Department of Energy for identifying areas of heat loss, click here to see what they say about Infrared inspections. For your Residential Energy audit we use only high resolution IR cameras to "find where your energy is leaking" .

A fully automated diagnostic blower door test is performed to determine exactly how leaky your house is and the results are compared to established standards for a home of your size and geographic location. The location of air leaks is documented during the test.

We perform the  Energy-Sleuth™  assessment  checklist . It looks at dozens of energy wasting items, in all usage categories and practices throughout the home to find where the opportunities are for improvement and additional energy savings.

We combine the results of the Infrared survey, with both  visual and Infrared pictures , the Blower door diagnostic test  information and the Energy-Sleuth™  assessment into a comprehensive report for your energy audit. Included in the report is a complete list of the issues found during all phases of the energy audit and our interpretations of the test results. You will receive a prioritized list of what needs to be fixed  to lower your utility bill.

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Why do you need an energy audit? Because your house leaks!

 In this image of a typical wall  and window the dark purple shows  the places where cold air  leaks in.  Each leak is a blast of cold air making you uncomfortable and costing money on your utility bill!

Our high resolution Infrared cameras  can see the leaks around the inside of the window frame, the molding around the window leaks and the right side window sash leaks in the center. Also, the outlet box leaks and there is cold air on the floor coming from the exterior wall.  All these issues are on just this one wall! How many leaks does your home have?

Infrared imaging and a diagnostic blower door test is the fastest most effective way to detect these leaks and others to reduce your energy bills and save money.

Reduce your energy bill now, get an energy audit!

This room is cold because the ceiling is missing Insulation. Only an infrared inspection can find these problems instantly!	They installed the AC vents but removed the insulation! Infrared inspections pay for themselves with the energy you can save.

What is the Stack effect and why does your home have a draft?

Warmer air in your home rises and as it does it pulls in outside air to replace it. This creates a draft, makes you uncomfortable and wastes energy. This natural air circulation is called the "Stack effect",  it's costing you money right now and we can show you how to stop it!

Energy-Sleuth™ home energy audit includes:

1. Residential EnergyScanIR™ survey of your walls, floors ceilings, and doors for signs of leaking energy with our high resolution Infrared camera and diagnostic blower door test. During the energy audit we identify:

• Air infiltration (leaks) caused by bad seals in windows, doors and other breaks in the
  envelope of the building
• Missing/displaced or insufficient insulation in walls and ceilings
• Evaluation of heating, Air conditioning and other major appliances
• Check for water leaks in sub floor radiant heating systems
• Evaluation of overall building systems and energy usages items
• Moisture problems
• Attic and basement insulation check
• Lighting check

2. Blower door test

• Diagnostic air tightness testing to measure ACH (air changes per hour) @50pa , calculate
  ELA, (Effective leakage area) using fully automated blower door system, determine
  sufficient/ insufficient air flow compared to RESNET standards.
• check for leaking AC/heating ductwork
• Identify and document air leaks with Infrared camera

3. We review your entire home, inside and out using our multi point Energy-Sleuth™ check list for any problems in the homes envelope.

4. We combine the information from the Residential EnergyScanIR™ Infrared scan and diagnostic blower door testing with the Energy-Sleuth™ checkpoint survey results into a comprehensive written report complete with the infrared and visible light images, and all test results. We take the time to explain what we found, what needs to be corrected and recommend how you can maximize energy efficiency, reduce energy loss and save money on your energy bill.

5. We give you the Energy-Sleuth™ "Tips and recommendations" list, included with a home energy scan. This document contains many simple and easy to do tips and suggestions on how you can save energy every day, reduce your utility bill and be more green!

6. We are NOT sellers or installers of materials. Our audits are not biased and not dependant on us selling you "other" remedial services. You are free to choose any vendor to do the remedial work or in many cases may choose to begin this work yourself. If you are the "do it your self" type great, we will work with you closely during the audit and explain what we find so that you understand exactly what needs to be corrected and why.

7. We are associated with professionals in Solar PV, Heating Air conditioning, Construction / Insulation/ and windows to get you started with your initial estimates and of course you are free to choose anyone you wish to do the work.

The pictures below show why you need an energy audit.

Infrared can see... The images above came from a home where the owner was about to purchase several thousand dollars of new windows because she felt a draft  by the window.

...what you can't! Its a good thing an Energy Scan was performed to confirm the problem prior to paying for new windows!. What we found was that the windows were OK, the draft was coming from the seam between the wall and floor!  We saved this homeowner several thousand dollars and the inconvenience of a window replacement project because they used our services to see what the problems were  before starting a project.

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New construction Quality control check

NEVER buy a new home or pay for an addition without doing an infrared inspection/ energy audit first. The image on the right is of a new addition, just built and paid for. You can see the differences in insulation along the front wall. When ever a contractor works on the structure of your home always insist for an infrared scan to ensure quality control. The cost of the scan is minimal compared to the overall cost of the project. With Infrared it's easy to see why the living room on the other side of this poorly installed replacement Bow window is cold! Look at the above image, see the heat leaking from the window bottom!  On the inside, blower testing confirms air leakage from multiple places on the interior of this window easily seen in the high resolution images shown below.

You will not get the energy savings and comfort benefits you expected from new windows if they are not installed correctly. An Energy scan with Infrared and Blower door is the only way to make sure you get what you paid for when buying replacement windows!

A short case study

Home owner complains the room is cold and drafty.

Cold air (blue) can be seen leaking in from around the window frame.	Is your door drafty?

What were the homeowner complaints?

• The hallway in front of the door and the entire family room was always cold, felt drafty and was generally uncomfortable
• The heat in this room would cycle on and off repeatedly yet they never felt “warm and cozy” regardless of where the thermostat was set
• High heating bills

What did the high resolution infrared scan analysis reveal?

• In the left picture - Cold air leaking in from around the window frame (blue) particularly at the top left  corner
• In the right picture - Cold air leaking in from around the locksets (blue) due to damaged weather stripping

What were the happy results for this homeowner?

• The thermography report revealed the reasons that the homeowner’s den felt drafty and uncomfortable
• Thanks to their infrared thermal scan and blower door test they were able to find / fix these leaks and many others to make their room more comfortable. They were able to lower their thermostat, save money on their energy bills and be more comfortable in their home.

Save money on your energy bill with  the Energy-Sleuth™ program contact us today!  854-641-5482

Look at the following images, you most likely have these energy stealing problems in your home right now and they are costing you money every month. Our high resolution cameras give the clear detail you can see below.

Missing insulation is not only a cold weather problem! In this image to the right we can see the bright hot spots showing exactly where there is a problem with the insulation behind the wall. The  insulation behind the wall in the attic is displaced and is allowing the superheated attic air to make contact the rear surface of wall. The heated wall is shown by the areas in yellow/white. As the wall heats up  it radiates this heat into the room causing the air conditioner to work harder and  wasting energy dollars.
Older recessed lights are bad, they leak air.  Non sealed, not airtight recessed lights are big energy wasters because Its like having a hole in your ceiling. The two infrared images below taken in summer during a diagnostic blower door test show how the warm attic (in yellow on the left and red in the below image) air is easily drawn into the home. In winter, your heat exits through these holes just as easily. Also, older lights are not rated to be in contact with insulation so usually there is a large space around the light which is not insulated!
	The image to the left of a recessed light fixture was taken during a blower door test . It clearly shows streaks of hot attic air leaking into the  air conditioned  living space. In Winter, Its cold air escaping into the attic. How many leaks like these leaks do you have in your house wasting energy dollars? Let us show you where they all are.

Infrared cameras see what the eye cant. On the right is an interesting image  shown in visible light below. The outside temperature was cool at 55 degrees and sun was shining, making the  attic warm.  Look at where the wood wall meets the ceiling. During the blower door test  you can see the cool air in blue being drawn in from the outside and at the same time the warm air from the attic, shown in red is drawn in from around the recessed light and near the top of the paneling. This house is in desperate need of air sealing!

Infrared and Blower door testing is the best way to find complex insulation and leaky air problems.

Infrared makes it easy to see where cold air (in dark blue) is leaking in from under the window and from where the floor and wall meet. This room has air leaks along the entire length of this wall/floor making it very drafty. Also visible is the dark blue spot about 1/3 from the left side of the window  just under the window sill, you can see where the insulation does not reach all the way to the bottom of the window creating a cold spot, leaking energy and allowing cold air into the home.
Also visible is the dark blue spot about 1/3 from the left side of the window  just under the window sill, you can see where the insulation does not reach all the way to the bottom of the window creating a cold spot, leaking energy and allowing cold air into the home.
The photo below shows a leaking air conditioner duct. The cold air (shown in purple) is escaping from the corner where the two ducts meet. The ducts were leaking costly air conditioned air right into the hot attic. An examination of all the duct work in this home showed similar leakage at every seam where two ducts were joined.   How many leaky ducts are in your home?	The photo above shows the cold air (blue) leaking from the  air conditioner blower mounted in the attic. This was a significant air leak, the connection between the duct work shown in silver/red on the right and the blower frame had a large gap which was not sealed. The dark blue patch is the cold air stream blowing out and up from the gap. This air was blowing so strong that it even made a cold spot on the attic roof causing condensation! The installer had forgotten to apply sealing tape and the homeowner's energy dollars were paying to cool the attic!

 Here is why leaky ductwork is a big energy waster:

The configuration of your AC/hot air heating system and where the duct leak is located will cause your home to have either a positive or a negative pressure.
 
Positive pressure is usually the result of duct leaks located somewhere on the return side of the system. Instead of the blower sucking all of its return air from the home, it gets some portion of its air from the leak site(s), which are typically located in the unconditioned spaces such as the basement or attic. As these sites are usually outside of the homes pressure envelope, consider them to be a source of extra air. This additional air pressurizes the home and forces the air you paid to heat or cool out through all the cracks, vents and leaks in the buildings shell.
 
Negative pressure is usually the result of duct leaks located somewhere on the supply side of the system. Instead of the blower pushing air back into the home, it pushes some portion of its air out through the leak site(s). As these sites are usually outside of the homes pressure envelope, consider them to be a source of lost air. As the system runs, the blower continues to pull in from the air return regardless of what is being lost. This creates a negative pressure inside the home while the air you paid to heat or cool is blown out usually into the attic or basement. Because of the negative pressure replacement air from outside gets forced in through all the cracks, vents and leaks in the building to replace what was lost.
 
Both conditions are inefficient and cause unconditioned outside air, dust, moisture, pollen, etc into the home and waste energy. In addition, a home under negative pressure can affect the proper venting of gas appliances such as your hot water heater or furnace/boiler.

"With our high resolution Infrared cameras, we can quickly find these problems and many more sources or energy waste in your home or office!"

Contact us today at the new  Energy-Sleuth™  website and let us help you start saving money on your utility bill.