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Welcome to the 80th episode of Dr. Energy Saver's On the Job Video Series!This episode is all about the importance of basement wall insulation in home comfort and energy savings. Basements are a subject that Larry Janesky, owner and founder of Dr. Energy Saver, knows very well. After all, he's been in the basement waterproofing business for over 20 years as the owner and founder of Basement Systems -- the world's leading basement waterproofing network. In this video he explains why basements are so damp and cold, and how much impact an uninsulated basement can have on the comfort of your home and your energy bills.
The concrete walls in the basement are very dense and cold year-round. The ground is cold and during the winter, the outside air is equally cold. According to the laws of thermodynamics, heat tends to travel from more to less. That means that a significant portion of heat produced by your boiler or furnace will tend to escape to the outside through the basement walls -- a problem that Larry demonstrates using thermal imaging.Watch the results in the thermal imaging camera as the basement walls are insulated with FOAMAX. FOAMAX is a special type of polyisocyanurate rigid foam insulation board that is especially suited for basement walls. It has a high R-Value per inch, and -- unlike other types of rigid foam -- it can be left exposed in a basement. FOAMAX is also waterproof and acts as a vapor barrier, directing any wall seepage to the perimeter drain system installed down below.Visit our website for more information about FOAMAX and other basement wall insulation options, and don't forget to subscribe to our channel for the latest videos!

Insulating Basement Walls with FOAMAX

Welcome to On the Job Episode 74! In this episode we will discuss yet another side effect of running leaky ducts through an unconditioned, vented attic: mold.
The second most common trigger of indoor allergy symptoms in the U.S. is mold. It will grow everywhere in your home that possesses the three main conditions in which it thrives: warmth, high humidity and presence of organic matter for mold to feed on.
A vented attic, with leaky ducts just happens to provide the perfect environment for mold growth, as Larry Janesky, owner and founder of Dr. Energy Saver shows us in this video.
He takes to a home in the Northeast where hot air leaking out of the ducts and condensing all over the cold attic surfaces led to a bad case of mold on the wooden roof deck. If the leak persists, the mold will keep growing and the roof deck will start to decay, eventually affecting the structural integrity of the roof.
To make matters worse, the air that began leaking into the attic is air that the homeowner paid to heat. It is now being wasted through ducts. By sealing and insulating the ducts and air sealing the attic, he completely isolated the living area from this unconditioned space. This method used by Dr. Energy Saver, will not only prevent future mold growth in the attic, but it will also make the rooms below the attic more comfortable and the entire house more energy efficient.

Sealing Ducts to Prevent Mold in the Attic

Welcome to On the Job Episode #73! In this episode, we will discuss the impact of leaky air ducts in the attic on the total rate or air leakage in a home.
Many of our On the Job videos explore the energy consumption and comfort problems caused by ducts that run on unconditioned attics.
We also have videos that explain the way air moves inside a building, the pressure differences between the bottom, top, and middle levels of the structure, and how air leakages in the attic have more of an impact on energy consumption than air leakages in the living, or conditioned spaces.
The air that leaks through air ducts in the attic is air that you pay to heat and cool throughout the year. This is air that is not getting to the rooms that it needs to heat and cool.
The test in the video will show that even when the air handler is not running, air from the conditioned space is still escaping through the ducts.
Exactly how much air escapes?
With the help of a blower door test, Larry Janesky, owner and founder of Dr. Energy Saver, will test a home with unsealed air ducts in the attic, and then run the same test again after the ducts are sealed.
With no other air sealing work performed, the results show that in this particular home, the leaky ducts alone counted for 8% of the total air leakage.
How much air is leaking through ducts in your home? How much more comfortable would be the rooms in your home with this simple and affordable improvement? How much would you save in energy bills? Contact a Dr. Energy Saver dealer in your area today to find out!

How Sealing Attic Ducts Reduces Total Home Air Leakage

In Episode 72 of the “On the Job” video series, Larry Janesky, owner and founder of Dr. Energy Saver, speaks about a problem that is common during cold winters: ice damming on the roof. While ice dams don’t happen very often, when icicles do appear on the edge of the roof, the consequences can be disastrous. Ice dams occur after snow storms when heated roof shingles cause the snow to melt and the outside temperatures are cold enough to freeze dripping water at the edge of the roof, forming an ice barrier.When that happens, the water from the melting snow gets trapped behind the icy wall and usually finds its way into the house, through the gaps between the shingles. The water not only can damage the roof itself, but it can also leak into the attic and into wall cavities, causing extensive damage to the home. What causes ice damming and what are the ways to prevent it? Larry explains that, while not all ice damming can be prevented, in many instances, the ice dams are a tell-tale sign of a poorly insulated and air sealed home – especially in the attic area. It means that heated air is escaping from your living space into the attic and heating the roof. Most attics in U.S. homes are unconditioned, meaning, the attic is not part of the heated, conditioned living space. The air that you pay to heat should not be escaping to the attic. By properly air sealing all the gaps that allow air to leak out, and by bringing attic insulation R-Value up to 60, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Energy for homes in the cold regions of the U.S, you will keep the heat where it belongs: inside your living space. The temperatures in the attic will be similar to the outside temperatures and the shingles are less likely to be heated and cause snow melt. While making your home more comfortable and energy efficient, in many cases, this will also help alleviate ice damming problems and protect your property from damages caused by ice dams. Please note that ice damming can occur due to other circumstances such as sun heat on the shingles. Monitoring your roof after snow storms, removing some of the snow from the roof, and other preventive measures might still be necessary even if your attic is properly air sealed and insulated.

Preventing Ice Damming

In Episode 71 of the On the Job Video series, Larry Janesky, owner and founder of Dr. Energy Saver, walks us through the attic of a home in Connecticut that had been previously insulated by another contractor to illustrate common mistakes being perpetrated by many insulation contractors across the country.
The owners of this home had serious comfort issues, with uneven temperatures around the house and rooms that were just drafty and hard to heat. They called contractors from the state energy program for help. After a quick energy audit, the contractors informed the homeowners that they would benefit from additional attic insulation -- and the contractor was then hired to add inches of blown fiberglass to the attic.
After the work was performed, however, the home was still just as uncomfortable as it was before. That is when they decided to call in Dr. Energy Saver and find out what went wrong. After performing a blower door test, Larry and his team realized that there was a significant amount of air leaking in and out of the house, greatly impacting comfort and energy savings.
Sure enough, when Dr. Energy Saver’s technicians inspected the recently insulated attic they found out that no air sealing was performed in the area. The only way to stop cold air from leaking into a house and making it uncomfortable is to stop heated air from leaking out – and since heated air rises, it usually leaks out of the upper levels of the house. The smallest gaps in the building, such as those around pipes and wires, lights, bathroom fans, duct chases and other ceiling fixtures, can amount to huge leakages. Blown fiberglass does nothing to stop air leakages. The air flows right through it.
It is, therefore, very important to thoroughly air seal the attic completely before applying insulation. In this case, Dr. Energy Saver had to vacuum all the fiberglass insulation out of the attic just to be able to access the areas that needed to be sealed. After air sealing the attic, a new blower door test showed that they were able to reduce overall air leakage by 20%. After that, new plywood dams were built to contain the new cellulose insulation, which has a higher R-Value per inch than fiberglass. This brought the R-Value of the attic insulation up to U.S. Department of Energy’s recommended levels for the Northeast.
According to Larry, installing attic insulation without air sealing is malpractice, yet it is a very common practice among contractors because homeowners aren’t always aware of the problem. We hope this video will help homeowners across the U.S. make informed decisions when it comes to improving comfort and energy efficiency in their homes.

Attic Insulation Done Wrong... and How to Do It Right!

Welcome to the 70th episode of “On the Job”! In this episode, Larry Janesky, owner and founder of Dr. Energy Saver, takes us to the attic of a colonial home in Newtown, CT to speak about mold in the attic. Mold problems are quite prevalent in many conventionally insulated, unconditioned attics in the northeast – and in virtually any area of the country where winters are cold and houses are heated. In this particular home in Newtown, the problem is so widespread that it is possible to see the dark mold stains all over the wooden surfaces. Such a wide infestation may eventually cause wood decay and compromise the structural integrity of the roof, but it also raises serious health concerns for the family living in that home. What causes mold problems in the attic? As Larry will show, the problem begins with lack of proper air sealing. Heated air – the air that you pay to heat your home – rises and leaks into the unconditioned attic through all types of gaps, such as holes around pipes and wires, canned lights, unsealed attic hatches, and bathroom fans that vent into the attic instead of the outside. During the winter, an unconditioned attic is usually just as cold as the outside, and so are the roof and wooden structures. When heated, humid air infiltrates the freezing cold attic, it will cool down and per each degree it is cooled, relative humidity rises 2.2%, often bringing the RH levels in the attic up to 100%, at which point condensation occurs all over the cold surfaces.The wood will soak the moisture and create the perfect conditions for mold to develop.In this particular attic, the condensation problem is so significant that the nails used to secure the roof shingles began to rust and drip all over the attic. The only effective way to stop mold from developing in the attic is to properly seal all the gaps and holes. This will help to keep heated air in the conditioned areas from escaping into the cold attic.As it happened in this home, most builders and the typical insulation contact or will not air seal the attic before installing the insulation. That is malpractice because even if R-values are up to recommendations, common attic insulation materials such as fiberglass bats, blown fiberglass or blown cellulose, will only prevent heat from the ceiling from transferring to the attic. It will not stop air flow. Air will leak right through the insulation. An energy efficient attic is the most important component of an energy efficient home. If your home has mold in the attic or if your heating and cooling bills are too high or even if you worry that your attic is not properly insulated visit our website or give us a call to schedule a free evaluation and estimate.

Mold in the Attic

In this video John explains home performance as the scientific concept that considers every house as a system comprised of different, smaller systems. Here’s the catch: every system influences the rest, which makes home performance so very crucial to home health. For that reason, Dr. Energy Saver by Global Dwelling adopts a holistic, whole-house approach when evaluating individual problems like comfort, energy consumption and indoor air quality issues. The goal is not to solve one single issue, but improve the overall home performance in all these areas. Call Dr. Energy Saver by Global Dwelling if you’re experiencing discomfort inside your home, with rooms that are too cold or too hot, cold drafts and cold floors during the winter, high humidity and musty odors during the summer, indoor allergies year-round, or if your energy bills are just too high. Schedule a comprehensive home energy audit and see how our certified and trained professionals can help you make your home greener and more comfortable. We service Woodstock to Kingston and Hudson to Saugerties.

Understanding Home Performance

John and his team often encounter homeowners that are concerned about their windows and doors, which may be the result of some misinformation gathered over time. In fact, the vast majority of homeowners credit their windows and doors as the single major source of air leakage. That is a very common misconception according to John. While air does often leak through windows and doors, most whole-house evaluations show that windows and doors are far from being the most significant source of energy waste. Because the air inside a building always moves upwards, areas like the attic and the basement are usually the biggest sources of energy waste. Experience shows that once these areas are treated, the minor leakages typically found around windows and doors are actually necessary to provide the needed air exchange to keep the home healthy. While energy-efficient replacement windows and doors are always a desirable feature, they are not usually the first upgrade to tackle when it comes to improving overall energy performance -- unless the existing windows are very old and damaged.
We service Hudson to Saugerties and Woodstock to Kingston .

Are Windows & Doors the Main Cause of Energy Loss in My Home?

Most Dr. Energy Saver by Global Dwelling’s customers are usually very happy with the results of their comprehensive home energy audit and excited about the possibilities, but they always wonder about the rate of return on their investments. In other words, they often ask how much they will save in energy bills and how long it will take for the investment to pay off. Knowledge is key, which is exactly why Dr. Energy Saver by Global Dwelling technicians provide a full report identifying what the savings are, as well as the rate of return and payback period. The payback period is always estimated based on current energy prices, but considering that these prices have been soaring over the past few years, savings are increasing and payback periods are getting shorter. “We provide a very conservative estimate of what the savings will be,” explains John. “We’ve seen that some of the payback times we had estimated two years ago have already been cut in half, based on the fact that utility and fuel rates skyrocketed in the last few years.”There are few other investment opportunities out there that provide these rates of return, and none of them without a measure of risk. Energy efficient upgrades pay for themselves in a short period of time, and after that you enjoy significant savings year after year, all the while living in a healthier and more comfortable home. For more information about making your home more comfortable and efficient, schedule your FREE Estimate. We service Kingston to Saugerties and Hudson to Woodstock.

Energy-Efficient Upgrades Pay for Themselves

Dr. Energy Saver by Global Dwelling is a NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) certified contractor, which provides New York homeowners with many advantages!The first benefit is quality assurance. Certified companies are required to uphold strict quality standards. Their work is routinely inspected to make sure these standards are met and that the entire scope of work was completed. NYSERDA also provides training to certified contractors to ensure they are always up to date in the most recent technologies, practices and the cutting-edge of building performance. Through a NYSERDA certified contractor, homeowners also have access to discounts and state incentive programs. Depending on their income level, they may even qualify for subsidies and low interest loans. In addition, qualified homeowners can actually get the work done without any money out of pocket, save money on their energy bills and live in a healthier and more comfortable home. “We want everyone to benefit from what we have to offer!” says John.For more information about how NYSERDA-certified Dr. Energy Saver by Global Dwelling can help you and your family live more efficiently and comfortably, contact us to schedule a FREE Quote. We service Woodstock to Saugerties and Hudson to Kingston .

Advantages of Working with a NYSERDA Certified Contractor

In this video John speaks about optimal insulation practices and recommended R-Values for different areas of a home in New York. In the Northeast, winters can get very cold, and summers are usually hot and humid. For these reasons, John recommends at least an R-60 insulation value in the attic – the most important area of the house when it comes to energy performance. This R-value will prevent substantial heat gains during the summer and heat losses during the winter. John also recommends blown cellulose is the material of choice because of its density, moisture control and fire resistance capabilities. For walls, if there is enough space in the wall cavity to add dense-pack cellulose up to an R-Value of 21. Older homes however, with 2x4 walls don’t have enough space, so an R-14 insulation is the maximum R-value that can be packed into the existing wall cavity without any substantial retrofits to the home.For floors (like the ceiling of a crawl space or basement), the recommended R-Values range between R-30 and R-38. In these cases, we tend to use closed cell spray foam because it helps mitigate moisture and air seal. Fiberglass is not a good choice for these applications because it absorbs moisture and tends to sag and fall apart.
We service Hudson to Kingston and Highland to Saugerties.

Recommended Insulation R-Values for NY and the Northeast

In this video, John explains why every insulation and air sealing job starts with a comprehensive home energy evaluation. First, a Dr. Energy Saver by Global Dwelling technician looks at places where moisture and humidity can be an issue, because mold and dust mites, the two main causes of indoor allergies in the U.S., thrive in humid environments. When you air seal a home moisture issues in any area, including the crawl space and basement, will start to migrate into wall cavities and other places, causing a new set of problems. The concentration of mold spores and dust mite pellets in the indoor air will increase and some people in your family might begin to experience indoor allergy symptoms. Next, technicians perform a blower door test. This test gives technicians a way to measure how much air is leaking into and out of the house, and to detect the major air leakage sources. The blower door helps our technicians make sure that the house is sealed for optimum energy performance and maintains an acceptable rate of air exchange so that the indoor air quality is preserved and your family’s safety is assured. The technician will then use other diagnostic equipment including thermal imaging cameras, to detect holes in the insulation blanket and other opportunities to improve overall home performance. For more information on home energy audits or to schedule a FREE estimate, visit our website. We service Saugerties to Highland and Kingston to Hudson.

Home Energy Audit: For a Comfortable & Energy-Efficient Home

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