If you are planning on investing in the energy efficiency of your existing house, the Southface Home Performance audit will inform you of where you are spending your heating and cooling dollars now and provide you with the guidance to accomplish a positive change if you upgrade insulation, windows, duct systems or other features of the house. This audit can also help resolve indoor air quality problems such as mold, asthma, chronic sore throats, significant dust or allergies. The package concludes with a detailed report that describes each potential improvement and the expected energy savings of that improvement.

One of Southface’s goals for educating the residential consumer is to offer technical assistance for residential construction and remodeling projects. A Southface Home Assessment is appropriate for professional contractors, homeowners, and homebuyers, among others. Southface acts as the consultant/evaluator and does not air seal, insulate, install or seal ductwork, design homes, renovate homes or build homes. This service is most attractive to homeowners who would like to perform the repairs themselves. The Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program was developed by the Enviornmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy and is sponsored by Southface. This program provides Southface trained contractors to perform the comprehensive energy and comfort assessment. A benefit of using a Southface trained contractor is that they can provide an estimate for the improvements, discuss tax credit information and discuss financing options. Some contractors also provide incentives by rebating the cost of the assessment if you have them complete the improvements. Southface is able to perform quality control for this program, checking some of the contractor’s recommendations to ensure suggested improvements are necessary.

The Southface Home Assessment starts with a service call. Southface staff will come to your home, check your attic and crawl space or basement observing your insulation, duct work and heating and cooling equipment. Staff also inspect your windows and look for water management issues. During the assessment two diagnostic tests, a blower door and a duct blaster test, are performed. The blower door test requires that a large fan is inserted in the main doorway with a fabric frame to hold it tight. The air in the house is either pressurized or depressurized depending on the test performed. Air leakage is documented and the fan is calibrated to measure the actual square footage of air leakage. The duct blaster is a smaller fan that is connected to the ducts. By temporarily sealing room vents, airflow is inhibited from its normal flow pattern allowing observation of how much air can be pushed out all the connections, i.e., determine if air is going where you don’t want it to go. These two tests determine the largest energy losses in a house and will direct the recommendations for the most cost effective repairs. After the inspection you receive a detailed report describing areas for improvement and providing a prioritized list of these improvements in order of cost effectiveness. We also provide a list of approved contractors who have been trained by Southface to perform the improvements and who can provide information on federal tax credits for energy efficient improvements.

Southface services are billed at an hourly rate and vary depending on the size/age of the house and the time spent discussing improvement techniques. With a Southface individual membership, costing $35.00 for the year, the assessment cost, charged at a member’s rate, may average between $400-$500. Contractor fees are generally determined by the package of services. Additional information is available on our website: www.southface.org www.southfacehomeperformance.com

The Short List - Southface Residential Green Building Services Comprehensive Energy and Comfort Assessment: Comprehensive assessment of residential and commercial weatherization including the inspection of insulation, duct work, air sealing (visual assessment in addition to Duct Blaster and Blower Door), heating and cooling equipment as well as interior and exterior water management issues. Design Reviews: Consulting for new homes and major renovations; discuss insulation, heating and cooling, duct, and air sealing options. Load Calculations: Size heating and cooling equipment using ACCA Manual J 8th edition and years of experience with high performance homes. Duct Design: Size ductwork using ACCA Manual D. Site Visit: Inspections during or after construction to assess the quality of air sealing and insulation installation. ENERGY STAR Certification for Homes To discuss residential green building support, contact us at (404) 872-3549 ext. 150. Email: homeservices@southface.org