EOS BPI energy audit field week!

Over the last two weeks EOS Alliance Sustainability Team members have been in homes all across Seattle learning the ropes of BPI energy auditing. We've learned how to operate blower doors, manometers, and furnaces under the tutelage of energy auditing expert Bruce Minturn.

Our week of fieldwork was, at first, a difficult transition. We moved from a classroom full of breakfast pastries, never-ending coffee pots, and after-lunch cookies into homes with cold basements and cramped attics. It certainly appeared as if our best days might be behind us, but in time the intrigue of mysterious air leaks and strange building construction made it our best week yet. As it turns out energy audits have more in common with CSI than any of us could have imagined. Turning on the blower door will tell you if a house has air leaks, but determining where they are and how to fix them is a challenging logic puzzle. Of course any good drama requires some danger, and what could be more ominous than an invisible and harmful gas leaking into a home? Well we encountered not one, but two furnaces leaking dangerous levels of carbon monoxide! By the end of training we were a team of unflappable detectives ready to solve energy cases all across the Puget Sound.

Field training wasn't just about television style drama, it was also a chance to become acquainted with the field of energy auditing. Hands-on training made concepts clear and applicable. We calculated volumes of homes and determined their minimum airflow, which we then compared to airflow measurements from blower door readings to make air quality recommendations. We measured air leakage using the blower door and then used a duct blower to determine leakage within the duct system. We also learned how awkward it can be to search through a homeowner's closet in search of air leaks, and how nice it is when a homeowner offers you pumpkin cake.

Next step, field tests, and then we start performing EOS audits all over Seattle!