Energy Leaks offers you significant energy savings through improvement of your building envelope to retain heating and cooling energy in your home. With 20+ years of experience in air tightness we pride ourselves on results. Our focus is on air tightness and thermal insulation consistency in your building. By performing the blower door testing we identify areas of leakage within your buildings envelope and rectify.
Improvements in:
Air Quality
Sound Proofing
Building Longevity
Eliminating Mould Build Up
Testing Your Buildings Air Flow
Blower Door Testing
How Much Air Leakage Do Houses Need?
In general, houses are usually around 3-5 times leakier than what they need to be for ventilation purposes. All sources of ventilation should be controlled/filtered, as opposed to being uncontrolled. Different construction methods in different climates can produce very different air leakage levels but forced ventilation with energy recovery should be considered in homes that get to at least 7 air changes an hour at 50pa. Depending on where a building is located, dictates how thick insulation should be and what level of air tightness should be achieved. Energy bills would be extremely high in the winter and the air would be so dry that the occupant’s lips would be permanently cracked. So, to some extent the climate dictates what builders can get away with.
Whole House Comfort.
It will make your home more comfortable. Drafty windows and doors make for uneven heating throughout the house. So you end up with some places that are too hot and others that are too cold. Imagine your home heated evenly throughout so that you could put your bed right next to your windows.
Noise Reduction
One of the unexpected benefits of air leakage control is that it reduces the amount of noise entering the home from outdoors. Noise comes in through small holes in the building envelope which are the same ones that allow for air leakage. This is one of the first unexpected benefits that occur when people first move into modern energy-efficient home.
| ACH50 | Natural Air Change | Rating | % Of Bill | % Savings Potential | Ventilation Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 | 0.075 | Super | 2% | None | Constant Energy Recovery Ventilation |
| 3.5 | 0.18 | Excellent | 6% | 1-3% | Occasional Forced Ventilation |
| 5.0 | 0.25 | Better | 10% | 2-4% | Occasional |
| 7.0 | 0.35 | Good | 14% | 2-5% | Small |
| 10 | 0.50 | Fair | 20% | 3-10% | Rare |
| 20 | 1.0 | Bad | 40% | 5-20% | Little To None |
Air Sealing
Conserving energy may not be one of the first benefits most people would think of when thinking about air tightness. An ambitious air leakage reduction program could reduce leakage in half so that 5 to 20% of the total energy bill might be saved. There is definitely a relationship between airtightness and energy costs. Air Infiltration is what we call the movement of un controlled air. Air movement we control is planned and usually allowed for in the home design and needs.
Painless and Immediate.
It’s quick, quiet and clean. About 80% of air sealing of a home can be done by our team of trained professionals in half a day or so. You’ll realize the differences immediately!
Moisture Control
Water & Moisture Problems Are Not Good For Your Building Or Your Health!
Moisture has long been important to building designers, builders and building owners since it is the single most important agent of building deterioration. The following, are common reactions, from whatever the course of moisture:
• Electrochemical corrosion of metal components such as HVAC equipment, ducts, structural framing, reinforcing bars, masonry anchors, etc.;
• The chemical deterioration and dissolution of materials such as gypsum sheathing, ceiling tiles, wood products, and damaging chemical processes;
• Freeze-thaw deterioration of concrete, stone, and masonry;
• Discoloration (staining, “dusting,” irregular wetting, etc.) of building finishes;
• Volume changes (swelling, warping, shrinkage) that can cause degradation of appearance, structural failure, cracking, etc.; and
• The growth of biological forms, including mold, plants, dust mites, etc.
Moisture related biological growth (mostly fungal) has taken on new significance recently because such growth can have a major effect on people’s health, structural capacity, and internal appearance of a building. Using thermal imaging, we can report on the origin of where rain is coming in via a roof system that may be leaking.
Architecturally to Spec?
Have you ever asked yourself, well I designed it, but was it built correctly?
As you may have suspected for many years the homes and buildings we conduct audits on do not comply with the thermal building envelope codes as needed under the BCA in section 3.12 Vol 2 as well as the section J 1.3 in volume 1. So a 5 star home may only be a 3.5 star home. Now is the time you should include thermal insulation scanning and blower door testing specifications within your design specs. Remember a 5% of gaps in the ceiling can contribute to a 50% loss in overall R value performance. Energy Leaks is able to report back to the building design professional and of course the builder, on the integrity of the building envelope for thermal efficiency compliance as well as air infiltration with the use of our state of the art equipment and 20+ years of experience.
Our aim is to ensure that you have designed a quality building, which leaves less guessing work to the builder, and improves the chances of having an overall better quality building no matter who the builder is.
Please feel free to give us a call, to discuss your specifications for individual projects.
New Homes
New Home Buyers Post Purchase Checks. Are You Really Getting What You Paid For?
With the quality of some new homes being constructed there are not nearly enough new home owners requesting we undertake thermal insulation consistency scanning and air tightness assessments using thermal imaging and blower door technology as part of their BCA & Home Energy Compliance.
We have found from the many assessments that we have conducted, poor floor, ceiling and wall insulation in 8 out of 10 homes show significant issues with the quality of installation. Many fail to comply with the standard requirements of their 5 or 6 star BCA ( Building Code Australia ) Many new homes have a warranty period from the builder which is a state building requirement and if you are building a new home or have just purchased a home ask us about a blower door and thermal imaging assessment.
Our assessors can check for BCA thermal building envelope compliance to Section 3.12 for the BCA applicable for the year your home was built.
Air Infiltration is also an issue whereby if your home is leaky then you will also use a lot more energy to heat or cool your home. To the contrary of what most people might think, in most cases over ventilation is the most common cause of moisture issues/Mould issues in the building envelope due to larger swings in internal temperature within the building envelope. Cold air, can hold less moisture, than warm air, so the lower the temperature goes inside, the greater the chance of surfaces hitting dew point. Do you have downlights installed? has the insulation been correctly fitted around them? Are they ventilated fittings? We can liaise with your builder and ensure you get what you pay for and arrange for further action should this be needed to rectify issues that we document for you. Remember in the ceilings alone a 5% gap in insulation levels can reduce YOUR overall R value by 40% depending on how great the temperature differential is between inside and outside. Money is wasted every year when you have a poor building envelope and more energy is used to heat and cool your home especially when you paid for a compliant new home to be built.
For The Builder – Our Pre Handover Checks.
Our Pre handover assessments are designed to ensure, you as the professional builder is protected from further issues with the homes/buildings you build and also ensure that your sub contractors have completed their works in accordance with what is needed and what you paid for.
We review the insulation as installed and report on its compliance to the relevant code of the BCA and section 3.12. Currently on average 8 out of 10 homes we inspect Have insulation and air infiltration defects. We can inspect for moisture and dampness issues which are often in new homes following poorly installed pipes or leaking roves. We are able to inspect and record number of down lights installed at time of handover which will become an issue in the years following as mandatory Disclosure comes into effect. In most cases, rectification works that may be needed to fix a problem we find can be done at the expense of the sub contractor and not the builder, saving you many hours of work, co-ordination and money. Resolving issues after handover can cost 10-100 times after a building is handed over. Ask yourself how much does it cost you to come back and fix a job after the client has taken possession, management and co-ordination costs, and the added stress/frustration to your client. Use our services as a marketing tool that you can use to ensure the 5 or 6 star home performs like a 5 or 6 star home.
Older Established Homes
How can we Assist with your existing 10-20 or even 70 year old home.
