Home Insulation Services in Seaford, DE

Challenge

This home in Seaford, DE, built in 1974, exhibits nearly all the typical problems we find in homes built during the 1970s. If you'd like to see a lot more detail scroll through the picture galleries for this one. You may learn a lot. 

Let's start with a list of the main problems:

• Conditioned air escapes from the main living area into the attic through hollow interior wall cavities and through electrical and plumbing penetrations of the attic floor
• The insulation value is very poor - attic R11; exterior walls R7; crawlspace and floors R0 (none). This home was very expensive to heat and cool.
• Infestation of bats and rodents - guano and feces scattered throughout the attic insulation
• HVAC equipment and ductwork located in the hostile uninsulated environment of the crawlspace
• HVAC duct work is very leaky - conditioned air is escaping into the unconditioned crawlspace before it can be transported to the rooms where it is needed.
• HVAC ductwork is uninsulated - in winter heated air is traveling through metal ductwork surrounded by freezing cold air causing drop in temperature of air before reaching rooms where needed. In summer cooled air is traveling through metal ductwork surrounded by hot humid air causing a serious rise in temperature of air before reaching rooms where needed. 
• Huge holes through the floor deck left by plumbers and electricians allow unconditioned contaminated air in the crawlspace to be drawn up into the rooms above. 
• The leaky attic hatch is uninsulated and allows conditioned air from the rooms to be drawn up into the attic.

Clothes dryer ducts are clogged with lint extending dryer run times and driving up energy costs.

Solution

Dr. Energy Saver has a cost effective solution for each of these problems. By cost effective we me the cost of the upgrade will be offset by the energy savings within a few year. That's money the homeowner would have to spend over those years and still not have the advantages of living in a comfortable home with healthy indoor air quality. 
Here is a list of the suggestions we proposed to this home owner. We would like to point out the costs for these improvements may be lowered by special energy programs and special discounts for military and first-responders offered by Energize Delaware:

• Remove existing attic insulation; clean attic floor; air seal leaks with expanding foam.
• Install airtight light covers over existing ceiling light fixture penetrations.
• Replace old, inefficient bath fans with new high performance bath fans and ventilate through roof deck.
• Extend kitchen hood exhaust fan through roof deck properly.
• Install insulated catwalks in attic to provide access to equipment.
• Insulate attic floor to R60 with TruSoft™ blown cellulose insulation.
• Install David Lewis™ attic Pull-down Stair Hatch Cover; insulate and air seal hatch opening.

In addition, at this time no measures have been proposed to make improvements to the HVAC equipment, ductwork, or crawlspace. This will likely follow in the future.