DIY Network

Steps to Building a Better Home: New Technology From "Home IQ" episode DHIQ-126

(Continued from page 1)

Having Your Home Rated

To see if all these extra home-energy measures helped to increase the Oberg's energy rating, they had to HERS rater, who usually works under an independent contract via an organization called "Home Energy Provider." For the Oberg home, IBACOS was able to act as the home-energy rater.

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	Figure D
	Figure E
	Figure F

The scientists at IBACOS ran a test to come up with the HERS score. The first test was a "Blower Door Test," which is essentially a simple test that involves a large fan and expandable door frame (figure D) that was set up in one of the entry doors. It works in conjunction with a software program loaded onto a laptop computer, which is hooked up to the machine. A sensor is put outside to measure the air pressure and a sensor is placed on the inside of the house also to measure the air pressure. The computer will measure the difference in air pressure between the two.

The fan is turned on to draw air out of the house from any crack, hole or area in the shell of the house that hasn't been sealed or closed up. This gives a good indication of how energy efficient the house actually is. Fortunately for our homeowners, the house was found to be extremely air tight.

A "Duct Blaster" (figure E) is used to depressurize the duct system, which enables the raters to measure the effectiveness of the sealing process. For this test all the supplies and returns are covered to seal all of the intentional holes in the system. The fan is turned on, depressurizing the duct system and with the pressure-gauge meter, the rater can figure out if there are any leaks in the heating-and-cooling system.

The final test is the "Flow Hood" (figure F), which accurately measures the amount of cubic feet per minute (CFM) coming out of the air-flow supply registers in the home.

Note: The duct system for the Oberg house was pre-engineered so that every room sees a pre-determined amount of CFM.

Great News for our Homeowners -- The overall HERS rating for the Oberg house is an impressive 91.4, which means it exceeds the EPA guidelines and is consider an "energy-star" home!

In the next segment see how the Oberg home becomes a laboratory for building better houses.

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RESOURCES :

Lighting for Oberg Home (Lutron Electronics and Sterling Lite)

Lutron Electronics Co. Inc.
Website: www.lutron.com

Sterling Lite, Inc.
20800 Rt. 19
Cranberry Township, PA 16066
Phone: 724-772-7474
Fax: 724-772-3286
E-mail: sterlite@stargate.net

Home Builder for the Oberg Home
Hendolhurst Homes
955 Markman Park Rd.
Baden, PA 15005
Phone: 724-935-5658
Fax: 724-935-0884
E-mail: buildm@zoominternet.net

Moving Services for Oberg Home
Hindman Moving & Storage
Website: www.hindmanmoving.com

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidelines
Website: www.epa.gov

GUESTS :

Brad and Lynn Oberg
Homeowners
Company: IBACOS (Brad)
Title: Co-Founder/Chief Technology Officer
Website: www.ibacos.com

Jeff Winkle
Director of Community Development
Cranberry Township
2525 Rochester Rd.
Cranberry Township, PA 16066-6499
Phone: 724-776-4806
Fax: 724-776-5488
E-mail: winklej@twp.cranberry.pa.us
Website: www.twp.cranberry.pa.us

Greg Allen
Site Supervisor
Hendolhurst Homes
955 Markman Park Rd.
Baden, PA 15005
Phone: 724-935-5658
Fax: 724-935-0884
E-mail: gcrbs@adelphia.net

Eric Newhouse
Systems Integration Designer
IBACOS
Website: www.ibacos.com

Bruce Dickson
Project Manager
IBACOS
Website: www.ibacos.com

Bill Rittlemann
Project Engineer
IBACOS
2214 Liberty Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Website: www.ibacos.com

Ronald Henshaw
Manager, Code Administration
2525 Rochester Rd.
Suite 400
Cranberry Township, PA 16066
Phone: 724-776-4806
Fax: 724-776-5488
E-mail: henshawr@twp.cranberry.pa.us
Website: www.cranberrytownship.org

Dennis Fowler
Cranberry Township Inspector
Department of Public Works
2525 Rochester Rd.
Cranberry Township, PA 16066
Phone: 724-776-4806
Fax: 724-776-5488
E-mail: admin@twp.cranberry.pa.us
Website: www.twp.cranberry.pa.us/publicworks/

Duncan Prahl
R.A., Senior Building Scientist
IBACOS Website: www.ibacos.com