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> If every house rented or sold were to require an efficiency rating the market would work a bit better. There are passive house tests with air pressure measure

by pooper 4y ago

> If every house rented or sold were to require an efficiency rating the market would work a bit better. There are passive house tests with air pressure measurements that can already do this. I love the idea but I don't know how practical the efficiency ratings will be in real life. For example, the "patio" door on my apartment has a wheel that has never worked ever since I started living here early last year. This means there is a small gap which lets heat in (?) in the summer and heat out (?) during the winter. I have reached out to the management several times. They make promises every time but have yet to fix the issue. Why would they when I keep paying rent on time every month with auto pay? In my defense, what other option do I have? I don't have a lot of free time as most of my time is taken up by my own work and I can't afford to spend my free time fighting apartment management. edited for clarity

berjin 4y ago
The idea is that you don't rely on the process but measure the outcome with a device like this blower door tester. Builders are notorious for cutting corners with insulation and sealing air since it's not that obvious to the naked eye. The testing device reveals any cut corners. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msZ_E-4GFs8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msZ_E-4GFs8
- sokoloff 4y ago
  Is a tenant going to want to pay for a blower door test every year? The price would come down if mandated for all rental units, but it’s still going to be a semi-skilled laborer with specialty equipment (and now, a government mandate) for 2 hours minimum, plus all the office, administrative, and bureaucratic overhead associated. That’s not going to be much less than $500 in any case and if you have asbestos pipe insulation, lead painted windows, or other spreadable hazards, you may not be able to test. If you have a fireplace/pellet stove/other solid fuel appliances, you have to have all appliances and ashes cold, meaning some appointments are going to be busts. Other combustion appliances need a shutdown before and startup check after the test. In just the US, this could be over 100K jobs dedicated to just this task, or 200K if needed for all owner-occupied housing every year (rather than just upon transfer). Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on your point of view, but I don’t see a likely benefit commensurate with burning that many people on just this task.
  - Haemm0r 4y ago
    @ Blower Door Test: As it may be an indicator it is not a real measurement for insulation or energy demand of a building. For a compareable result an analysis of the wall and roof structure (structure and surface area) and the corresponsing transmission factors has to be done.

by pooper 4y ago

berjin 4y ago

The idea is that you don't rely on the process but measure the outcome with a device like this blower door tester. Builders are notorious for cutting corners with insulation and sealing air since it's not that obvious to the naked eye. The testing device reveals any cut corners. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msZ_E-4GFs8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msZ_E-4GFs8

sokoloff 4y ago
Is a tenant going to want to pay for a blower door test every year? The price would come down if mandated for all rental units, but it’s still going to be a semi-skilled laborer with specialty equipment (and now, a government mandate) for 2 hours minimum, plus all the office, administrative, and bureaucratic overhead associated. That’s not going to be much less than $500 in any case and if you have asbestos pipe insulation, lead painted windows, or other spreadable hazards, you may not be able to test. If you have a fireplace/pellet stove/other solid fuel appliances, you have to have all appliances and ashes cold, meaning some appointments are going to be busts. Other combustion appliances need a shutdown before and startup check after the test. In just the US, this could be over 100K jobs dedicated to just this task, or 200K if needed for all owner-occupied housing every year (rather than just upon transfer). Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on your point of view, but I don’t see a likely benefit commensurate with burning that many people on just this task.
- Haemm0r 4y ago
  @ Blower Door Test: As it may be an indicator it is not a real measurement for insulation or energy demand of a building. For a compareable result an analysis of the wall and roof structure (structure and surface area) and the corresponsing transmission factors has to be done.