Cozier – and cheaper, too

A Beaverton woman learns that there's money to be saved in making one's home more efficient

By Laura Stanfill

The Times, Nov 9, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Laura Stanfill / The Times

Margaret Young has been upgrading her Beaverton home’s energy efficiency by participating in the Energy Trust of Oregon’s Home Performance with Energy Star program.

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Margaret Young of Beaverton is looking forward to a cozier winter, thanks to Energy Trust of Oregon.

Young is participating in the nonprofit’s program, Home Performance with Energy Star.

“A lot of people don’t realize if they take a few steps, they can get ahead of the energy crisis,” she said.

Young purchased her home in the Highland Hills neighborhood in 2000 and retired two years ago from Gas Transmission Northwest, now TransCanada. Her job made her especially attuned to the high cost of energy.

Her house’s energy weaknesses were diagnosed during a four-hour test on Oct. 10 by a certified contractor. Once all the suggested improvements are made, the energy savings, coupled with cash incentives and tax credits, are expected to pay back Young’s intial investment in seven years, then continue saving her money. The program offers up to 30 percent energy savings for homeowners who decide to participate.

“Energy Trust incentives can help you offset some of that cost,” said Susan Jowaiszas, spokeswoman for the nonprofit. “Some of the measures even get Oregon state energy tax credits. The whole package is a true incentive to make your home more energy efficient, and that helps all of us. The less energy we’re using, the less we have to make.”

Making the call

Once learning about the program, her first step, Young said, was calling Energy Trust of Oregon. A representative came out to do a free review to see if her home would qualify for the program, which it did.

Young’s next step was to go to the Energy Trust Web site and choose a contractor from the nonprofit’s trade affiliates. She selected Paul Case, owner of Home Visions West, a Hillsboro-based business specializing in weatherization for more than 20 years. Case is certified through the Building Performance Institute, a national organization, to implement Home Performance with Energy Star.

“I think most people we’ve done it for notice a difference right away, especially when we get to this time of year with the weather,” Case said. “The next day you can feel the difference in the house.

The furnace runs less, it won’t run as often, it won’t take as long to heat the house and you’ll have lower bills.”

For the diagnosis, Case hooked up equipment to suck air out of Young’s house, which in turn sucked air into the leaking areas. Young said she could feel and see the leaks during the process, which usually takes three to four hours. The testing analyzes the home as a whole to find its leaks.

“We’re going top to bottom, looking at everything, measuring everything, heat-loss calculations, and proposing what should be done,” Case said.

All houses, he said, are tested to a common cubic-feet-per-minute leakage rate, which is standard across the country. The rate is based on calculations of the home’s size, square footage and volume. Case said Energy Trust has standards in place to make sure contractors don’t tighten the houses too much, which can cause safety risks.

Young’s house was found to have a leakage rate 65 percent higher than the tightness limit.

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