12 I The Lovell Chronicle I April 22, 2010 www.LovellChronicle.com
Energy audits save the environment while saving money
struction company. While
he said he has always been
sympathetic toward energy
conservation, the new train-
ing will help.him do a bet-
ter job building homes and
increase his skills in retro-
fitting energy saving appli-
ances and other measures
to existing homes.
Rather than focusing
on a single problem - an old
heating or cooling system,
not enough insulation in
the attic or leaky windows,
for example - Home Per-
formance contractors are
trained to look at how im-
provements throughout a
home can work together to
produce the best overall re-
sults, Hinckley said.
Training in the pro-
gram includes techniques to
detect and seal off air leaks
that make a home's heating
and cooling systems less ef-
ficient. Home Performance
Contractors use infared
heat guns to detect temper-
ature differences from the
interior of the home to the
outdoors. Scanning ceilings,
doors, windows, electrical
outlets, lighting housings
and other possible leaky ar-
BY BRAD DEVEREAMX
A local contractor is
taking part in a US Depart-
ment of Energy program
that is helping contractors
around the state become
more versed in home ener-
gy efficiency improvements.
The program's home ener-
gy audits cover all aspects
of a home, including heat-
ing and cooling, ductwork,
lighting, windows and ap-
pliances. The improve-
ments recommended by a
Home Performance Con-
tractor are meant to save
homeowners money on en-
ergy bills and help protect
the environment.
Frank Hinckley and
his son and partner, Ty-
ler, recently began prepar-
ing for Home Performance
certification, completing
their training earlier this
month. Training included
60 hours in a classroom and
five home energy audits un-
der the supervision of a pro-
gram mentor.
Hinckley said he has
been a general contrac-
tor for about 30 years and
Hinc. Builders is the latest
version of his evolving con-
Hinc. Employee Steve Williams uses an infrared
gun to identify temperature differences from the
interior to the exterior of a home. The gun displays
an infrared image on a screen on the back of the
device, highlighting hot or cold spots in walls and
ceilings.
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eas, Hinckley and his crew
identify leaks, moisture
buildup and poor insula-
tion.
They place a fan in a
doorway of a home, sealing
the rest of the doorway from
airflow with a fabric door
panel, to test how leaky a
home is. Blowing the fan to
move air outdoors de-pres-
surizes the home and digital
readout equipment displays
the volume of air that is be-
ing sucked through leaks in
the house.
Pressurizing the home
(fan blowing in) allows con-
tractors to use a device that
emits a puff of smoke to de-
tect where air is escaping.
They use the device near
windows and other suspect-
ed problem areas and follow
the smoke to a leak.
Part of a home energy
audit includes using a com-
bustion analyzer to test for
carbon monoxide and gas
leaks from appliances like
furnaces and gas stoves.
Following the compre-
hensive audit, Hinckley said
his company looks at the
best course of action to im-
prove energy efficiency and
which improvements would
be the best value for the
homeowner. Hinc. Build-
ers supply • cost estimates
for proposed improvements
and also estimates of sav-
ings that will be realized by
each proposed item.
Common recommenda-
tions include sealing leaks,
adding insulation, sealing
ductwork, replacing win-
dows, upgrading lighting
and replacing old applianc-
es including water heaters,
furnaces, air conditioners,
refrigerators, stoves, wash-
ers and driers with Ener-
gy Star qualified products.
A contractor may also rec-
ommend renewable energy
sources, such as solar pan-
els, to a home.
"Some retrofits take lon-
ger-to pay for themselves,"
Hinckley said, adding that
they usually recommend
the improvements that will
pay for themselves sooner
than later. ....
Hinckley said after re-
ceiving recommendations,
a client is free to hire a dif-
ferent contractor to do the
work, or decide not to pro:
ceed with more work.
Hinc. Builders offers
home energy audits and has
Frank (left) and son Tyler Hinckley use a controller hooked up to a blower fan
in the doorway of a home to measure the amount of air that is pushed through
the fan to determine how leaky the home is.
been incorporating the dif-
ferent techniques learned
in general contracting proj-
ects and new homes.
"Our interest has been
to improve the general
quality of our work and get
more involved in the retro,
fitting industry," Hinckley
said, adding that retrofit-
ting older homes with ener-
gy-efficient gear is becom-
ing more popular as people
opt to fix up existing homes
rather than building new.
Bi 9 Horn County School District ¢l
Kindergarten Screening
(child must"e 5 years old by September 15, 2OIO)
Kindergarten =creenincp will be held at
Rocky Mountain Elementary School
Ap00122. 2010
Please call Rocky Mountain Elementa W School, 5q8-2211, to
set up an appointmenf or if" you have any %uestions.
If" your child is currently enrolled in our preschool we will be
doing screenings for them so you don't need to set up an
appointment.
Please bring current immunization records
and birth certff'icate.
i Child Find Screenings are in conjunction with BHCSD4€
the kindergarten screening process,
"It will probably be in
10 years, you won't be able
to buy a home without an
energy appraisal," Hinckley
speculated.
Home Performance con-
tractors are held to a high
standard, and the Wyoming
Energy Council is in charge
of checking up on contrac-
tors' work. A reviewer checks
the work at 10 percent of the
home energy audits done in
the state, Hinckley said.
In addition to improving
living conditions at home
and saving the environ-
ment, home energy audits
are meant to save money.
There are several tax cred-
its and tax refunds available
to offset the cost of efficien-
cy improvements, Hinckley
said, in addition to the mon-
ey saved on utility bills in
the long term.
Contact Hinc. Builders
at 272-0003 or visit www.
hincgreen for more informa-
tion.
Town
Lunch Buffet $6 s°
Tues. - Fri. 11 am -2:30 pm
Sat. & Sun. 11 am - 4 pm
::Dinner Buffet $8 :
Tues., Fri: 4:30 - 9 pm
Sat & Sun. 4 - 9 pm
151 E. Coulter, Powell, 754-7924
Open Tues. - Sun. : ...............
11 am - 9 pm
Carry-Out Available : i ::: : :: :i{iii]:::ii
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If you or someone you know
is a victim of mime,
help is available.
Wyoming Division of Victim Services
1-888-996-8816
ApnJ18 - 24, 2010
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