16 July 2010
The summer heat has finally arrived. Eastvale residents face a trade off: run their air conditioner and be stuck with a huge energy bill or live in a stuffy/hot uncomfortable home. Now there is an alternative.
Maybe you have noticed a red and green REEIS truck around the neighborhood. REEIS is an energy efficiency expert; they identify the simple things you can do to fix the components of your home so that you stop wasting energy.
According to Paul Chenelia of REEIS “Most people think energy efficiency is about either expensive solar panels or windows or just not using energy; it’s not. There are easy things you can fix that make a big difference.”
REEIS has performed an energy audit of several Eastvale homes and found the same troubling conditions. According to Mr. Chenelia “The homes were built quickly. The attic in most of these homes looks like a tornado passed through; insulation thrown all over the place; over 2x4’s, pipes, huge voids.” Insulation may be the easiest and most cost effective fix, right now there is a $0.15 per square foot rebate from the gas company.
The most shocking condition is that most Eastvale residents unknowingly pay money to air condition their attic space. Up to 20% of the air may be leaking out of their air handler, at joints in the attic, and at the registers and returns. This is an obvious fix with a huge impact.
A little less obvious are building envelope penetrations. When you pay to air condition your home the cold air leaks into the attic at ever penetration. Common air leaks include: recessed can lights, speakers, fans, and cable and phone wires. These penetrations add up and allow a tremendous amount of air (energy & money) to leak out of your home.
REEIS performs a comprehensive energy audit which includes pressure diagnostics and thermal imaging to determine the most cost effective solutions for each home. After rebates, tax credits the typical cost is less than $1500 and will generally be covered by less than 2 years of energy savings.
REEIS has offered to reduce the $99 comprehensive energy to $19 for Eastvale residents. Should you elect to have them make any improvements they will credit that money back to you. They have a whole house crew that specializes in making energy efficiency improvements.
This summer you can complain about the heat and huge bills or you can do something about it. One thing is for sure; our energy costs are not going down…and it’s not going to cool down any time soon.
For more information about REEIS visit, www.REEIShome.com or call 951-352-9904
