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Many home walls have inadequate insulation resulting in excessive heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer. Adding wall insulation can significantly address this home performance challenge. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant energy savings and enhanced comfort benefits possible with quality installed framed wall insulation.

Many home walls have inadequate insulation resulting in excessive heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer. Adding wall insulation can significantly address this home performance challenge. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. In particular, the traditional exterior “drill and fill” approach will not work with masonry brick or concrete walls. Use this checklist to get the significant energy savings and enhanced comfort benefits possible with quality installed masonry wall insulation.

Many home basements do not have adequate wall insulation resulting in excessive heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer along with seasonally cold surface temperatures that can compromise comfort and moisture control. Adding basement insulation can significantly address these home performance challenges. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant energy savings, enhanced comfort, and durability benefits possible with quality installed basement wall insulation.

Many home have inadequate insulation and excessive holes, cracks, and missing air barriers resulting in unwanted heat loss in cold weather, heat gain in hot weather, and infiltration of moisture, dust, pollen, and pests year-round. Air sealing leaks and adding insulation between the attic and the home is one of the most cost-effective measures to improve your home’s energy performance. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant energy savings, enhanced comfort, and health benefits possible with quality installed attic air sealing and insulation.

Re-siding of an existing home presents an excellent opportunity to install continuous rigid insulation over the walls while the old siding is pulled off and before the new siding is installed.

Where homes have crawl spaces, they are commonly unvented allowing excessive heat in summer, cold in winter, and humidity year-round. Converting a crawl space from vented to unvented provides an opportunity to create a temperate space for heating and cooling equipment located there to operate more efficiently while also reducing the infiltration of moisture, dust, pollen, pests, and soil gases year-round. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant energy savings, enhanced comfort, and health benefits possible from a quality installed unvented crawl space.

Many homes have vented attics that get very hot in summer and cold in winter. Converting an attic from vented to an unvented provides an opportunity to create a temperate space for heating and cooling equipment located there to operate more efficiently while also reducing infiltration of moisture, dust, pollen and pests year-round. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant energy savings, enhanced comfort, and health benefits possible from a quality installed unvented attic.

Installed correctly, comprehensive vented-to-unvented attic upgrades can significantly reduce utility costs while improving comfort, indoor air quality, and durability of the attic structure.

Installed correctly, comprehensive vented attic upgrades can significantly reduce utility costs while improving comfort, indoor air quality, and durability of the attic structure.

Gas water heaters in many homes have low efficiency and use natural draft exhaust with the potential to back draft or spill combustion gases. High-efficiency gas tank water heaters reduce heat losses with highly insulated tanks, use efficient burners, and have ducted supply and exhaust air that cannot backdraft combustion gases. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant energy savings and safety benefits possible from a quality installed gas tank water heater.

Electric resistance water heaters operate very inefficiently. High-efficiency heat pump water heaters reduce heat loss with well-insulated tanks, produce heat up to 60% more efficiently using the refrigerant cycle, and produce cooling and dehumidification that can be beneficial during hot weather. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant energy savings benefits possible from a quality installed heat pump water heater.

In many homes, bathrooms exhaust fans are missing or very ineffective removing moisture from washing and bathing which can increase the risk of mold and mildew. High-efficiency exhaust fans quietly exhaust bathroom air to the outside, and can operate continuously as a whole-house fresh air system to help dilute moisture, dust, pollen, and particulates inside the home. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant health and durability benefits possible from a quality installed bathroom exhaust fan.

Many homes have excessive holes, cracks, and missing air barriers resulting in unwanted heat loss in cold weather, heat gain in hot weather, and infiltration of moisture, dust, pollen, and pests year-round. Air sealing is often one of the most cost-effective measures you can take to improve your home’s performance. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant energy savings, enhanced comfort, and health benefits possible from quality installed home air sealing.

Gas water heaters in many homes have low efficiency and use natural draft exhaust with the potential to back draft or spill combustion gases. High-efficiency gas tankless water heaters eliminate heat loss from stored hot water in tank systems, use more efficient burners, have ducted supply and exhaust air that cannot backdraft combustion gases, and can provide an endless supply of hot water. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant energy savings and safety benefits possible from a quality installed gas tankless water heater.

Installed correctly, energy-efficient replacement windows can reduce utility costs while improving comfort and durability.

Many homes are missing whole-house fresh air systems that ensure adequate dilution of moisture, dust, pollen, and particulates inside the home. These contaminants can trigger asthma and allergy attacks as well as other health problems. Supply integrated with HVAC fresh air systems draw in adequate outdoor air for effective dilution of contaminants through a duct tied into the HVAC system return duct ahead of the filter. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant health benefits possible from a quality installed supply integrated with HVAC fresh air system.

Many homes are missing whole-house fresh air systems that ensure adequate dilution of moisture, dust, pollen, and particulates inside the home. These contaminants can trigger asthma and allergy attacks as well as other health problems. Balanced heat recovery ventilation (HRV) and enthalpy recovery ventilation (ERV) provide an equal amount of supply and exhaust air adequate for effective dilution of contaminants. HRV’s include a heat exchanger to capture heat from exhaust air in the winter and supply air in summer for added efficiency. ERV’s also help remove unwanted outdoor moisture in summer and retain desired indoor moisture in winter for added comfort. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant health and enhanced comfort benefits possible from a quality installed balanced HRV/ERV fresh air system.

Many homes are missing whole-house fresh air systems that ensure adequate dilution of moisture, dust, pollen, and particulates inside the home. These contaminants can trigger asthma and allergy attacks as well as other health problems. Balanced supply plus exhaust fresh air systems provide an equal amount of supply and exhaust air adequate for effective dilution of contaminants. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant health benefits possible from a quality installed balanced supply plus exhaust fresh air system.

Nearly half of all heating and cooling systems in U.S. homes are not installed to manufacturer’s instructions and therefore perform below rated capacity and efficiency. In addition, older oil and gas boilers have low efficiency and use natural draft exhaust with the potential to back draft or spill combustion gases. High-efficiency sealed-combustion direct-vent oil and gas boilers have efficiencies exceeding 90% and include ducted exhaust and supply air that cannot backdraft combustion gases. However, critical installation best practices need to be followed to ensure a successful project. Use this checklist to get the significant energy savings, enhanced comfort, and safety benefits possible from a quality installed oil or gas boiler replacement.