WMECO provides grant to homeowners to demonstrate strategies for deep energy reductions at home

Feb. 3, 2010.  Our Amherst residential project has been formally accepted into Western Mass Electric's Deep Energy Retrofit Pilot Program.

The program, designed to demonstrate large scale reductions of residential energy usage, will provide grant money to homeowners enrolled.  The process requires submission of plans and specs, written agreements, visual inspections, and testing, but provides excellent rewards to the homeowner.

50% reduction of energy use compared to a HERS baseline model is the entry point for the pilot, with reductions beyond that rewarded by increased grant monies.

The Amherst DER project has been modeled by Jonathan Bates of CET, who is acting as Energy Analyst for WMECO, and is projected to use 77% less energy than the existing building.

The building was pressure tested on Feb. 2, and the blower door indicated that it was leaking 558CFM at 50 Pascals, which translates to 1 Air Change per hour under pressure (ACH50), and just over .1 CFM50/ssf ( cubic feet per minute at 50, per shell square foot - all six sides).  This is a very good result and hits - on only the second try - the careful air tightness standard set during the design phase.  Air tightness of this degree requires mechanical ventilation - which will be provided on this project by a low wattage Heat Recovery Ventilation system.

Most importantly, air sealing to this degree requires diligence by all parties, and a result such as this is a testament to the careful work done by Mike, Brian, Ben, and Travis at Holden Builders, with oversight by Steve Ferrari at FCM SmartBuild.  Their careful energy-conscious work is a perfect complement to the excellent work they have done in all of the more traditional building tasks.