Success Story: Winning the War on High Energy Bills at Home

In 2011, Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle launched the Energy Huntsville initiative to “leverage Huntsville’s expertise in modeling and simulation, systems engineering, technology integration, and testing to create new job opportunities, create economic diversification, and to enhance our national reputation as an energy leader.”

T. G. “Bo” Henderson exemplifies the pivot by defense contractors in Huntsville toward advanced energy technology. Henderson is director of Energy Programs for defense contractor, Scientic, a company with experience in systems survivability, radiation, hardened electronics development and electronic warfare. His professional energy expertise is with hybrid energy systems for military clients.

T. G. “Bo” Henderson is saving $1200 per year after cutting electric use by 44% and gas consumption by 50% with simple home improvements recommended by a comprehensive home energy assessment from a participating AlabamaWISE Home Performance with Energy Star contractor.

Mr. Henderson is also targeting energy waste on his own home front with Huntsville’s residential energy initiative, AlabamaWISE from Nexus Energy Center. He used his skills with energy technology to document his home’s baseline energy performance to compare against energy improvements to verify the impacts of home energy upgrades.

What does his analysis show? Simple, cost-effective improvements made a huge impact in keeping his home cooler during summer months, warm and draft-free during the winter, and more affordable all year ‘round. His out-of-pocket costs after rebates was approximately $800 (which included some DIY air sealing) and is now saving about $1200 per year, Henderson says,  the “effort was very much worthwhile. Nexus Energy Center’s Wise program is awesome. Everyone should participate.”

Mr. Henderson created his energy game plan with a comprehensive energy assessment form AlabamaWISE contractor, Synergy Airflow and Ventilation. Then he put Cathcart Services on the front line for air sealing, duct sealing, and insulation improvements.

The 2900 square foot ranch home was built in 1973 with an addition in 1998. The attic was under-insulated and the addition’s vaulted space had a large area of un-insulated knee-wall that left the new room exposed to high attic temperatures.

Henderson added a foot of insulation to the attic and fiberglass + rigid foam board to the knee wall.

The 5 ton cooling system couldn’t keep the house cool during summer months because ducts were located in the attic, leaked cool air – included one duct completely disconnected, and in other areas, hot air was being sucked into the living spaces.

Sealing recessed can lights, leaky ducts at connections, and air vents to retains conditioned air in the living space and keeps outdoor/attic air out of the house.

Bo Hendersons next home performance project will upgrade his obsolete 5-ton air conditioner with a downsized variable speed unit optimized to the home’s insulation and air sealing improvements.

Outcomes:

Summer 2013- HVAC Bill Dropped by 44%
Gas Heat- 50% Savings

Next on the to-do list is an energy-efficient central air conditioner. The increased thermal performance of his home means he can replace the existing 5 ton air conditioner with a new high performance model that only needs to supply about half as much cooling to double his energy savings. He plans to purchase a variable speed compressor model with variable speed fan to accurately balance cooling with outdoor conditions. Accurately sized air conditioners with variable speed cooling are the ideal way to manage indoor humidity. His current system is oversized and doesn’t run long enough to effectively manage indoor humidity.

— Posted by Brian Brainerd