Are there industry secrets to finding out why your electric bill is abnormally high and are there ways to figure this out on your own? Secret spoiler, there not no big “industry secrets”, its just having the right tools, using the tools correctly and you might be surprised that you are are born with some of these tools.
Yes – Born with, you have to read below, you might be surprised by what I mention.
In my quiver of tools, and for the last dozen years, I’ve built up an array of tools and techniques and refined tuned my own senses to learn why some homes are hotter than others. And what I look for when doing an attic insulation inspection.
Tools that you are born with:
There are a few tools that you as a person are born with and you need to know how to use those tools first. When I visit a home for an attic insulation inspection, I start asking questions. And you might have guessed it, the first tool is your big brain. The reason to ask questions, is because the home owner lives there, and they will help me with getting a baseline of the home, and they will usually tell me their pain points. A lot of the time, they will clue you in on what is going on with the home too, this is always helpful.
Usually a homeowners pain points or complaints are the following:
- The master bedroom is too warm
- My electric bill is really high
- The AC runs all day
- The home is humid and feels sticky
- There is a smell coming from the attic
- A back bedroom has a musty odor
- My home is just not comfortable
These pain points cover about 90%+ what home owners mention doing an inspection. Now to get back to the tools that you are born with. We mentioned your brain. Ask a bunch of questions, this will usually point you in the right direction.
The second tool you have is your nose. If you are smelling a musty or old home smell; depending on the age of the home, this could be a lack of air sealing, bad HVAC ducts or if there is a crawl space, humid air coming up from the dirt floor.
The third tool are your eyes. You are going to look for moisture spots around HVAC registers, low insulation area, mold around HVAC registers and just the condition of the attic. Many times if there is not enough insulation, then humidity and condensation will build up around HVAC duct boots.
Tools That I Bring To a Job Site
If you know me, you know that I am obsessed with the Milwaukee Pack Out system. I have almost every tool for every possible scenario that I might experience at a home or during an inspection.
My most important tool is my ladder. I will use my ladder to climb into 95% of all attics if the customer does not have an attic ladder or stairs.
My second tool is my mask. ALWAYS wear a respirator / mask when going into an attic. There are a lot of hidden dangers in a attic, and you are only born with one set of good lungs.
My third tool is my flash light. Without a good flashlight, it is nearly impossible to see in an attic. My favorite is an LED headlamp so I can use my arms and hands to navigate the attic and check the insulation.
My third tool is my FLIR. A FLIR stands for, Forward Looking Infrared. Most of the photos in the blog are of my FLIR and actual customers homes. This tool allows me to see temperature differential in attics and will help identify cold, warm and hot spots in an attic. This might be my favorite and most important tool, besides my brain.
Remember – most homes in Florida need an attic inspection to check for attic insulation and period duct checks. Secondly, most homes in Florida are under-insulated and usually need more attic insulation.
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