Blower test - the energy audit

Tuesday, January 19
We met Dave, the energy auditor, today, with all sorts of ideas for maximizing our energy efficiency by using the new government grants for upgrading. We are definitely upgrading! The basement demolition showed a bit of rot and moisture in a couple places behind the basement insulation, and old windows need replacing. New doors and windows were in the plan; nice that they're included in the rebate programs. Dual-flush toilets were added to the shopping list, to reduce water use, and thicker foam insulation in the basement will reduce the gas required for the new furnace. A heat pump will draw heat from the air (physics of which are beyond me at this stage...!), further reducing reliance on natural gas. Furnace, heat pump and a/c units have been ordered, to be installed as soon as the basement is cleared. Along with new Energy-Star appliances, the house will be warm, efficient, and use less water. And the elimination of baseboard electric heat will cut the hydro bill. I call that upgrading!

I had a new thought while looking at the basement without walls, with only the studs standing there. We could reconfigure the basement entirely. Do we want the walls where they were? There is nothing structural about them - we could put them wherever we want. Do I know what I would do differently? Maybe not. Never occurred to me to wonder. I don't know what I would do with 1800 sq. ft. of empty basement, a palette on which to design bedrooms, recreational space, laundry, workshop, office... Oh no - this looks like an overwhelming opportunity - I don't even know how to take advantage of it! I'm supposed to be writing a dissertation, not a floor plan... Stay with that. Or keep the rooms where they were? Make a change? What change? Run home to my computer? Maybe a dissertation is less work... I think I'll return to writing there.

Dinner out with Andrew and a diagram of the basement. We sorted the basement floor plan, into its original configuration, with two added walls, one to separate the laundry from the woodworking shop, and one to make a bit of storage/furnace room from one end of Neil's bedroom. It will still be 20 ft. long - no loss! Phew. Back to plan A, the original floorplan. But at least we know we considered the alternatives while we could. Next stop, furnace and ductwork. I'm sure I won't be needed for that, and I won't find anything to worry about reconfiguring, so the dissertation will get some attention until at least the end of next week. Oh - about paint colours...