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    • HERS RATER WRITTEN EXAM >
      • Section 1 Building Science Fundamentals >
        • 1a. Basic Terms & Definitions >
          • 1. Airflow in Buildings
          • 2. Equipment Efficiencies
          • 3. Power and Energy
          • 4. Effective Leakage Area
          • 5. Area Weighted R-Value
          • 6. Baseload / Seasonal Energy Use
          • 7. Driving Forces (Including Natural and Mechanical)
          • 8. Behavior of Radiation
          • 9. Thermal Resistance / Transmittance: R and U Values
          • 10. Latent / Sensible Heat
          • 11. Total Equivalent Length
          • 12. Dehumidification / Humidification
          • 13. Convert Pressure Units
          • 14. Thermal Bridges
          • 15. Pressure Boundary
          • 16. Stack Effect
          • 17. Exfiltration and Infiltration
          • 18. Natural / Mechanical Ventilation
          • 19. Net Free Area
          • 20. Input & Output Capacity
          • 21. Peak Electrical Demand
          • 22. Permeability and Perm Rating
          • 23. Standby Loss
          • 24. IAQ (indoor air quality): Moisture, CO, Dust
        • 1b. Principals of Energy, Air & Moisture Thermodynamics >
          • 1. Thermodynamics: Conduction, Convection, Radiation, ΔT
          • 2. Factors That Affect Insulation Performance
          • 3. House Pressurization/Depressurization by Various Forces
          • 4. Heat Gain / Loss
          • 5. Power and Energy
          • 6. Moisture Transport Mechanisms
          • 7. Identify Areas of Highest Relative Humidity
          • 8. Principles of Combustion
        • 1c. Combustion Safety >
          • 1. Combustion Analysis
          • 2. Carbon Monoxide (CO) Testing
          • 3. Combustion Appliance Venting, Draft, Combustion Air & Sizing
          • 4. Understand Combustion Safety Issues
      • Section 2 Buildings and Their Systems >
        • 2a. Building Components >
          • 1. Identify basic duct configurations and components
          • 2. Identify Basic Hydronic Distribution Configurations and Components
          • 3. Identify Basic Structural Components of Residential Construction
          • 4. Thermal Boundaries and Insulation Applications
          • 5. Basic Electrical Components and Safety Considerations
          • 6. Basic Fuel Delivery Systems and Safety Considerations
          • 7. Basic bulk water management components (drainage plumbing gutters sumps etc)
          • 8. Vapor barriers/retarders
          • 9. Radiant Barrier Principles and Installations
          • 10. Understand Fenestration Types and Efficiencies
          • 11. Understand Issues Involved With Basements, Crawlspaces, Slabs, Attics, Attached Garages, Interstitial Cavities, and Bypasses
          • 12. Understand Issues Involved With Ventilation Equipment
          • Understand Basic Heating / Cooling Equipment Components Controls and Operation
          • Understand Basic DHW Equipment Components Controls and Operation
          • Identify Common Mechanical Safety Controls
          • Identify Insulation Types and R-Values
          • Understand Various Mechanical Ventilation Equipment and Strategies: Spot, ERV, HRV
        • Conservation Strategies >
          • Appropriate Insulation Applications and Installation Based On Existing Conditions
          • Opportunity for ENERGY STAR Lighting and Appliances
          • Identify Duct Sealing Opportunities and Applications
          • Understand Importance of Air Leakage Control and Remediation Procedures
          • Blower Door-Guided Air Sealing Techniques
          • Water Conservation Devices and Strategies
          • Domestic Hot Water (DHW) Conservation Strategies
          • Heating & Cooling Efficiency Applications
          • Proper Use of Modeling to Determine Heating and Cooling Equipment Sizing and Appropriate Energy
          • Understand the Use of Utility History Analysis in Conservation Strategies
          • Appropriate Applications For Sealed Crawlspaces Basements and Attics
          • Identify / Understand High Density Cellulose
          • Appropriate Applications for Fenestration Upgrades Including Modification or Replacement
        • Comprehensive Building Assessment Process >
          • Determine Areas of Customer Complaints / Concerns in Interview
          • Understand / Recognize Need For Conducting Appropriate Diagnostic Procedures
          • Interaction Between Mechanical Systems, Envelope Systems and Occupant Behavior
        • Design Considerations >
          • Appropriate Insulation Applications Based On Existing Conditions
          • Understand Fire Codes as Necessary to Apply Home Performance in a Code-Approved Manner
          • Understand / Recognize Building Locations Where Opportunities for Retrofit Materials
          • Understand Climate Specific Concerns
          • Understand Indoor Environment Considerations for the Environmentally Sensitive
          • Understand Impact of Building Orientation, Landscape Drainage, and Grading
          • Opportunity Potential Renewable Energy Applications: Geothermal, Photovoltaic, Wind
          • Understand Impact of Shading on Heating / Cooling Loads
          • Awareness for Solar Gain Reduction / Solar Gain Opportunities
          • Understand Need for Modeling Various Options For Efficiency Upgrades
      • Measurement & Verification of Building Performance >
        • Measurement & Verification of Building Performance >
          • Air Leakage Test Results
          • Understand Building Shell / Envelope Leakage
          • Apply Fundamental Construction Mathematics and Unit Conversions
          • Calculate Building Tightness Levels (Minimum Ventilation Requirements)
          • Calculate Heating Degree Days and Cooling Degree Days
          • Identify Proper Appliance and Combustion Appliance Venting
          • Ventilation calculations and strategies
          • Proper methods for identifying / testing fuel leaks
          • Blower door setup, accurate measurement and interpretation of results
          • Combustion Appliance Zone (CAZ): depressurization, spillage, draft, Carbon Monoxide (ambient and flue)
          • Carbon Monoxide (CO) evaluation: ambient
          • Proper applications and use of temperature measuring devices
          • Pressure pan and room to room pressure diagnostics
          • Recognize contributing factors to comfort problems
          • Inspect for areas containing moisture or bulk water in undesirable locations
          • Understand and inspect for basic electric safety (e.g. frayed wires, open boxes, etc)
      • RESNET HERS RATER National Standards & Project Specifications >
        • Understand applicability content and intent of BPI National Standards – Do no harm, make buildings more healthy, comfortable, durable and energy efficient
        • Recognize need for a professional local/state/national codes evaluation
        • Be able to specify appropriate materials and processes needed for building performance projects
      • Analyzing Buildings Systems >
        • Recognize need for air sealing measures and their impact on other building systems
      • Conduct and Communications >
        • Conservation strategies
        • Conservation strategies
    • HERS RATER FIELD EXAM >
      • How To Put The House Under Worst Case & CAZ
      • What's What? Pa, CFM, CFM50, CAZ, Draft, Room Pressure
      • What To Know In The Attic
      • What To Know In The House
    • BLOWER DOOR TEST >
      • Manometer Setup
    • RESNET STANDARDS >
      • RESNET Standards Decoded
  • ESSENTIALS
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    • COMMON AUDITOR / CREW MISTAKES
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Buildings and Their Systems

      1. 11. Understand Issues Involved With Basements, Crawlspaces, Slabs, Attics, Attached Garages, Interstitial Cavities, and Bypasses

Welcome to the wonderful world of basements, crawlspaces, attics, soffits (interstitial cavities) and bypasses.  Depending on the climate you live in, you may have one, or all of the above items.  Each is an area you should be spending a good amount of time investigating and testing during your energy audits.  Experience will come into handy when diagnosing problems and solutions and you'll probably find as you get better and more knowledgeable in the field, your recommendations will change.  

All of the areas listed below will have the following issues working against a safe, comfortable, durable and healthy home.

  • Moisture 
  • Temperature differences
  • Pressure differences (the first three are from the Second Law of Thermodynamics)


Each of these will have one or more predominant than the others depending on the climate, building codes and common building practices.  For example in Phoenix, Arizona, AHU and ductwork is located in attics which get super hot in the summer.  Therefore, many people consider spray foam or other attic upgrades that would not normally be done in a climate like Chicago, cost effective.  Below are some general issues with each topic to get you asking the right kinds of questions. Ready to jump in? Let's go!

Basements

Basements tend to retain moisture from the improper exterior drainage and interior moisture sources such as water heaters, heating and cooling systems and plumbing.  

Crawlspaces

Depending on the climate, crawlspaces can also retain moisture in climates like San Francisco, Florida or the NW.  In Phoenix, crawlspace moisture doesn't exist.  Issues to be aware of are finding critters, spiders and rats (and their feces) much more frequently than in an attic.  A 6 mil polyiso vapor retarder can be installed across the entire crawlspace to isolate it from moisture intrusion.

  • Site grading for should be away from the home
  • AHU in crawlspaces should drain outside the crawlspace
  • Evaporating soil earth from the ground
  • Leaks from inside the house should be cleaned up and dried right away
  • Air sealing the stem walls of a crawlspace will keep it dry from moisture in the air that enters to the crawlspace
  • You should look for water damage along the concrete walls, salt deposits on the piers, water damage, surface mold growth on wood (light spotting to heavy staining), use a relative humidity sensor to get readings of actual RH
  • Look for heat pumps otherwise a furnace would also bring combustion safety issues

Sealing the crawlspace may not always be the best solution though. Venting the crawlspace is sometimes appropriate as in Arizona or a climate with little humidity. If you want to minimize moisture into crawlspaces, the stem walls and earth should be air sealed with a 6 mil poly vapor barrier.   The 6 mil poly should be stapled down into the earth with a 6" turf stake every 6-8 feet and more frequent by the crawlspace entrance. The 6 mil poly should also sealed to the crawlspace stem wall.

Slabs

Issues involved with slabs are: 

  • Sub slab water leaks eroding the soil and promoting settling
  • Subterranean returns pulling moisture from the earth into the house causing floor buckling
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Attics

Issues involved with attics are:

  • Insulation performance and misalignments
  • Air barriers - leave uninsulated interior walls exposed to attic temperatures. Potential air barriers can be found by simly walking the house and identifying archways, soffits, pot shelfs and changes in ceiling height
  • Ventilation - passive ventilation ONLY should be recommended
  • Ductwork and air handlers located in the attic with extreme temperatures
  • Reverse stack effect - where heat from the attic will be pushed down into the home
  • Excessive heat

Attached Garages

Attached garages are good for safety because the homeowner does not have to walk outside to get into their home but they pose a health and safety risk from a strong negative CAZ in the house, which could pull CO gasses from the car or combustion appliances into the home. 

Attached garages are also a source of a potential air barrier issue, with the garage attic being open to the 1st and 2nd floor cavity of the house as shown in the pictures below.
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Air barrier problems all fixed

Interstitial Cavities

Interstitial cavities are wall cavities, chases or voids that may not by themselves pose any issue, but when under pressure from the HVAC ductwork, winds, stack effect, and exhaust fan pressure can exaggerate air infiltration and exfiltration.

Bypasses

A bypass is a pathway for air to travel following its mission to go in the path of least resistance (wet to dry, hot to cold or high to low pressure i.e. 2nd Law of Thermodynamics).  You can find bypasses at most electrical outlets and light switches where the electrical wire is run from the outlet up through the wall cavity and through a small, unsealed hole in the attic.  

Next Section

2a. Building Components
  1. Identify basic duct configurations and components
  2. Identify basic hydronic distribution configurations and components
  3. Identify basic structural components of residential construction 
  4. Thermal boundaries and insulation applications 
  5. Basic electrical components and safety considerations 
  6. Basic fuel delivery systems and safety considerations
  7. Basic bulk water management components (drainage plumbing gutters sumps etc) 
  8. Vapor barriers/retarders 
  9. Radiant barrier principles and installations 
  10. Understand fenestration types and efficiencies 
  11. Understand issues involved with basements, crawlspaces, slabs, attics, attached garages, interstitial cavities, and bypasses 
  12. Understand issues involved with ventilation equipment 
  13. Understand basic heating / cooling equipment components controls and operation 
  14. Understand basic DHW equipment components controls and operation 
  15. Identify common mechanical safety controls 
  16. Identify insulation types and R-Values 
  17. Understand various mechanical ventilation equipment and strategies: spot, ERV, HRV 
2b. Conservation Strategies
  1. Appropriate insulation applications and installation based on existing conditions 
  2. Opportunity for ENERGY STAR lighting and appliances 
  3. Identify duct sealing opportunities and applications 
  4. Understand importance of air leakage control and remediation procedures 
  5. Blower door-guided air sealing techniques 
  6. Water conservation devices and strategies 
  7. Domestic Hot Water (DHW) conservation strategies 
  8. Heating & cooling efficiency applications 
  9. Proper use of modeling to determine heating and cooling equipment sizing and appropriate energy use
  10. Understand the use of utility history analysis in conservation strategies 
  11. Appropriate applications for sealed crawlspaces basements and attics 
  12. Identify/understand high density cellulose 
  13. Appropriate applications for fenestration upgrades including modification or replacement 
2c. Comprehensive Building Assessment Process
  1. Determine areas of customer complaints/concerns in interview
  2. Understand / recognize need for conducting appropriate diagnostic procedures including when to refer to a specialist for further investigation
  3. Interaction between mechanical systems, envelope systems and occupant behavior
2d. Design considerations
  1. Appropriate insulation applications based on existing conditions
  2. Understand fire codes as necessary to apply home performance in a code-approved manner.
  3. Understand/recognize building locations where opportunities for retrofit materials and processes are needed to correct problems and/or enhance performance
  4. Understand climate specific concerns
  5. Understand indoor environment considerations for the environmentally sensitive
  6. Understand impact of building orientation, landscape drainage, and grading
  7. Opportunity potential renewable energy applications: geothermal , photovoltaic, wind
  8. Understand impact of shading on heating / cooling loads
  9. Awareness for solar gain reduction in cooling climate/solar gain opportunities in heating climates
  10. Understand need for modeling various options for heating, cooling and DHW applications, as well as other efficiency upgrades
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