Final Check-In With Kathy Hrbovsky, but the Work Continues
5–11–2020 — Home Energy Showcase Case Study — Kathy Hrabovsky & Michael Oppenheimer
We would like to send a Big Thank You to the CCI Team for organizing the Home Energy Showcase and for keeping us on track during this year-long event. Based on our personal/professional experience, past energy audits and our experience in the ROCIS (Reducing Outdoor Contaminants in Indoor Spaces) program, we know that we have been living in a screened porch for twenty-two years. My, my, how time flies! Over the years, we have implemented the low-hanging energy and water saving fruit that we could afford, such as:
• installing CFL (and now LED) lamps
• unplugging small appliances when they were not in use
• installing energy saving plug strips where we could not unplug
• installing a programmable thermostat for heating
• washing/drying full dishwasher loads and laundry loads
• hanging a great deal of laundry to dry in the basement
• sealing our fireplace opening
• installing one, new, low-flow toilet and retrofitting two, 1939, toilet tanks with water displacement devices
• educating our children to work with us by turning off light fixtures and water faucets
Our most ambitious completed projects, to date, include:
• replacing our original hot water heater and boiler (circa 1939) with energy efficient equipment when they failed twelve years ago
When the Home Energy Showcase launched, we thought it was the perfect time to move forward with prioritizing the more time consuming and costly projects:
• installing a new AC unit
• installing an upgraded garage door in a properly sealed opening
• installing an interior French drain to combat basement moisture issues
• installing a Thermal Boundary in the basement, garage, exterior porch and attic
Since we only use our AC unit for approximately two weeks during each summer, we put that project on hold. Since the purchase and installation of a new garage door was reasonably priced, we implemented that project before cold weather set in. We were excited to learn that installing a Thermal Boundary at the basement rim-joist space, the interior side of the roof sheathing, the unconditioned garage ceiling (below the dining room) and the exterior porch ceiling (under our son’s bedroom) would be less costly than installing an interior French drain, but we knew that we would have to install the interior French drain before we performed any type of air sealing in our home to prevent a mold bloom. Hoping not to have to borrow money to complete our projects and being DIYers by nature, we set out to purge our basement and garage, after twenty-two years of hoarding, as preparation for French drain installation in early November. We reduced waste by donating to the public library system, to our local faith-based community, to Goodwill Industries, and to friends and neighbors.
We were ready to embark on our project’s next phase when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Due to cost issues, the final phase of our project is in a holding pattern until confidence in the local and global economy is restored. The final phase includes:
• renting a PODS for two months
• transferring all remaining basement and garage items to the PODS
• installing the interior French drain
• installing the Thermal Boundary
• installing ceramic tile or other waterproof basement flooring material
• completing another round of basement/garage purging while transferring storage items to the basement and garage
• organizing all storage items and exercise equipment in our clean and energy efficient, semifinished basement
• reducing our carbon footprint and enjoying our improved quality of life!
We both try to approach our professional and personal lives with a positive attitude, so we are certain that this crisis will end and we will be able to move forward with our project in the near future. We look forward to keeping in touch with the CCI Team and “testing out” via a new energy audit at project completion.
