All She Wanted Was A Little Honest Help

I got into the home inspection business because I felt, do feel, it is noble profession. I have the opportunity every time I inspect a home to help someone. I provide insight and information on the home so that my client can make their final purchase decision. My help doesn't stop after the inspection is complete. I tell my clients to contact me with questions after they have moved in. Most don't, but some do.

I got a call yesterday from a woman that I had done an inspection for this past summer. The home was a townhouse style condo built over a good size crawl space. She was looking for some information and advice due to a problem with her heating system.

The unit is heated by heat pump which is 10 years old. Her problem is the second floor is hot and the first floor is cold. So the heat obviously works, but is terribly uneven.

This woman seeking a solution had a free energy audit done by one of the many companies here in CT that are sub-contracted by the four major utility companies. These "audits" are actually some energy related repairs and are done by companies that also sell things like insulation and heating systems. Unlike the audits I perform, these companies' in my estimation lack two major things;

1. Knowledge and expertise and
2. An unbiased approach

The company that performed the audit on my client's home also happens to be a mechanical/HVAC installer. They told her the problem with her heat was that the 10 year old, working heat pump needed to be replaced. They could set her up right away to the tune of....wait for it.....$7000.

She wasn't so sure.

Next she calls an insulation company. Guess what? They tell her she needs to add more insulation to the already well insulated crawl space. Again she was not too sure.

One more time she calls an HVAC contractor. This company tells here she needs to replace all her insulated and fine duct work with new metal ducts. She wasn't going for it.

Needless to say she is frustrated and a bit disillusioned. Every company she has talked with has tried to separate her from her money promising their product is the solution.

My assessment from what she told me is the heating system is out of balance and or there is an air infiltration problem in the first floor.

Not one of the three companies that came into her home did any type of evaluation. For example the HVAC companies did not check the system balance or the heat distribution. It makes you wonder how they come up with their evaluations and solutions. My suspicion is it is done by looking at their check book balances.

I left her with an invitation to hire me to come back to her home to use my infrared camera to determine if there is any significant air infiltration on the first floor. I would also check her heat distribution and a few other items. If not she is certainly welcome to call me again with any future questions. My advice is always free and unbiased.

 

 

 

James Quarello
2010 SNEC-ASHI President
NRSB #8SS0022
JRV Home Inspection Services, LLC

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