You don't have to be an Einstein to know how to prosper in the energy efficiency business. But it helps to be an Eisenstein.
In addition to his real estate-related home inspections, Ira Eisenstein is finally seeing a pickup in energy-related business, the kind where panicky homeowners call him to ask what they can do to cut their skyrocketing home energy bills.
The Princeton, New Jersey energy auditor is the owner of Strictly Business, a home inspection service that flushes out problems ranging from termites and radon to lead pipes and drafty windows.
Eisenstein and others of his trade may benefit big from the federal stimulus package, which provides money for the retrofitting of energy inefficient government buildings and even qualified existing homes and commercial buildings.
It takes a skilled, certified home inspector like Eisenstein to thoroughly diagnose a home's energy efficiency needs, which may require such solutions as blowing insulation into the attic, installing storm windows or caulking seams around a door jamb.
"I can definitely save people as much as 30 percent of their total electricity bill," Eisenstein says. "I had one guy who had a 450 dollars per month gas bill. He didn't realize he could save a third by simply tilting his radiators a certain way so as to more efficiently use the steam that fills them."
Eisenstein doesn't do a "blow door test," a fairly common procedure that identifies air leaks in a space. Instead, he “packs heat,” carrying an optical tool called an infrared thermal imaging gun.
The operator of the camera can point it at a wall or ceiling and clearly show areas where heat is escaping in winter (and conditioned air in summer). It is money down the drain.
I trailed him on one house call where the homeowner complained of high home heating bills. Eisenstein found several areas where original insulation had either been moved by electricians doing their work in crawl spaces, or had been improperly installed in the first place.
As he aimed his thermal gun on one particular area of the wall, you could see what looked like lesions of red and blue in the viewfinder.
"The camera takes numbers, temperatures, and translates them into colors," he says. "White is the hottest, black the coldest. In between, red is the next hottest, followed by orange and yellow. In winter, you can see heat escaping, as here, between the poorly insulated intersection of walls and ceiling."
Eisenstein comes off initially as a brainiac on nerd patrol. Certified mold inspection makes poor cocktail party patter. But he can be engaging and is capable of laughing at himself in the profession he calls "house whispering."
His fee typically runs $395 for a house call that can last 2-3 hours. His inspections come with a professional report, including extensive photo-documentation. He's the go-to guy for the home buyer.
In addition to his real estate-related home inspections, Ira Eisenstein is finally seeing a pickup in energy-related business, the kind where panicky homeowners call him to ask what they can do to cut their skyrocketing home energy bills.
The Princeton, New Jersey energy auditor is the owner of Strictly Business, a home inspection service that flushes out problems ranging from termites and radon to lead pipes and drafty windows.
Eisenstein and others of his trade may benefit big from the federal stimulus package, which provides money for the retrofitting of energy inefficient government buildings and even qualified existing homes and commercial buildings.
It takes a skilled, certified home inspector like Eisenstein to thoroughly diagnose a home's energy efficiency needs, which may require such solutions as blowing insulation into the attic, installing storm windows or caulking seams around a door jamb.
"I can definitely save people as much as 30 percent of their total electricity bill," Eisenstein says. "I had one guy who had a 450 dollars per month gas bill. He didn't realize he could save a third by simply tilting his radiators a certain way so as to more efficiently use the steam that fills them."
Eisenstein doesn't do a "blow door test," a fairly common procedure that identifies air leaks in a space. Instead, he “packs heat,” carrying an optical tool called an infrared thermal imaging gun.
The operator of the camera can point it at a wall or ceiling and clearly show areas where heat is escaping in winter (and conditioned air in summer). It is money down the drain.
I trailed him on one house call where the homeowner complained of high home heating bills. Eisenstein found several areas where original insulation had either been moved by electricians doing their work in crawl spaces, or had been improperly installed in the first place.
As he aimed his thermal gun on one particular area of the wall, you could see what looked like lesions of red and blue in the viewfinder.
"The camera takes numbers, temperatures, and translates them into colors," he says. "White is the hottest, black the coldest. In between, red is the next hottest, followed by orange and yellow. In winter, you can see heat escaping, as here, between the poorly insulated intersection of walls and ceiling."
Eisenstein comes off initially as a brainiac on nerd patrol. Certified mold inspection makes poor cocktail party patter. But he can be engaging and is capable of laughing at himself in the profession he calls "house whispering."
His fee typically runs $395 for a house call that can last 2-3 hours. His inspections come with a professional report, including extensive photo-documentation. He's the go-to guy for the home buyer.
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