Testing

We begin every job by testing the building envelope for air-tightness, check insulation levels, test for combustion safety and for every other possible problem that may impact occupant health and safety, as well as building durability and energy efficiency. Testing begins with a walk around with the building's owner, we walk around outside observing different problems that may be occurring with the building, we check all of the occupied spaces and then we check the mechanical room. Everything we find is documented and the owner is informed as to the condition of the building. The documentation is also used to generate an estimate, which in line item form, is easy for the owner to comprehend.

Outside Walk-Around

Outside we look at building penetrations such as where electricity enters, water, cable and other utilities to determine where air water or insect infiltration may be occurring. From the ground we examine the roof and determine locations of plumbing stacks, chimneys, as well as anything else that may penetrate the roof. We note the condition of the siding and the windows. We check for operable gutters and grading around the foundation and use what we see as clues to determine how water might be entering the basement.

Living Space Inspection

The inspection of the living space begins with an interview: Do you do a lot of cooking? Do you do a lot of laundry? Do you have teenagers? Do you have pets? Are there rooms that are uncomfortable in which to sit in the wintertime? These questions are not designed to make you feel uncomfortable. We're certainly not interested in prying into your private life, but the better we understand your lifestyle, the more accurately we can predict what measures will provide the most positive impact for your home.

The next step is for you, the homeowner, to escort us on a tour of the home. We will continue to ask questions about how you use the building, as we make notes and observations. We will open up the attic to check for adequate levels of insulation, we will check windows for tightness and we will look for if staining, mold and mildew, as well as obvious signs of air infiltration or condensation.

Mechanical Room Inspection

It is important that we inspect the design and function of your mechanical systems. These include your furnace/boiler, potable hot water supply, laundry facilities, sump pump, heat recovery ventilators, and any other equipment that you rely upon to operate your home. For combustion appliances, we test their efficiency as well as for carbon monoxide. We also test combustion appliances for the flue gas spillage at start up, and we devise a scenario that will place your appliances in a worst-case position while checking combustion room pressures. We want to make sure that no back drafting occurs. Back drafting is a potentially hazardous condition that can happen when negative pressures occur in the combustion room. Negative pressures can be caused by a number of factors including running a clothes dryer, leaking return ducts to a furnace, a high-powered range hood, a closed door or any combination of these and other factors.

If we find any situation where there is unsafe combustion activity we will not perform any work until the problems have been corrected. We maintain this standard for your safety. Ashton Thermal does not repair boilers, furnaces, water heaters, gas ranges, or any other fossil fueled appliance.

Blower Door Test / Infrared Scan

We use a blower door to quantify air leakage in a building. A blower door is a large fan that is set up in the main entry to the home and is set to depressurize the building by 50 Pa. By using a series of formulae, that include the square footage and the volume of the building, we are able to determine how leaky the building is. Air leaks to the outside are one of the highest contributors to heat loss in homes. By knowing how tight or leaky a building is, we are able to estimate how much sealing or ventilation is required.

While the blower door is running we go around the inside of the entire house with an infrared camera to "see" where the air leaks are. The thermal images that appear on the camera's screen show the effects of the air infiltration, not the actual air itself. We physically verify these leaks by using the backs of our hands. The backs of our hands may not seem like a scientific instrument, but they are actually very sensitive to air movement. The direction of flow is not as important as the fact that there is air flowing. The airflow can be directly attributed to heat loss.

The Report

Ashton Thermal will generate a line item estimate that many customers find valuable as a report. Of course, the estimate is not a report. A full heat loss analysis report is available at additional cost. We will need copies of your fuel and electric bills, and if you burn wood, we will need to know approximately how many cords per year you burn.