Whole House Assessment

Our whole house approach to solving comfort and indoor air quality concerns avoids many of the pitfalls of assuming that all comfort and IAQ issues are air conditioning-related.  In fact, the majority of the issues that cause homes to perform poorly are building-related.  Our Whole House Assessment not only addresses the air conditioning equipment, it takes an in depth look at the building's thermal and leakage characteristics. 

Our whole-house assessments begins with an initial interview.  Your input provides valuable information, such as the family's sensitivities to mold, pollen, dust mites and other irritants.  Comfort throughout the house will also be discussed along with functional concerns such as visible mold, cupping floor, sweating air registers, dust accumulation, etc..

The assessment begins with your air conditioning equipment.  Is it efficient, dependable and safe?  We will visually inspect your equipment for any signs of deterioration, improper installation, or insufficient maintenance.  We will also evaluate your system's air filtration and purification efficiency, to determine if improvements would better clean your indoor air.

Even the best heating and cooling system will have trouble keeping you comfortable or will cost more to run if you don't have enough insulation.  We will visually inspect insulation levels throughout your home and determine if they meet currently recommended levels.  We will also look for thermal bridges such as hollow wall cavities and uninsulated fixtures (such as canned lights and access doors) that allow air and heat to bypass your insulation.  Attic ventilation will also be evaluated.

Next we will evaluate the homes infiltration rate.  All houses leak to some degree and, from an air quality standpoint, those around windows and doors can actually be good leaks.  However leaks from your attic, garage or crawl space let in humid, moldy or polluted air and cause your heating and cooling equipment to perform below its peak efficiency.  We will us a blower door test to pinpoint where your home's worst air leaks are, and where improvements can be made.

If your air duct system has hidden design flaws or blockages, your air flow may be restricted or unevenly distributed, wasting money and making your home uncomfortable and/or unhealthy.  We will check your ducts to reveal any hidden blockages, restrictions or design problems.

Once the assessment is complete, we will explain the results and provide you with prioritized  recommendations for improvements.   Upon your request, we will provide you with a proposal to perform the recommended scope of work. 

Mold Investigations & Testing

If visible mold is present in your home or business or if air samples have indicated high levels of airborne mold, excessive moisture within the structure should be addressed.  Mold requires two things to be active – a food source and moisture.  A food source is readily available with most commonly used building components such as lumber, sheathing, drywall and paper-backed products such as batt insulation.  If mold is removed, cleaned or otherwise eliminated, but nothing is done to address the original excessive moisture condition, mold will likely return.  Any mold remediation, either done by an individual or professional, should be accompanied by a thorough moisture investigation by professionals specializing in the field of moisture and indoor air quality.

If you suspect the presence of airborne mold in your home, Air Plus can perform air sampling to determine the type and quantity.  Typically, air sampling is performed to compare indoor mold concentrations to outdoor concentrations.  The samples are evaluated to determine if elevated concentration exist within the house as compared to the outside or if a different variety (in significant concentrations) of mold exists in the house as compared to the outside, indicating a mold reservoir within the house.  If visible mold is present, tape lifts can be taken to determine the type(s) of mold.

If mold has been discovered in your home or business, Air Plus can help by providing you with a professional evaluation to determine the original cause and origin of excess moisture.  If corrective measures are required, Air Plus is available to provide air-side installations and act on your behalf to coordinate with other needed contractors to facilitate project implementation, providing you with a turnkey moisture control solution. Call us today at (843) 225-6265 to find out how we can help.

 

Mold was first observed at and around several electrical outlets in this home in Longpoint.  Further investigation revealed additional mold in the surrounding wall cavity.  Although the contractor originally suspected leaks at the window to be the culprit, the real problem is that the house is under negative pressure due to a lack of adequate ventilation  and the walls were constructed with both an an exterior and interior vapor barrier.  Once moisture was drawn into the wall cavity, it could not escape due to the vapor barriers and mold developed.

In addition to complaints of high humidity, the owners of this West Ashley home had an Asthmatic child living in the home.  Mold was discovered in and around a majority of the downstairs air conditioning registers.  Upstairs, mold was discovered growing in the air conditioning boots and thriving on the cellulose "popcorn" ceiling overspray that coated the interior of the boots.  The air conditioning boot shown to the right served the asthmatic child's bedroom.

Infiltration

Infiltration is one of the most unaccounted for aspects of indoor environmental control.  Often associated with wasted energy, high rates of infiltration can significantly impact the performance of heating and air conditioning equipment and negatively impact indoor air quality via the introduction of unconditioned, unfiltered, moisture-laden outside air.

High or fluctuating interior humidity is often traced back to excessive infiltration.  Although leaky windows are often blamed for high infiltration, in many cases they are not the most significant contributor.  Particularly prone to excessive infiltration are homes with vented attics and numerous canned lights or other ceiling penetrations.  Homes with volumous "knee wall" attic spaces are also particularly susceptible to excessive infiltration.

 

Air Plus uses a Blower Door and Flow Hood to determine the degree of infiltration associated with a home or business. 

Thermal Imaging

In this example, Thermal Imaging shows that this whole house ventilation fan is a large thermal bridge between the hot attic and the conditioned interior below. The temperature of the entire surface of the louvers is approximately equal to the temperature in the attic – on hot days, this temperature can be as high as 120°.

Here, uninsulated canned lights provide a thermal bridge between the hot attic and the conditioned interior.

The IR Camera vividly displays the effects of an uninsulated attic access door - a significant thermal bridge between the hot attic above and the conditioned space below.