Colonial Style - Bethesda, MD

median cost per home in Woodstock is $422,290

According to Redfin in 2022, Homes in Bethesda receive 7 offers on average and sell in around 23 days. The average sale price per square foot in Bethesda is $397, up 7.3% since last year.

This Pepco Customer's Main Concern

High energy bills and hot and cold spots throughout the house.

General Profile - Pre-1950 Bethesda Colonial

Bethesda Colonial Style Pre-1950, Earliest Suburbs to DC

Year Built: Pre-1950

Foundation Types: Conditioned basement, crawl space addition

Typical Homeowner Complaints: High energy bills, uncomfortable addition

Usual Insulation Condition: Moderate condition, virtually no insulation in the attic, improper vapor barrier in the crawl space

HVAC Ducts: HVAC ducts run through the crawl space as well as the attic due to retrofitting a central air system.

Insulation Challenges: Working around ducts in the attic, customer storage in the attic, crawl space with ducts creating low points.

Unique Features: Flexible ducts in the attic take a path upward then downward to their supply destination.

Homeowner Takeawayays from this Bethesda Pepco Energy Audit

This family of doctors was happy to learn about the different ways in which their home was losing energy - right under their noses!

This family had been living in the home since 1998 when they decided to get the energy audit done and found it to be enlightening.

A new respect was given to the importance of the air ducts in their home and opportunties were uncovered to make simple fixes for improved comfort.

Bethesda pepco home performance with energy star home energy audits

Long-Term Problems if Left Unchecked

Shortened water heater life if left in a setting that is too high.

Shortened HVAC lifespan.

Wasting money on the wrong solutions only to arrive at another twenty years and start the process again with new HVAC.

Extend downspouts away from the foundation wall a minimum of 10'.

When an attic's primary purpose is storage, then we already know there is a problem - with some choices to make.

9 out of 10 homes are under insulated and this colonial style in Bethesda, MD is falling into that category as well.

Under insulated areas in Bowie Levitt Cape Cod homes is commonplace.

Rust on the supply register in the ceiling reveals the interaction between cold air conditioning and warm air from showering. Older Bethesda homes rarely have a properly working exhaust fan.

Blower door results can be compared to similar style homes. It can be used as a guide and the actual test must be done for complete accuracy.

Water heaters should be set to 120 degrees. Find your type of dial and search for the 120 marker on your unit. This water heater's marker is the white triangle and is set too high!

Crawl space vapor barriers need to be fully sealed. Crawl vents should be blocked and sealed. Walls should be insulated at the top of the foundation wall should be tightly sealed.

How an energy audit typically helps a person with this type of home:

-This energy audit was able to provide an insulation solution that would keep storage in place and help to improve the efficiency of the HVAC system.

-The addition in this home was able to become a focus for the family again as they began to understand the underlying insulation issues and how to properly take steps towards better comfort in the space - and they did not have to sign a big contract to get the ball rolling!!

-The projected savings from turning back the dial on the water heater was $29 annually.

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