The focus of this internship was to help individuals and companies save and conserve energy. This semester I worked with Common Sense Energy on several residential projects aimed at tightening the thermal envelope of homes and increasing their resistance to heat loss. Using blower door tests and an infrared thermal gun, I learned how to detect points of air leakage or low insulation. After assessing the spot, we would use spray foam or caulk to seal a point of leakage. If it were an area missing insulation in and exterior wall or attic, we would blow dense pack cellulose into the area and seal it up. While these were the main focuses of the residential projects, we would also discuss other areas where energy could be conserved or efficiency could be increased.

Another aspect of the internship was working on surveying commercial buildings where there is generally much more energy to be saved than residential projects. In order to do this we surveyed a few businesses downtown to determine their interest in conducting and energy audit and possibly working with us to reduce their energy consumption along with utility bills. We did not get very far along this path during the semester. However, my experience with Common Sense Energy has been so successful that I am continuing to work with them throughout the summer. We will continue to work on residential projects. Furthermore, now that summer has come and I have more time, we will put more focus into commercial projects and other plans we have discussed through the semester. The following explains how this will work:

In respect to commercial buildings, I will be surveying a variety of business owners in order to determine their thoughts on energy saving. If they are interested in saving energy and reducing utility bills, I will work with Allan Bullis to assess and audit the site. If they would like further work to be done, we will provide the services to help them conserve energy whether it is behavior modification or tightening the thermal envelope.

Additionally, I will be working to help coordinate an effort in which students living off campus could easily determine whether a rental unit is energy efficient. The majority of landlords require the tenants to pay the utility bills. By educating tenants and providing a certification to homes that meet certain energy efficiency criteria, we can drive the rental housing market to conserve energy and save the students money.