The APS rebate program for energy audits, energy saving improvements air conditioning rebates are disappearing.  Overnight APS has cut rebates to their energy audit program, removing rebates for air conditioning systems and air sealing completely.  The APS rebate for a home energy audit has also been eliminated.  APS pulled funding to the energy audit program with tens of thousands of dollars still remaining with no explanation and now they are making cut backs to popular programs that save homeowners money on their energy bills.

The APS new rate plans are designed to change homeowner’s lifestyles and how they use the air conditioner to stay comfortable in the summer.   Although the changes to the rebate program and the new APS rate hike are not correlated they will have a big affect on homeowner’s energy bills this summer.  On peak hours change from 12-7 pm to 3 -8 pm and a demand charge will increase homeowner’s energy bills by 56% on average.  Learn how to best manage your energy use with APS new rate increase here.

​The APS AC Quality Installation program will not accept any new rebate applications for units installed after March 7, 2018.  If your air conditioner was installed before the March 7th deadline, you have until March 21st to submit your rebate application.  The APS AC rebate was popular because it ensured a quality install.  The air conditioner rebate had a minimum SEER requirement of 14 and EER of 11.0.   An additional requirement was that a Manual J calculation had to be done on the home to verify the correct air conditioner size was installed and the program also required additional tests after the system was installed.  Each unit needed to be charged properly and airflow and psychometric readings needed to be taken after every install as part of the AC rebate program.  Eliminating the AC rebate program removes a quality control step that protects homeowners from AC contractors cutting corners.

Beginning January 1st 2018, the duct test and repair program is canceled.  The duct test and repair program was a standalone program that allowed homeowners to seal their ductwork without performing a full energy audit and still receive a $250 duct sealing rebate from APS.  It was a popular program but unfortunately abused by some bad apple contractors, which may have contributed to its cancellation.   Ductwork sealing has always been one of the most cost effective ways to improve the energy efficiency of a home in Phoenix.  Both APS and SRP estimate that a typical Arizona home has ductwork leaks of 15% on average.  Since most of the Phoenix homes have ductwork in the attic the ductwork stays hot in the summer and air conditioners have to work to overtime to keep the house comfortable.

Although APS is eliminating their rebate program, many homeowners still realize the benefits of having an air conditioning system installed correctly, of making their home energy efficient by ductwork sealing or additional insulation and managing their energy usage.  With or without APS rebates we will continue to provide homeowners with lower energy bills, a more comfortable home and better air quality.  

​Indoor air pollution vs outdoor air pollution:

Indoor air pollution can be more of an issue than we are instinctually aware of, and most of us are at risk. This occurs in our homes, workplaces, restaurants and other built environments.

​Outdoor air pollution is commonly discussed; the effects of vehicle, industrial, and agricultural emissions. Pollution is repeatedly mentioned in the news, on television, social media, with stories of pesticides and hazardous factory chemicals being found in water supply, and several cases of fires and oil spills. 

We humans spend approximately 90% of our time indoors; 65% of that time is in our homes. Here in Arizona, we are at particularly at risk because pollutants tend to increase and concentrate with higher temperatures. 

Infants and the elderly are the most at risk population and susceptible to health problems due to indoor pollution. Health problems associated with indoor air pollution range from fatigue, sneezing, headaches, dizziness- all the way to upper respiratory disease, stroke, lung cancer, and ischemic heart disease.

When filters are dirty, poorly maintained or old they fail to filter outdoor pollution like pesticides, allergens and dirt from the indoors. Consequently our lungs act as a new filter. They also fail to filter dust, carbon monoxide from stoves, household cleaning fumes, pet dander, hair, old building or furnishing materials, and other particles from indoors. Poorly maintained air units and filters can negatively affect a person’s health, comfort, and ability to work and care for their family.

5 Ways to Improve the Indoor Air Quality of Your Home

1. Install a 4” HEPA filter and remove the restrictive 1” pleated filters. Replace air filters      every few months 

2. Install a UV filter to kill 99.9% bacteria, mold and spores

3. Don’t allow the visible buildup of dust. Dust often in all places; including tricky areas      like the ceiling fan and under the couch

4. Avoid using cleaning products with harmful chemicals; use natural cleaners

5. Install a CO meter if you have a gas stove to make sure your stove isn’t emitting            excess carbon monoxide

Take these steps to improve your indoor air quality, lower indoor pollution, and live a happier and healthier life with your furry friends. 

Spray foam insulation is the most effective insulation type because it’s properties to act as an air sealant and insulator in one, it’s high R-value to resist and because it can be applied to the roof decking which slows the heat transfer into the home before it hits the attic.  Spray foam not only saves on your heating and cooling bills, but you also realize savings from utilizing a smaller HVAC system, the ability to save on air sealing the attic floor, an less repairs on the HVAC system over it’s life.  If you want to know how much spray foam insulation will save on your energy bills there are several factors you need to consider to get an accurate savings estimate.  The table below shows how much savings to expect from spray foam insulation for different applications.  

As APS energy auditors since 2009, Green ID has experience with spray foam in all types of homes.  The factors that influence how much spray foam insulation will save on energy bills depend on the following.

1. Age of your home will affect how much cost savings you see from spray foam insulation.  The insulation codes have changes a lot over the past 50 years and newer homes with R30 insulation will see lower cost savings after installing spray foam than homes built in the 1970’s that have 3-4 inches of insulation.  That is because well insulated homes will already be somewhat protected from the outside elements and their energy bills will be lower because their base level of insulation is already helping.  Block homes built before 1990 have no insulation in the walls so injecting spray foam into the block walls is going to have a huge benefit compared to homes with block walls built after 1990.
   1. How much will spray foam on the roof decking save? Newer homes or well insulated homes will see around a 10-15% reduction in their heating and cooling costs compared to a 20-30% reduction for older homes with little existing insulation or homes with fiberglass batt insulation.
   2. How much will spray foam in block walls save?  Homes built before 1990 with block walls will see a 15-25% reduction in their heating and cooling costs when spray foam is installed in walls that see more than 2 hours of direct sunlight.
2. Single story or two story homes.  Single story homes will benefit more from having spray foam than two story homes with typically double the attic square footage.  Existing homes with vaulted ceilings and little attic space cannot be upgraded to spray foam over the vault because it’s impossible to access unless the drywall is removed.  For vaulted ceilings an air barrier can be created between the vaulted ceiling and the accessible attic, creating a conditioned attic area with spray foam and an unconditioned attic without spray foam.  The attic with less area to apply spray foam insulation will also have lower cost savings than 100% accessible attic spaces.
3. If the existing insulation is left in the attic or removed when spray foam is applied to the roof deck.  Homeowners will save more money on their utility bills when the existing insulation is removed from the attic floor.  This is because insulation left on the attic floor with spray foam on the roof deck traps the heat inside the attic during the summer, cause the temperature to increase much higher than if no insulation is present on the attic floor.
4. The climate.  Homes in different climates can vary where heat loss and heat gain enter into the home, and then vary on how much energy can be saved with spray foam.  For example, in Phoenix, despite our 118 degree summer days, the majority of our heat gain comes in through the windows!  Not the attic, not the walls… the windows.  So it becomes impossible to save 30% on your total energy bills with spray foam on the roof decking when only 15% of your heat gain is coming from the attic space.  In Chicago, the walls are the greatest source of heat loss and so wall insulation is the best upgrade you can choose for spray foam.  

APS customers are in for a big surprise this summer as their energy bills will spike even if there energy usage goes down because of dramatic rate increases by the utility company.  The Arizona Corporation Commission has already approved utility rates that increase APS customer’s energy bills by as much as 70% (see below for calculation) by May 1st, 2018.  APS states that the rate hike will better reflect the true cost of serving customers during peak hours but it will also offset the lower energy bills solar customers have that APS says is eating into their bottom line even as they profit from removing program to help customers save money on their energy bills through efficiency upgrades.  You may have seen or heard APS promoting their rate changes as giving customers more options but in fact, they are mandating that every customer choose a new rate and will not allow any rate plans to be grandfathered in and the rate changes homeowners are going to see are amazing.

​Below is a table of APS frozen rate plans which will expire by May 1, 2018.  

​Below is a table of APS’s new rate plans.  You can also view APS's new rate plans here.

The lowest on-peak and off-peak rates will come with a demand charge that penalizes customers for using more energy during the hottest part of the day. 
​
Let’s say you had the ECT-2 Combined Advantage with peak hours from 12-7 pm with APS.  Now, APS wants to switch you to the Saver Choice Plus with peak hours from 3-8 pm.  Look at the table below to see what change you could expect.

That’s a $54 increase or 16% additional costs for using the exact same energy you were last year.  Not only is the rate increase dramatic, the new rate punishes those who need the house at a cooler temperature for medical reasons or if you are like me and have teenagers in the house that don’t care what the thermostat is set to.  

​A demand is a unit of measure APS and SRP use to say how much energy you are using at one time.  Your demand increases when you are using multiple appliances at one time.  If you have your dishwasher, dryer, water heater and AC running, your demand much bigger than someone running only their water heater.  Obviously in Arizona, the air conditioner is the majority of our demand and when we need it the most during the hottest part of the day, that’s when APS penalizes us the hardest for staying comfortable.  APS has a demand rate fee for each unit of demand so if your home averages 5 Demand Units, you would be charged $8.40 x 5 = $42.  APS customers get their demand averaged every hour.  SRP customers get their demand rate averaged every 30 minutes.  The demand is an average so if you go above a demand of 4 one time but average a 3 in an hour period, you will be charged a 3. 

There is no way around the monstrous APS rate increase but there are ways to prepare and make the best of a bad situation. 

1. Definitely stagger your use of appliances.  Try your best not to do laundry, dishes, cooking or blasting the air conditioner at the same time.  This will spike up your demand and you’ll end up paying even more on your energy bills.
2. Change the times you perform household chores.  Do dishes and laundry before 1 pm or after 8 pm on weekdays.  Even try to avoid using the stove during peak hours of 1-8 pm as ridiculous as that sounds.  This can be a learned practice for some but most people but the hard part will be waiting until 8 pm to start normal life again.
3. Install a water heater timer and turn the water heater off during peak hours.  Water heaters will keep your water hot 24-7, regardless if you are using hot water or not and you never know when it will turn on.  By installing a water heater timer to shut the water heater off during peak hours, you will entire your demand will stay low.
4. Pre-cool your home before peak hours.  Pre-cooling is when you take your thermostat down to 73-74 degrees during off-peak hours and then let it rise during peak hours so the AC system rarely comes on.  This will only work if you have an energy efficient home that is well sealed and insulated.  If you try pre-cooling your home without insulation, sealed ductwork and airflow issues fixed (note, I did not mention new windows, radiant barrier or solar) you could end up spending more on your energy bills because all the cool air in your home will leave your home almost as fast as it enters.  An energy efficient home will keep the cool air inside much longer like a picnic cooler, so our unit won’t have to run as much. 
5. Have your home checked for leaks and inefficiencies.  Having a whole house energy audit can identify areas of waste that will pay for themselves and leave you more comfortable and with lower energy bills for the life of the home.  A good energy auditor can show what upgrades are more important than others and which ones are scams and should be avoided so you aren’t spending your money on fixes that won’t really help.  Our team of energy saving professionals is so confident in our approach; we will actually guarantee your energy bills after we’ve performed a $99 energy audit on your home.
6. Find the best new rate for your lifestyle.  The rate plan that APS recommends may not be in your best interest.  We’ve seen the letters APS sends out with a new recommended plan and it is clear that APS is steering most homeowners to a plan with a demand charge.  We’ve done a thorough analysis of APS’s new rate plans compared to their old plans and we see the rate plans that have demand charges as a way to punish homeowners for using too much energy during peak hours.  From our analysis, the rate plan that APS picks for homeowners is never the least expensive plan and their helpful tips aren’t that insightful.   

​Want to know what your energy bills are going to be under APS’s new rate plans?  Use our tool to compare plans to see which plan makes the most sense for you.  I’ve created a handy payment estimator that can predict your energy bills and help you to decide which rate plan is best and strategies to best manage your demand rate during peak hours.  Simply fill energy your highest and lowest energy bill below and we will create a customized prediction table, recommendation and plan of action for you.  

Spray foam insulation contractors and homeowners alike have debated this questions over many years and since spray foam first gained popularity in late the 2000’s, we’ve had many case studies to learn from.  What is the best practice for homeowners when they are considering spray foaming their attic?  In a hot dry climate like Phoenix, spray foam is worth the extra cost and is the ideal insulation method because all of our ductwork and HVAC systems are inside the attic space.  Spray foam contractors in Arizona have differed though in their reasoning over if the existing insulation should be removed or kept along the attic floor.  

The case for leaving the loose fill insulation along the attic floor as is the attic floor insulation will keep doing its job and slow the heat coming into the home.  If all the insulation on the attic floor is gone and the attic will still get warm, isn’t it a good idea to leave the insulation up in the attic floor to stop that heat from coming inside the house?  The insulation is still good right??

Playing devil’s advocate, the case for removing the insulation on the attic floor (aka extraction) is that leaving the insulation on the attic floor will work against the spray foam insulation on the roof deck.  It will trap the heat up in the attic and the attic will get even hotter than it would without insulation on the attic floor.  With zero insulation on the attic floor the temperatures start to equalize more with the temperatures inside the house.  This keeps the attic cooler and with the spray foam along the roof slope. 

What’s the true answer then, when you get spray foam in your attic, should you remove the insulation on the attic floor or leave it in?  The best answer is to remove the insulation.  That is, to get the most benefit in comfort, cost savings and reduction in heat gain you need to extract the insulation out from the attic floor.  OK but why?  Let’s go through an exercise of how heat flows based on the Second Law of Thermodynamics.  The Second Law says that heat flows from high potential to a lower potential or from hot to cold.  This means that heat is not flowing from inside your house up into the attic in the summer time.  Yes, warm air rises, but if the net temperature is greater in the attic than in the house, heat will flow from the attic into your home.  So when hot outside air starts its penetration into your home from the roof, it hits your great spray foam insulation barrier and slows way down.  The heat still gets into the attic space mind you but it’s greatly reduced by 20% on average. 

So let’s say instead of a 140 degree attic in the middle of a Phoenix summer without spray foam, with spray foam you get a 112 degree attic.  That’s still hot but we aren’t done yet.  If you remove the insulation on the attic floor, then the temperature equalizes between the inside and the attic space.  At first, yes the air conditioner will have to overcome a larger amount of heat gain with no insulation.  Once that initial heat load is taken care of, you’re free and clear so to speak... the hard part is behind you.  Now if you keep the temperature inside at 78 degrees, your attic space will also get cooled to 82 and mix with the 112 degree air to come to an average of 93 degrees (average of 112 and 82 degrees).

If you leave the insulation on the attic floor, the heat will not easily transfer from the inside of the house to the attic space because the insulation on the attic floor is doing its job and slowing the heat transfer from the attic to the house.  Now your attic is at 112 degrees after it gets through the spray foam layer, but it has nowhere to go… it gets trapped in the attic space and heat starts to build up in the attic.  From our Second Law, the heat will go from hot to colder areas.  It goes from the outside to the inside of the attic, and then it will go from the attic into the house.  There will be a greater delta T or temperature difference driving that heat transfer into the house. 

If you really want to get into the formula driving heat transfer of our homes (I love this formula because it’s what all our load calculations are based from) we can apply the Second Law to find the heat gain from U x A x delta T = heat flow. 

Where:

U = U-factor or heat transfer across a surface such as a window or from the attic into the house.  U is the inverse of the R-value.  You may be familiar with R-values when we talk about attic insulation, the higher the R-value, the more it resists heat transfer.  An attic with 12” of cellulose insulation has an R-value of R-38, an attic with only 6” of cellulose has an R-value of R-19.  In the case of our example, our U-values will vary depending on if we leave the insulation on the attic floor or remove it. 

A = area, in the case of finding our heat gain from the attic into the home, our area will be the area of the attic space or in a single story home, it will equal the sq ft of the house.  If you want to find the heat gain from a wall, your area will change to that wall area as will your other data points like temperature differences and U values.

Delta T = temperature difference between the attic and the house.  In our example case we will say our inside the house temperature is 78 degrees.  What will vary is the attic temperature depending on if we leave the insulation on the attic floor or remove it. 

Heat flow = how much heat is coming into the home in one hour (BTU/hr).  This is how much heat the air conditioner will have to remove and how we size air conditioner systems, based on how much heat gets into the house.  The larger the number, the larger the AC system will be. 

Now let’s play with the formula with our two scenarios of removing the existing insulation on the attic floor verses leaving it in the attic.  Let’s say we have a single story home with 2000 sq ft of roof decking, 6” of existing cellulose insulation on the attic floor (R-19) and 6” of open cell spray foam along the roof deck (R-22). 

Option 1: remove the insulation on the attic floor with spray foam on the roof deck

U x A x delta T = heat gain

Where:

U = 1/R = 1/22 = 0.045.  Our R-value is 22 with the open cell spray foam on the roof deck and our attic is defined as conditioned space when we have spray foam on the roof deck (as long as it’s done right). 

A = area of roof decking or 2000 sq ft.

Delta T = 93 degrees – 78 degrees = 15 degrees

So plugging them into our formula we get: 0.045 x 2000 x 37 = 1,351 BTU/hr

1,351 is our number to compare to Option 2.  If we get a higher number, it is better to remove the insulation on the attic floor because the air conditioner will have to work more to offset the additional heat gain in the house.  If we get a smaller number, it is better to leave the insulation on the attic floor.  Let’s see what we get.
 
Option 2: leave the insulation on the attic floor with spray foam on the roof deck

U x A x delta T = heat gain

Where:

U = 1/R = 1/22 = 0.045.  Same as Option 1.

A = area of the house or 2000 sq ft.

Delta T = 112 degrees – 78 degrees = 34 degrees. The temperature is hotter inside the attic because we have 6” of existing insulation on the attic floor that’s trapping the heat. 

Plugging them into our formula we get: 0.045 x 2000 x 34 = 3,063 BTU/hr

So from a cost savings view, it is better to remove the attic floor insulation when installing spray foam on the attic slope. 

Now are there other reasons to extract the existing insulation from the attic floor?  Yes, in fact there are health benefits from removing that old, dusty insulation you won’t be breathing it in your home and the air quality improves.  Although, hot dry climates like Phoenix don’t get a lot of moisture, removing the insulation from the attic floor reduces moisture build up in the attic as well.  

When researching if spray foam is the right choice for your home, cost is one of the biggest factors to consider.  There are several applications of spray foam in Arizona home and prices can vary depending on wall, attic rafters  or crawlspace application, new construction or existing home, the depth and whether open cell spray foam or closed cell spray foam is used. 

​​We’ve put together a table comparing the costs for each type of spray foam insulation.

In Arizona existing homes, applying open cell spray foam to the roof deck or attic rafters is typically done to a depth of 6” to achieve an R-value of R-22.  While this R-value may be less than Energy Star Standards for loose fill insulation along the attic floor, it is much more effective because of where it is applied.  Insulation along the attic rafters is more effective than along the attic floor because it starts slowing the heat gain in the attic before it enters the attic space.  Insulation along the attic floor starts working once the heat is already in the attic space, driving up the attic temperature by 30-40 degrees.  When insulating along the roof deck, the entire attic becomes conditioned space so it is kept cool, typically no more than 10 degrees warmer than the inside of the house.  A conditioned attic also has relatively low dust, making it a great place to lay plywood on the attic floor and use as extra storage area. 
​
Open cell spray foam expands 100 times its original size and fills the cracks and crevices stopping air leaks and has an R-value of 3.7 per inch.   Open cell spray foam is not recommended in cold climates but is perfect for hot, dry climates like southern Arizona where we do not have to worry about humidity.   In Arizona homes, open cell spray foam is ideal for single story homes with greater attic square footage than two story attics.  We like to remove the existing insulation from the attic floor before the spray foam is installed because it prevents the build-up and trapping of heat with the existing insulation left in place.  6” of open cell spray foam is typically applied to the attic rafters to achieve a R-value of R-22.2.  Open cell spray foam can be applied thicker to a total depth of 8” to get an R-value of R-29.6.  

Closed cell spray foam has an R-value of 7.1 per inch and is designed for tight, enclosed areas like crawlspaces and tight attics.  In tight spaces we do need some clearance to fit our installers and the spray guns.  Closed cell spray foam is not a green material and older closed cell spray foam products were known to off-gas for days after the installation.  Icynene manufactures a low emitting closed cell spray foam product.   Some homeowners think that closed cell spray foam is necessary in the wall cavities in new construction homes but this is not true.  Open cell spray foam in a 2x6 wall frame can achieve an R-22 value and will be at least two times less expensive compared to closed cell spray foam.

​If your home was built before 1991, the block walls have zero insulation in them.  We know from our energy models that insulation has it’s biggest benefits going from R-0 to R-19 so adding a closed cell spray foam to an uninsulated block wall will have huge comfort and efficiency benefits.  Spray foam can be injected into the cavities of block walls, closing air gaps and creating an insulation barrier between the home and the outside.  We recommend insulation any block walls that get more than 2 hours of direct sunlight in Arizona.  Block walls that face north and do not get any direct sunlight will not benefit as much as the south, west and east facing walls.

Insulating wood framed homes with spray foam can also be done by Insulsmart injection spray foam.  Holes are drilled into the wall cavities either from the outside or inside and spray foam is injected filling in the insulation gaps along the way.  Since wood frame homes already have wall insulation present, the benefit of insulating with spray foam is less than insulating a block wall. 

While it rarely reaches below freezing in the Phoenix area, that doesn’t stop us from feeling those cool temps that come in the winter. We will inevitably have to turn that heat on to combat our more temperate weather. Below, you can find a few things that will help your home stay comfortable enough to walk around barefoot in the dead of winter while also saving energy and improving your air quality.

1. Seal up your leaks

Warm air rises and can escape out the chimney of a fireplace.  A chimney pillow can be installed in the flue to stop heated air from escaping during the winter.  Just be sure to leave the tag on and remove the pillow come summer. 
Also, check around potential leakage “hot spots” such as old windows, doors, plumbing penetrations under sinks, and electrical outlets.  By replacing old weatherstripping around the doors or caulking around the windows or plumbing penetrations, you can effectively keep your conditioned air where it belongs, inside.  Check the local hardware store to find outlet sealers to add a little insulation behind light switches too.

    2. Check your insulation
For Phoenix and central Arizona, the DOE recommends at least 12-inches of blown-in cellulose or an R-38 value to slow the transfer of cold air into the home.  If your attic has fiberglass batt insulation, it should be in contact with the attic floor at all times to work properly.​

    3. Have your furnace or heat pump inspected
A seasonal tune-up may be in order for your furnace or heat pump.  If the temperatures consistently don’t reach the temperature set-point, the HVAC system may be low on refrigerant or something else may be awry.  It's best to have it checked by a professional.

    4. Remove shade screens During the Phoenix winters, solar gain through windows can help significantly warm the home, lowering energy bills from decreased heat use.  Shade screens can be unclipped and stored until it comes time for summer. Don’t underestimate the power of natural sunlight!

    5. Stay safe! Install CO detectors if you have a fireplace or gas appliances 3-6 feet from the ground.  Use a bubble solution to check for gas leaks around fireplaces, water heaters, furnaces and feeder lines.  Be sure that the furnace or water heater has a good clearance to allow for fresh air intake and that they are not located in the same room as a dryer.
 
Follow these tips for a comfortable winter in the Valley of the Sun!

​Here are 9 tips from Green ID to make sure you’re not gobbling up too much energy this Thanksgiving!