120 year-old apartment receives dramatic HVAC repair and upgrade while maintaining historic integrity
Haddon hall is one of the oldest buildings in metropolitan Cincinnati and one of the first apartment buildings to be built there. Built in the 1890s, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and represents a significant part of Cincinnati’s architectural history. But for the new owners of what now serves as section 8 housing. Haddon Hall was atrociously inefficient with costly energy bills. For it’s over 200 residents the building, while charming, was inadequately heated in the winter and way too hot in the summer.
Green Solutions, a local energy auditing company was brought in to sole both the energy inefficiency and indoor comfort problems. To add to the problem, they also had to perform the work without violating the historical integrity of the building.
In Brief
Building: Haddon Hall Apartments
Owners: Wallick Communities
Duct Specialists: Greene Solutions LLC
Goal: Reduce leaks while maintaining historical integrity
Before Aeroseal: 3,361 CFM* of total leakage
After Aeroseal: 234 CFM of total leakage
Results: Reduced leakage by 93 per cent
*cubic feet per minute
An energy audit showed that the current system was losing over 3,000 CFM of treated air, equal to a 637 square-inch hole in the ductwork. Greene Solutions used Aeroseal to reduce leakage to just 234 CFM – a 93 per cent reduction. Since Aeroseal seals from inside the ductwork, none of the existing structure had to be torn down to access the leaks.
Quotes
“(After we Aerosealed the ductwork) we quickly began to receive comments about how much cooler it was on the top floors. Long-time residents noted that they were feeling the sir conditioner in places it never seemed to reach before. One employee told me that for the first time ever, she had to ask to have the air conditioner turned down.”
Matt Shoemacher, vice-president of development, Wallick Communities
“I’m completely sold on Aeroseal. By reducing CFM leakage by such a significant amount, we calculate that Aeroseal provides a savings-to-investment ratio of about 3. In other words, a homeowner can expect to get 3 times their cost in savings over a 15-year period. That’s about as good of an investment as you can make”
Ryan Scalf, energy advisor and project observer from the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance
“As energy auditors we find duct leakage to be a significant cause of energy waste in most homes today and Aeroseal the ideal service to offer home and building owners concerned about energy efficiency or indoor comfort. The Haddon Hall owners were so impressed with the results they got from Aeroseal that they are now looking at similar projects for their other properties.”
Rick Greene, energy auditor and Aeroseal dealer, Greene Solutions