Expert Energy Service Assistance

The Blower Door test is an effective way to determine how much and where your home is leaking conditioned air. If your home is cold, drafty, dusty or too expensive to heat & cool, air leakage or infiltration could be the culprit. Air leakage in buildings represents from 10% to 40% of space heating & cooling costs.

• With the blower door, you can feel air coming in from the building's leaks.
• Leaks can be temporarily or permanently sealed, tested again, and your energy savings calculated.
• Since the blower door measures building tightness, we can establish a minimum ventilation guideline (MVG).
  • The MVG is the amount of fresh air you and your appliances need. By not having the proper MVG carbon monoxide and other indoor air pollutants may collect in your house.
• Homes with high infiltration rates are not only inefficient, they can be unsafe.
• The blower door test usually takes 1.5 to 2 hours to perform on site.
• The test can be done any time of year and on any house.
• Reports include leakage rates, minimum ventilation guidelines, and combustion air calculations.

Our customers can have a blower door test performed at their home for only $50. The fee for non-customers is higher based on distance and travel time. Contact us at 1-800-222-3121 or press the button below to submit an electronic request for more information.

A home energy rating is a uniform method of quantifying or rating performance of buildings. It was developed in response to the need for energy efficiency could be more easily understood.

Energy Ratings Benefit Many People

• Consumers can make energy-saving improvements to their homes and be rewarded for these investments through the sale, appraisal and loan process.
• Builders can incorporate energy-savings features in the homes they build and use those features to market their homes and distinguish themselves from the rest of the market.
• Real estate agents can use ratings to promote homes with energy-saving features.
• Appraisers can have a reliable way of establishing the value of energy-saving features they appraise.
• Lenders can approve more loans for home buyers by using special energy efficient loans.

How Energy Ratings Work

A Home Energy Rating provides a way for the efficiency of houses to be evaluated. It also estimates the annual energy quantity a home will require and the cost of that energy. The rating can be used to compare the energy efficiency of a home in the same way that the EPA mileage rating is used to compare the fuel efficiency of automobiles. Consumers can use ratings to make valid comparisons of the energy performance of one house to another.

What The Rater Does

The rater visits the house and completes an extensive inspection of the structure to record its basic type, dimensions, number of stories, types and quantities of insulation, types, sizes, orientation of windows, air tightness, solar exposure, thermal mass, efficiency of heating & cooling systems, water heating equipment and other energy-conserving features, such as fluorescent lighting.

If the house has not been constructed, the information can be from the plans and specifications for the house.

The house information is then transferred into an energy rating computer software program and results are calculated. Energy-saving features are allocated points an a score is given between 0-100. Information of this type is required, by the Kansas Energy Efficiency Standard, on any new home built in Kansas.

The fee for an energy rating is $100. The existing home will also receive at no additional charge, a blower door test to determine the air infiltration rates for the home.

For more information or to set up an appointment to have a Kansas Energy Star Rating preformed on your home, call us at 1-800-222-3121 or press the button below to submit an electronic request.

(Heating, Ventilation, & Air Conditioning)

The rules of thumb for sizing today's new and sophisticated heating and air conditioning systems no longer apply. Proper heating and cooling loads need to be addressed, not only to new construction, but to retrofits, as well. HVAC loads should be matched to individual rooms or to meet the needs of the occupants. The solution is to design a system of correct size.

Midwest Energy's employees can perform an HVAC sizing for your home to ensure the equipment will operate efficiently. This sizing will generate a report that will allow your HVAC contractor to install the proper size of equipment.

• We measure the structure to determine the amount of conditioned space.
• We check attic and wall insulation.
• We record the size and type of windows, doors, opaque wall area, and the orientation of each.
• We take into account the color of the roof, along with the number of occupants, lights, and appliances.
• These field notes are then used as input data for our computer.
• Fees for non-customers are higher based on distance and travel time.

When purchasing a properly-sized residential system, you can save money on the initial equipment, and you'll avoid the unnecessary operating costs of a larger unit every month for the life of the new system.

The end result: an accurate heating and cooling load calculation that gives you the highest efficiency and best comfort that can be expected from a residential system.

You may contact us at 1-800-222-3121 or press the button below to submit an electronic request for more information.

Infrared scanning can save you money. Electrical and mechanical connections usually do not fail quickly or without warning. They fail over time, generating heat and infrared radiation that, although invisible to the naked eye, is easily detected with infrared thermography equipment. Midwest Energy can use infrared scanning equipment to detect "hot spots"-- areas in electrical or mechanical equipment indicating the equipment could fail. Usually, hot spots appearing deteriorating electrical connections that must be repaired or replaced in order to prevent expensive unplanned downtime. Infrared scans can also identify bearings nearing failure, voids in insulated walls and ceilings and locate roof leaks in commercial buildings. If you need to have a large electrical motor rebuilt, an infrared scan of the motor windings will guard against possible future problems. Our trained technicians will provide you with a report describing the problem areas along with actual pictures and videotape of the hot spots.

Residential Customers can benefit from thermography as well. An infrared scan of your home can detect voids in insulation in the building cavity and provide an infrared"snapshot" of your home's energy loss.

Many insurance companies now offer premium discounts if infrared scans are performed. Along with providing preventive maintenance information, an infrared scan can identify safety problems. Call 1-800-222-3121 for an infrared scan of your building,or press the button below to submit an electronic request for more information. There is a minimal charge for infrared scanning.

Infrared scanning can save you money. Electrical and mechanical connections usually do not fail quickly or without warning. They fail over time, generating heat and infrared radiation that, although invisible to the naked eye, is easily detected with infrared thermography equipment. Midwest Energy can use infrared scanning equipment to detect "hot spots"-- areas in electrical or mechanical equipment indicating the equipment could fail. Usually, hot spots appearing deteriorating electrical connections that must be repaired or replaced in order to prevent expensive unplanned downtime. Infrared scans can also identify bearings nearing failure, voids in insulated walls and ceilings and locate roof leaks in commercial buildings. If you need to have a large electrical motor rebuilt, an infrared scan of the motor windings will guard against possible future problems. Our trained technicians will provide you with a report describing the problem areas along with actual pictures and videotape of the hot spots.

Residential Customers can benefit from thermography as well. An infrared scan of your home can detect voids in insulation in the building cavity and provide an infrared"snapshot" of your home's energy loss.

Many insurance companies now offer premium discounts if infrared scans are performed. Along with providing preventive maintenance information, an infrared scan can identify safety problems. Call 1-800-222-3121 for an infrared scan of your building,or press the button below to submit an electronic request for more information. There is a minimal charge for infrared scanning.

In today's competitive business environment keeping operating costs down is more important than ever. Many energy managers recommend that an energy audit be performed every five years. An energy audit of your facility will identify major areas of energy use and estimate the energy costs associated with the individual areas. Recommendations for reducing energy consumption in these areas are also provided along with the cost reductions that can be expected.

A computer simulation of your facility will be performed using data collected from an actual site visit, typical yearly weather data, actual energy use histories and current energy rates. From the computer simulation we will make recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of the building. The payback period for each recommendation is estimated so that the most economical projects can be selected. So, if you want to keep your energy budget under control and stay ahead of your competition, request an energy audit of your building today. Your competition will.

Cost is $50 minimum; will estimate based on type of building and square footage.

Test the integrity of the duct work.

Test combustion efficiency.