ARLINGTON, Mass. – The massive project started with a small water stain on the dining room ceiling that nagged at Alex Cheimets.

He took the leak repair to the extreme.

Four years later, his two-family condo in Arlington is encased in so much insulation, the builders were forced to switch to extra-long 10-inch screws just to attach it to the roof.

His unique “super-insulation” project costs $100,000, though half of it being picked up by sponsors including NStar. But Cheimets expects when it’s completed in coming weeks it will save him up to 70 percent on his energy bills, or as much as $4,000 a year.

The project is being closely watched by state officials who are hoping such super-insulated homes become more common. “Right now, that home is highly unusual,” said Ian Bowles, the state’s secretary of energy and environmental affairs. “That type of investment is going to need to become much more commonplace.”

Bowles acknowledges the cost of super-insulation is still prohibitive for most. But he thinks prices will fall as various state mandates, including an 80 percent greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2050, force residents to seek ways to be more energy efficient. More demand for super-insulated houses will mean more competition for the work, pushing down labor and material costs, he said.

Cheimets said he knows it will take years before the job’s cost equals the investment in his 80-year-old, oil-heated house. But he believes as super-insulation costs fall, and oil prices inevitably rise, the condo can be an example of how an average person be more energy efficient.

“Not everybody is going to make oil out of algae,” Cheimets said. “I think this is (an area) where everybody, everybody can do something, because this is not high tech.”

There’s no industry-standard definition of “super-insulated,” according to the state, which generally considers a home super-insulated if its insulation far exceeds building code requirements. Such homes popped around the United States when fuel prices soared during the energy crisis in the 1970s and early 1980s. But interest dropped with the price of oil.

Carlos Martin of the National Association of Home Builders said some of those early homes were plagued by mold caused by improper air flow, but he added those problems have been largely solved. With price by far the biggest obstacle, Martin said it’s important to figure out ways to get money to people who want to be super-insulated, such as with mortgages that fund energy efficient homes, or special financing for “green” projects.

“People don’t even have money to pay the initial costs, even if they know they can recoup it, because nobody’s going to lend them the money,” Martin said.

When Cheimets started work, he had no intent to turn his home repair into a statewide example. The stain pointed to a problem with the siding, which Cheimets and his condo co-owners decided to replace. The idea for super-insulation came after Cheimets wondered if he could do better than the relatively thin layer of insulation often used under new siding, and maybe relieve the home’s persistent indoor chill.

Cheimets, a 44-year-old engineer with two kids, approached the state with questions about super-insulation, and they became interested in monitoring his project. The new windows, doors and roof were added at the insistence and expense of project sponsors Cheimets enlisted after the state got behind the work.

By this past summer, Cheimets was using children’s chairs to block off his tightly packed residential street so 18-wheelers could deliver materials, and forklifts could unload it.

Part of the state’s payoff will come after the work is done. Sensors will measure humidity and help track heat loss. A blower test with a giant fan will see just how tight the home is sealed. An oil tank sensor will track oil use at different indoor and outdoor temperatures.

Though the house is near completion, its thick, new insulation coat is still visible on a recent visit. Four inches of foam board insulation cover the outside and six inches has been placed on the roof. To make up for the loss of air flow through the old clapboards, a new ventilation system allows fresh air to come in, while permitting indoor air and pollutants to circulate out.

The thick exterior insulation puts the siding a few inches out from the windows. But on a small, completed section of the house, it’s not noticeable.

“We wouldn’t have done it if it was going to be ugly,” Cheimets said. At times, Cheimets said the extensive project has been overwhelming, but mainly, he sees it as an opportunity.

“There’s a million houses out there. I know math, one house is nothing,” Cheimets said. “But as an example that other people can follow, or other states … that’s great.”

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On the Web:

Project’s Web site: http://superinsulating.blogspot.com

AP-ES-01-17-09 1253EST

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