A home energy audit is one of the greatest investments a homeowner can make. When a home is performing at it’s peak energy efficiency, homeowners improve the comfort of their homes and save money on their monthly utility bills. They benefit further by receiving rebates and tax incentives if they take advantage of state, local and federal programs to make energy efficient upgrades. The process of making a home more efficient begins with an energy audit from an accredited contractor.
What to have ready before an energy auditor arrives:
Close and latch windows, do the same for doors.
Raise blinds or draw open curtains
If you have a fireplace, empty the ash, or cover with wet newspaper (this will prevent any mess when a blower test is conducted).
Clear away any belongings to allow access into the crawl spaces, access hatches or attic space. Do the same for access to boilers, furnaces and water heaters
Secure all pets.
The auditor will request to analyze all areas of the home, if there are special considerations to be made, be prepared to discuss this with the auditor.
Have the following information prepared for the auditor:
Knowledge of any hot or cold spots in the home.
Alert the auditor to any family members who suffer from asthma or allergies.
Knowledge of any moisture problems in the home.
General information about the home’s construction, such as what year the house was built, square footage, etc.
A copy of recent gas and electric bills that show a twelve month history.
What to expect from an auditor’s visit:
Allow 2-4 hours for the auditor to complete his analysis (time to completion varies depending on the size and complexity of the home).
The auditor will complete a visual inspection of the home.
The auditor will perform tests including the blower door test to assess air leakage, and infrared thermography to gauge weaknesses in insulation, ductwork, windows and doors.
A combustion analysis will also be performed to test for any CO2 leakage from gas lines in boilers, water heaters or appliances.
To conclude the visit, the auditor will provide a comprehensive report on his findings and a list of solutions to address any problems.
Learn more and schedule your cost-effective energy audit today call Home Energy Saving Solutions at 703.260.1933 or contact us here.
My husband and I have an older home, and we want to ensure that we aren’t wasting any energy. I think that we should get a home energy audit to let us know where we could do better. Thanks for letting us know that we should tell the auditor, once we’ve found one, any cold or hot spots in the house or any moisture problems.
It’s really nice that you mentioned securing all pets before the energy auditors arrive to conduct several tests around the home. I’d remind Dad to have Blacky and Browny be brought to a dog daycare while auditors test for air leakage, faulty insulation, and heater problems. It would be good, too, to fill in inspectors on electric bill trends, moisture points, and incidence of asthma flareups to help them identify problem areas. This is a really useful checklist for the annual energy audit visits! Thank you.
My husband wants to do an energy audit of our house to know how to budget our expenses since we’ll be saving up a lot for our future twins. I’ll make sure to prepare the utility bills that you mentioned here in this article for the home auditor to lessen his burden. Also, I’ll review the bills carefully to see if it has all the info that we need and photocopy the bills just in cause the auditor needs copies of his own.