A home energy audit is a great way of determining why your energy bills are so high. Why should you have a professional do it for you?
A professional audit, although expensive, gives a more thorough assessment of your home’s energy usage. During the examination, the auditors check each room using special equipment to give a more wholesome and correct picture of the energy waste.
This information enables you to come up with a better solution on how to conserve energy.
How should you prepare for an energy audit?
Before the energy auditor comes to your home, ensure that you:
- Have your yearly utility bills.
- Are available to answer any questions they may have regarding your home’s energy usage.
- Prepare a list of all existing energy efficiency problems.
- Provide the auditors with a summary of your home’s occupants behaviors e.g when are they all at home?
Why Conduct a Home Energy Audit?
- Minimizes energy wastage
An energy audit shows you the areas in your home that use energy inefficiently and how to correct these energy-wasting problems. It also highlights heat and air leaks including gaps in your floors, ceilings, and walls, and checks on your heat-regulating equipment to ensure they operate efficiently.
- Makes your home more comfortable
It will be easier to warm your house in the winter and cool it in the summer if the changes advised in the audit are implemented.1 The extra insulation also makes your home more serene by making it soundproof.
The savings you make by using energy more efficiently can be invested in improving other areas of the home making it more comfortable.
- Ensures health and safety
During an energy audit, your home will be inspected for health and safety. The experts will check if there are any electrical hazards, ensure that all wiring is done properly.
They will also test for fuel leaks, and perform combustion appliance zone testing on all fuel-powered appliances.
- Increases the value of your house
If you are planning to sell your home in the future, the addition of energy-saving equipment and features will increase the value of your home by making it more appealing to prospective buyers.
An energy audit will identify the areas these improvements will add more value to, so that you don’t make these changes in areas that don’t need them.
- Reduces your environmental impact
Some of the energy you use is from non-renewable energy sources like coal and natural gas. By efficiently using the energy at your disposal, less of these resources are used.
An energy audit will pinpoint areas of change which once implemented will reduce your carbon spend and help you reduce your carbon footprint.
Why Should You Prioritize a Home Energy Audit?
If you are solving the energy-saving problems on a budget, the energy audit will show you the areas that need more immediate attention.
You are then able to address the problems efficiently by dealing with the most inefficient gaps first.
Links to sources used
- Professional Home Energy Audits – https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/home-energy-audits/professional-home-energy-audits
