A home energy audit can be a very valuable tool
to learn information about the energy efficiency
of your home.
Traditionally, the word “audit” can carry
a very negative connotation. You might think of
an IRS agent in a dark suit and the fact
this is going to cost you a lot of money.
Thankfully, that is not the type of audit we are
talking about. A home energy audit can actually
be the first step toward saving money.
One thing people ask us is how often they should
have a complete home energy audit? Listed below
are the types of things we are looking for
during an audit, you do not want to go more than
five years before performing another home energy
audit. Annual audits could be
performed but that might be a little too
frequent (if your wall insulation is adequate
this year, it will probably be okay next year
also). Every three to five years is a good
cycle to keep your home efficient and catch
certain situations before they get out of
control.
When Kozy Heating & Air Conditioning performs a
home energy audit, we have a specific list of
items that are always checked. Before we come to
your home you should have your own list of
questions you might have, notes on rooms in the
house that are too cool or too warm, perhaps any
unusual noises you have heard coming from the AC
or heating system. Between our
list and your list we should cover all the
important items.
List of items checked during our home energy
audit:
-
Check the furnace, if more than 20 years
old or operating at less than 70% steady
state efficiency we would recommend
replacing with a new burner or perhaps a
complete new furnace (depending on various
factors which we will discuss with you)
-
Check water heater insulation. If needed, we
install insulation to R-3 minimum
-
Check windows for double-pane vinyl U-0.35
or better. If needed, we would recommend
upgrading to at least that standard. If
windows are quite old new energy-efficient
windows will pay for themselves in utility
bill savings.
-
Check all exterior doors to see that they
are insulated to U-0.20.
-
Check ductwork in unheated areas for 2
things. (1) Insulation with at least R-8
might be needed. (2) Check for leaks in the
ductwork. If there are leaks, Sealing will
be recommended.
-
Check crawl spaces under all flooring for
proper insulation to R-30 standards.
-
One of the major factors in our home energy
audit is checking outside walls (and any
exposed walls in the attic). These need to
be well insulated. Outside walls for the
house should be at R-13 and any attic
exposed wall should be R-21.
-
Check attic for proper insulation. The
standard minimum for attics and ceilings is
R-38.
-
Programmable thermostat preferred. That way
the entire home is not heated or cooled
during the times when no one is there to
benefit from it. These are relatively
inexpensive and the savings in energy
usually pays for it pretty quickly.
-
Finally, we will check the entire house
overall to ensure the structure is well
sealed any leaks can be sealed using
weather-stripping and sealing caulk in the
problem areas.
Give us a call and we'll be happy to arrange a
home energy audit for you!
We our authorized dealers of all major brands:
Trane, Carrier, American Standard, Lennox,
Amana, Goodman, Payne, Bryant, York, Rheem, Rudd
and many more.
