Worried your hard earned cash is escaping out the cracks of your windows along with all your heat?
If you have recently purchased a home or are interested in finding out how energy efficient your current home is, you may want to look into getting a home energy audit. When looking into energy audits, Louisville KY residents must first find a reputable auditor. A professional in the field will come to your home and perform a full “energy audit” which entails carefully looking over your home from top to bottom to find any areas where energy may be leaking away your hard earned dollars.
It is estimated that poorly sealed walls, roofs, and duct work can cause from 5 to 30 percent heat loss during the coldest months of the year.
With energy audits in Louisville KY homeowners can find these leaks and winterize their homes to prevent future heat loss. A little time spent insulating and sealing open areas in your home can save you quite a few dollars over the span of two or three years.
Here is how an energy audit works:
A professional home energy rater will be sent to your home and they are trained to inspect construction techniques and measure a home’s efficient performance. There are two ways a home energy rater can help builders choose energy efficient features for their Energy Star home.
The 1st way is when an energy rater simulates the home’s energy use with a computer program. The software will tell the rater what appliances or upgrades will meet the Energy Start performance guidelines.
The 2nd way is called the builder option package. The energy rater and builder work together to prepare a set of climate-specific construction regulations by following the EPA guidelines. This ensures new homes being built based on these guidelines will consistently meet the Energy Star requirements.
Regardless of whether the house is being built or is already built, the energy rater will always perform an on-site test of the home.
They often use a blower door test, which tests how much your house is leaking and a duck blaster test, which tests how much your ducts are leaking. These tests and the results are to make sure your home is consistent with the Energy Star guidelines.
They will also analyze how your furnace, air conditioning units, and appliances use energy and if they are as efficient as they could be. They will also check your home’s insulation, windows and various other places around the foundation where energy can be lost through inadequate seals or poor insulation. When getting a professional energy audit, Louisville KY residents must understand that the older their home is, the worse the audit could be.
After the information is analyzed the auditor will provide you with a complete report on your homes strengths and weaknesses. The report will include how energy efficient each appliance is and what can be done to improve poor ratings. In some cases, the fix may be as easy as changing a seal on a refrigerator or as difficult as possibly replacing a faulty furnace.
When considering a professional energy audit in Louisville KY, homeowners should find a reputable auditor with a proven track record of being efficient as well as informative. A complete report will help you to correct as many of the problems as you can before bad weather sets in. Getting a home energy audit every 5 to 7 years can help keep energy costs low and savings high.
