How to Make Your Home Energy Efficient
(Page 2 of 7)
October/November 2008
By Dan Chiras
If this is more work than you’d like to undertake, or if you’re feeling uncertain, you can hire a qualified professional energy auditor to perform the inspection for you. You’ll find them in the business pages under “Energy Conservation and Management Services” or “Home Inspection,” or see the member directory.
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Professional energy audits. Energy auditors perform simple visual inspections for about $75 to $100, but can perform more sophisticated and expensive tests on your home, such as a blower door test, duct leakage test and comprehensive computer energy analysis. The cost of the complete energy analysis is typically $300 to $500, give or take. That may seem like a lot of money, but this analysis is well worth the expense — you’ll save much more than that over time if you follow up on the auditor’s recommendations.
Energy auditors provide a written report that lists potential energy improvements. The report includes recommendations for sealing cracks and openings in the building envelope — that is, weatherizing a home. It’s also likely to call for additional insulation in walls, ceilings and perhaps floors, especially over crawl spaces or unheated basements. The report may recommend insulation for hot water lines from the water heater to various faucets in the house; efforts to seal and insulate ducts that transport hot and cold air from heaters and air conditioners; and replacement of old, inefficient appliances.
Rather than hire a professional to perform tests and retrofit your home, you may want to contact your local utility to see if they can help. Many efficiency-conscious utilities offer free or low-cost energy audits. Another option is to contact nonprofit organizations that offer energy audits and retrofits in your area; many of them focus on the residences of low-income families who can’t afford high utility bills, yet are unable to afford professional energy upgrades.
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After reviewing the problems (you could see them as opportunities) identified in your energy audit, you have two options: Roll up your sleeves and do the work yourself, or hire an energy retrofitter to perform the necessary work for you. Although hiring a professional will cost substantially more than doing the work yourself, a qualified expert is often worth the extra expense. They perform the work quickly and efficiently with a minimum of ineffective repairs.
A professional energy retrofitter can even access high-quality materials that often aren’t sold in local hardware stores or building supply outlets, such as duct mastic, a paste used to seal leaky air ducts in heating and air conditioning systems. Using high-quality products helps the improvements last a long time.
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