If you want to determine your HVAC system’s energy efficiency, a home energy audit can help. A home energy audit can identify the causes of energy loss in your house that result in huge energy bills. It also provides you with techniques and improvements to mitigate the losses and lower your energy usage.
What Is a Home Energy Audit?
An energy audit is a quick examination of your home’s energy consumption. An audit will take anywhere between one and four hours, depending on the size of your house, and your report will be generated shortly thereafter. A certified Hutchinson energy expert will conduct the inspection by walking through your home and taking note of how the household uses energy. A major component of the audit is the use of infrared (IR) cameras to identify areas with poor insulation or areas where air is leaking into, or out of, the home. The IR camera works by taking a “picture of temperatures” throughout your home and by showing areas of your home that are warmer or cooler. These photos allow for a better analysis of the issues in your home.
Other important components of a home energy audit include:
- Attic and wall insulation
- Efficiency of heating and cooling systems
- Appliance energy usage
- Water heater
- Washer and dryer
- Refrigerator
- Stove
- Lighting
- Other Appliances
- Appliance safety check
- The size of your home
These elements are all small pieces of the puzzle. Once we analyze the performance and usage of each component, we can put together a big picture of how much energy your family is using.
Benefits of Getting a Home Energy Audit
An energy audit is an excellent way to assess and reduce your home’s energy use, in addition to saving money. This audit will also help identify problem areas and safety issues in your home. For example, an old or damaged furnace will work harder and harder each year to produce the same amount of energy. This can cause your heating bills to increase gradually. The same furnace could also have a gas leak that’s not properly being vented through the exhaust pipe. Not only is this wasting your money, but it’s also a health hazard for your family. Here are other reasons to schedule a home energy audit:
1. Boost Energy Efficiency
Energy audits are designed to help you improve energy efficiency in your home. The audit enables you to identify energy drains and leaks that you were probably unaware of. These leaks include air and insulation leaks, heating, cooling, and electronic leaks. Energy assessments, therefore, help lower your power bills for the long term. At the end of the home auditing process, the auditor will provide several recommendations that will help you start saving money on your bills.
2. Easy Budgeting
A home energy audit enables you to budget and forecast your future home expenses. The audit allows you to take inventory of home appliances or fixtures and their energy consumption levels. Once you determine the energy usage, you can budget the necessary finances to keep your home running. It also helps you identify inconsistencies in power consumption caused by malfunctioning appliances. You can then budget for repair or upgrade.
3. Cutting Down Energy Usage
When you are aware of your home’s energy use, you are empowered to make more energy-efficient choices that save money and the environment from CO2 emissions. If you rely on fossil fuels to power your home, you could be responsible for significant amounts of CO2 that harms the environment.
When to Schedule a Home Energy Audit
Energy audits work best with substantial temperature differences. During winter, the cold weather enables the auditor to get more precise insights of the heat escaping your home and the cold air coming in. Additionally, with more homeowners scheduling their audits for summer, scheduling yours during winter means less competition and cheaper services due to low demand for auditing services.
On average, homeowners in New Jersey will pay about 50% of their yearly utility bill just to heat their homes. While most homeowners are shocked by their air conditioning bills during the summer, it’s important to keep in mind that summer is only two to three months long, while winter drags on for the better part of six months. That’s a lot more bills and a lot more money! The sooner you can start saving, the better!
Additionally, because we spend more of our time indoors during the winter, indoor air quality becomes even more important. During the energy audit, our technicians will look for things such as mold, mildew, and asbestos, as well as other contaminants which may affect your respiratory health and/or cause any other issues which may lead to damage to your home, such as fire.
Scheduling the energy audit during the winter also ensures your home is ready for the warm summer months. The issue that plagues almost every home in New Jersey during the summer is “My second floor is too hot!” Rather than being caused by one single issue, this temperature difference is often caused by a number of failures in home sealing, insulation, ductwork, and air conditioner design. A home energy audit can help you create a detailed plan to quickly remedy the issue and keep that second floor cool. These upgrades can also help lower the humidity in your home and remove any additional hot/cold spots.
By making a few upgrades to your home’s insulation and reducing leaks in your home, you will reduce the amount of cooling your air conditioner needs to produce to keep you cool, or your heater needs to keep you warm.
Get Accurate Energy Audits With Hutchinson
If you’re experiencing an unexplained surge in your bills, it’s probably time to do a home energy audit. At Hutchinson, we are one of the leading energy audit companies in Philadelphia and New Jersey. Schedule an audit with us today to determine how you can reduce energy costs while maintaining the comfort of your living space.