Why You Should Consider a Home Energy Audit
April 06, 2023
April 06, 2023
Energy-related costs are a significant part of many homeowners’ monthly expenses. By completing a home energy audit, you can help ensure that your home is equipped to use energy efficiently, which can help keep you comfortable while saving you money for years to come.
A home energy audit is an assessment conducted by professionals — known as “energy assessors” — who measure a home’s energy consumption. This process involves a room-by-room examination of the entire property in addition to a review of previousutility bills. By using energy assessment tools and referencing historical billing information, energy assessors can discover where in the home energy is used inefficiently and how that affects yo monthly utility bills.
Before the energy assessor comes to your home, it’s recommended that you create a list of any questions or potential issues you’ve noticed around the house and gather copies of your monthly and yearly energy bills. Your billing history should be available online, or you can contact your utility provider for more options.
Some information you’ll want to give your assessor in advance includes the following:
Your answers to these questions can help the assessor personalize your audit to ensure that the findings are accurate and relevant.
After a thorough investigation of each room in your house, your energy assessor will put together a report that identifies issue areas impacting your home’s energy efficiency. This can include items such as:
With a better understanding of how and where your house is losing efficiency, you can make more informed decisions on potential upgrades and renovations to improve sustainability.
You can locate a professional energy assessor by contacting your local government energy or weatherization office. In addition to these state-sponsored resources, your energy utility provider may be able to recommend auditors.
With a better picture of potential areas in your home for efficiency improvements, you can work with your energy assessor to identify and prioritize energy-saving solutions. The following updates are commonplace among homeowners choosing to optimize their energy efficiency:
As with most home improvement projects, it’s important to consider factors such as the local climate, your goals for home energy saving and how much you’re willing to spend for these upgrades.
Depending on the scope of improvements you decide to pursue, an energy renovation mortgage product may be right for you. Mortgage products like Freddie Mac’s GreenCHOICE Mortgages® can help homeowners finance improvements for energy efficiency that save them money on energy costs.