5 Important Reasons To Get A Home Energy Audit
A home energy assessment, also known as a home energy audit, assesses how your home loses or wastes energy and what measures you can take to improve the comfort and energy efficiency of your home.
A home energy audit will show you problems that may, when corrected, will have a dramatic effect on your home’s overall comfort and will save you significant amounts of money over time.
The audit uses specialized equipment and expertly trained individuals to uncover ways to make your home comfortable, energy-efficient, and healthy.
Professional energy auditors carry professional credentials from the Building Performance Institute to indicate they have met the required professional and educational prerequisites and are certified to the highest standard in the industry.
The assessment goes into great detail to assess your home's energy use.
The energy auditor will do a room-by-room examination of the residence, as well as a thorough examination of past utility bills.
An assessment will include a blower door test and a thermographic scan of the walls in your home to assess the amount of insulation in your home’s walls.
Your home is as unique as you are. It will take time for your certified home energy professional to evaluate your home and your family’s specific comfort, efficiency, or indoor air quality needs. A comprehensive home energy audit takes approximately three hours to complete.
At the conclusion of your home energy audit, a certified specialist should present you with a list of upgrades. These recommendations follow the guidance of the Building Performance Institute to prioritize repairs that will yield maximum results.
Remember… it’s not rocket science, it’s building science.
Safety
An important part of the home energy audit is the safety testing performed on your heating equipment.
Combustion Safety Testing focuses on three main safety concerns:
Natural gas or propane leakage
Exposed gas pipes and fittings are tested for leakage to ensure they are properly sealed.
Exhaust leakage
The exhaust pressure of your mechanical equipment is tested and exhaust is examined for excessive levels of carbon monoxide.
Carbon monoxide levels
Ambient CO levels are measured to ensure a safe environment for occupants.
Air Leakage & Infiltration
One of the most important pieces of equipment an energy auditor operates is called a blower door, which is used to determine where air is leaking out of your home. If you follow the auditor around while the blower door is running, you might be surprised at what you’d find. Air leaking through face plates on switches and outlets, and escaping around doors, windows, pipes, and under sinks … and all of these places add up. Put them all together and you could have a space the size of a bathroom window -- maybe even bigger -- that’s constantly open. The blower door test is a good way to learn why your house isn’t comfortable. This is usually the biggest source of energy loss in a home, and sealing those gaps is one of the quickest ways to make your home more comfortable and efficient.
Prioritized Repairs
With the power of a home energy audit, you can get the answers you need to make smart, budget-friendly upgrades to your home. Speed your decision making process with our easy-to-understand savings projections, comprehensive project pricing, and our detailed incentive breakdowns. Solve comfort issues with the help of our experienced Ciel Home Performance Consultants who provide the most personalized customer experience in the industry. Making home improvements is tough - we want to help simplify the process.
Cash & Financing Incentives
There are many reasons to embrace energy-efficient home improvements and renewable energy systems. However, some people are hesitant to move forward with these changes due to concerns about upfront costs. If you’re in this group of homeowners, we’ve got good news for you: Many Incentives are available in the form of tax credits, rebates, and savings programs and a home energy audit is often a prerequisite for participating in these programs!
Additionally, you may be eligible for energy-efficient financing if you’re buying, selling, refinancing, or remodeling an energy-efficient home.
Finding Rebates and Incentives
If you’re wondering what specific incentives may be available to you, the following resources can help:
The ENERGY STAR website provides extensive information on federal income tax credits and other energy efficiency incentives. Other ENERGY STAR resources include a handy Rebate Finder, which lets you enter your zip code into a database to find rebates and special offers near you; and its “Tax Credits” FAQ, which provides further guidance toward understanding what credits are available and how to apply.
Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency
The NC Clean Energy Technology Center offers a comprehensive Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency. As with the ENERGY STAR Rebate Finder, you can enter your zip code to find geographically relevant policies and incentives. You can also search manually by state. Depending on where you live, you may find upwards of hundreds of opportunities to save big while improving your home’s energy efficiency.
New Jersey Clean Energy Program
If your home is located in New Jersey, the New Jersey Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program offers cash-back incentives in the amount of $2,000, $3,000, or $4,000 to help you save money and extend your home improvement dollars. Incentive financing totaling $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 gives you comfortable payment options to meet your needs and your budget. Visit our New Jersey Home Performance with ENERGY STAR page to learn more about this valuable program.
Environmental Impact
Energy is so much a part of life that we often use it without thinking about its sources and impacts on the environment.
Most of the energy used by our homes is generated from burning fossil fuels like coal, gas, or oil. Today, fossil fuels provide around 66 percent of the world’s electrical power and 95 percent of the world’s total energy demands.
Accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, released from the burning of fossil fuel, contributes to global warming and triggers changes in the surrounding environment and, ultimately, on our social and economic realities.
Increasing efficiency of energy consumption is likely one of the most straightforward and practical ways to climate change mitigation.