Energy Audits Give You a Real-Time Evaluation of Your Home’s Efficiency

If your home is leaking energy, you’re losing money. Paying for a professional energy audit of your home can be a great investment and save you substantial money down the road. In an energy audit, a professional reviews the outside and inside of your home, checking for leaks where heated or cooled air (or heat energy where insulation is concerned) could be moving through cracks, windows, loose ductwork, poorly or uninsulated areas, and more. The settings and condition of major appliances such as the furnace, A/C and water heater will be tested and evaluated to see whether you could be saving energy, and therefore, money.

A blower door test during an energy audit will identify where air is moving between the inside and outside of your home. During this test, the doors and windows of the home are closed, and air is sucked out of the home with a large door-mounted fan, lowering the inside pressure and encouraging air from outside to seep into the home in whatever way it can. The areas where air can leak in can then be spotted with an infra-red camera. Once they’re found, they can be sealed. The thermographic scan can also identify places where insulation is lacking.

After you have the home energy audit report in your hands, you can address the problems. This can involve having a professional come in to help fix major issues, or you can simply start making adjustments and fixes yourself. Small steps such as adjusting settings on your appliances and replacing light bulbs with high-efficiency bulbs is a good place to start. If you’re comfortable working with insulation, you can easily add some, especially on the attic floor. Most homeowners also can seal accessible leaks in ductwork, through a professional is needed for a more comprehensive job.

For more professional advice and help with an energy audit and needed fixes after the audit, please contact us at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning. We have more than 50 combined years of experience helping Northeast Ohio residents with their HVAC and home energy needs.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about energy audits and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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