With winter in full force, you’re probably wishing you were spending less on heating costs. What if we told you that you could save between 5% and 30% on your monthly energy bill, while increasing the efficiency of your home’s energy system? You can, with a home energy audit.
Home energy audits are essential in pinpointing where your home loses the most energy as well as determining potential health and safety issues. Let’s take a look at the steps involved in a home energy audit, and how it can help your home and family.
Pre-Audit
When you call Air Group to perform your home energy audit, the first step is to perform a “pre-audit”. This will be completed by your designated Home Energy Audit Specialist, who will work with you during the entire audit process to ensure the best results. During our pre-audit, we determine the “Manual J” calculation for your home, which helps us figure out the correct equipment sizing for your home.
When we say top to bottom, we really mean it! Your Audit Specialist will need to have access to your entire home, from basement to attic, to ensure that we don’t miss a single nook or cranny during our inspection. In addition to the leak and sizing evaluations, we’ll also propose the proper insulation and air sealing procedures needed to tighten up your home. During the pre-audit process, we document your current HVAC equipment’s age, model numbers, capacity, and efficiency ratings.
After assessing your home, we will need the past 12 months of your utility bills so we can determine your current energy use and therefore determine how to decrease it.
Uncovering Your Energy Savings
After the home inspection is completed, our Audit Specialist returns back to the office to enter all of the information they collected into our Home Performance Software, which analyzes where you can save on energy. We then prepare and present to you a proposal with the designated measures that will make your home 20 to 25% more energy efficient. Besides being a more “green” household, the potential upgrades to your home will qualify you for either a $4,000 or $5,000 rebate!
Once everything is agreed upon, your signature is needed to finalize the contract. If applicable, your deposit would be collected at this time.
We submit all of this paperwork to the Home Performance office while applying for your town permits, which are needed if any new high-efficiency heating or cooling systems are being installed.
If you are applying for a loan, it must be done within one month of your installation date. If approved, you could qualify for up to $10,000 in financing at 0% interest for a 10-year term.
Prepare To Save!
After all of the necessary documents are collected and finalized, we can begin with the final steps of the home energy audit process. On the day (or days) of your installation, your Audit Specialist will meet with the crew and get everything going. The crew will complete all of the necessary installations and upgrades to your home equipment, any air sealing needed within your home, and, if necessary, blown cellulose insulation in your attic.
Once the installations are completed, your Audit Specialist will perform one final blower door test, and perform a “test-out”, measuring the new air-tightness of your home. After a full walk-through and all necessary paperwork is signed, we return to our offices to send your entire completion package for final approval.
Are You Ready For Energy Savings?
I bet you never thought you’d say “yes” to that! Making the recommended energy efficiency upgrades is a great way to save on energy costs and safeguard your family from indoor air pollution. When it comes to making your home a safer and more efficient environment, Air Group has you covered.
What are you waiting for? Schedule an appointment today and start saving!