When people hear the word “audit”, the connotation is almost always of a negative nature. It conjures images of men in grey suits with the unenviable task of sifting through every scrap of paper and invoice from years gone by, resurrecting the ghosts of bad recordkeeping and missing receipts, making you wish you took a little more care with your taxes.
If the word audit makes you feel even a little uneasy, it’s completely understandable however in this context the word “audit” is actually good.
Amazing there are energy auditors that can measure the amount of energy your home loses to its surroundings, think of them as a kind of “House Whisperer” who are able to pinpoint exactly where your homes vulnerable points are and fortify its energy weak spots making your home more energy efficient.
Their job in essence is to paint a picture of where you’re spending the most money, energy usage wise and suggest ways that you can reduce your consumption, reducing your energy bills. They generally look at your utility bills over the past 12 months to try and establish any usage patterns or abnormalities which could indicate electrical problems or identify energy wasting habits. They also eyeball where your home is losing energy due to air leakage, where drafts are seeping cold air in through cracks and ensure that your homes internal air quality is safe for living conditions. Until homeowners have a home energy audit done, they have no idea that their home is an energy sieve leaking precious heat to its surroundings.
The house whisperer’s tools of the trade resemble something straight out of the pages of Star Trek and employ high tech infrared technology to identify these energy cold spots. They can identify with precision exactly where your home needs insulation to plug these energy leaks as well as where air is infiltrating the house.
To achieve this, energy auditors use a blower door which is a fan attached onto the frame of an exterior’s doors opening. The fan draws air from out of the house reducing the homes internal air pressure. The higher external pressure creates a vacuum allowing air to flow in through all of the unsealed spaces.
Infrared or thermo imaging reveals where heat is escaping through leaks and walls, it also has the ability to show where insulation was improperly installed or where over time has shifted leaving energy gaps. This truly is where you find out the type of job your builder did and will identify if they properly insulated or not, inadequate insulation appears as dark spots.
An energy auditor will also investigate the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems, air leaks, water heater’s with the inclusion of household appliances and lighting to give an overall picture of how effectively energy is used in your home.
Post assessment, your energy auditor should recommend ways for improving your energy usage and identify based upon your habits where the most energy is being wasted and how you can reduce it. They will also recommend the best types of insulation for your home depending upon its location and climate. A home’s insulation in more tropical conditions will differ greatly from a home in colder climates.
You can find a certified energy auditor by checking within your area or with your local energy provider, they may even contract their own energy auditors specifically for this purpose or at least point you in the right direction of one.
An energy auditor is a must if you are looking at making improvements to your home, just by identifying and plugging these energy drains will save you money in the long run while maintaining a warmer, healthier home for less money.
