What to Expect During a Home Energy Audit

You pay enough each month for your electric bill—you don’t want to be wasting that precious energy you’re paying for. To ensure your home is operating safely and efficiently, schedule an energy audit to determine your home’s energy effectiveness. Before you schedule, let’s discuss what happens during a standard energy audit.

An energy audit can take several hours depending on the size of your home. Once data is collected, building analysts will determine problem areas that are leading to drafts, cold rooms, icicles, and condensation. They will visually inspect your home, making sure they investigate all nooks and crannies. They’ll pay particular attention to the attic and basement.

During an energy audit, special tools will be used to measure energy consumption. Those results will be compared to your energy bills so you can gain an understanding about how you can save money and improve energy consumption. RetroGreen offers 10 different science-based tests that measure heat loss, air flow, moisture levels, and air quality. A blower door test, a signature test of home performance, offers data about air leakage. The results will be compared to other homes, and can be used as a before/after comparison. Building analysts will also use a specialized thermographic camera to take color coded pictures that reveal where heat is escaping from your home. It will also reveal how much air is escaping. This test takes the guesswork out of pinpointing drafts and leaky spots in the home. There should be 0% connection to the outdoors. Pressure testing determines the pressure for each room.

After the blower door test is complete, and leaks are pinpointed, your building analyst will sit down with you to discuss ways to fix the problems identified during the audit. Air sealing and insulating are often recommended to make your home more energy efficient. Documenting this test proves to be valuable if you decide to sell your home in the future.

Improve your home’s performance; call RetroGreen and schedule an energy audit today!