If you’re like most homeowners, you probably suspect that energy is being wasted in your home. Yet, unless you know how and where it’s being lost, you can’t prevent it. Fortunately, professional home energy evaluations can quantify and identify energy waste. While you might be able to perform a basic do-it-yourself energy evaluation yourself, a professional audit is a more comprehensive way to minimize energy inefficiency.

What to Expect in an Expert Home Energy Evaluation

• The energy auditor will tour your home, examining windows, doors, walls and roof; checking for insulation; inspecting ductwork, and taking a close look at your heating and cooling system. He or she will likely review recent years’ utility bills to develop a picture of your family’s energy use.
• Diagnostic tests, using high-tech imaging equipment, will be undertaken. These include the blower-door test. A powerful fan is installed in an exterior doorway and turned on to blow outside. This is done after all windows and doors are closed. The auditor will use a gauge to measure how quickly the interior air pressure returns to normal after all the air has been sucked from the home.
• While this is happening, a thermographic scan will show where air leaks are located, along with where insulation is either inadequate or missing altogether.
• Diagnostic testing also may be performed on ductwork to assess its efficiency and performance.

Do-It-Yourself Evaluation

Even without sophisticated gauges and cameras, you can at least get a rudimentary idea of your home’s energy efficiency.

• Patrol the inside and outside interior of the house, looking for air leaks. Likely spots include windows and doors, areas in walls where wiring or pipes penetrate, and places where building materials meet.
• Check the attic for sufficient insulation (it should rise to the top of the floor joists in most homes), inspect light bulbs to see if they can be replaced with modern CFLs or LEDs, and make sure the water heater and hot-water pipes are insulated.

Since 1979, Powers Heating and Air has offered high-quality HVAC services to customers in Peachtree City and the surrounding areas. Contact us today for more information on performing a home energy evaluation and what you can do to save energy and money.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Peachtree City, Georgia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about home energy evaluations and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 770-487-2040.

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