While a professional home energy audit is the best way to determine where your home is losing energy and where you can save, you can conduct your own simple but diligent walk-through and spot many problems in any type of house. This "do-it-yourself" home energy audit will not be as thorough as a professional home energy assessment, but it can help you pinpoint some of the easier areas to address. When walking through your home, keep a checklist of areas you have inspected and problems you found. This list will help you prioritize your energy efficiency upgrades. Do not assume that just because your home is recently constructed–or even new–that there are no opportunities to save energy. Energy-saving technology has evolved rapidly over the past few years, outpacing training commonly available to many builders, including some of the most reputable.
A home energy audit, also known as a home energy assessment, can help you understand the whole picture of your home's energy use. An audit can help you determine how much energy your home uses, where your home is losing energy, and which problem areas and fixes you should prioritize to make your home more efficient and comfortable. A home energy audit should be your first step before making energy-saving home improvements, as well as before adding a renewable energy system to your home. PROFESSIONAL HOME ENERGY AUDITS A professional home energy audit will provide a thorough assessment of your home's energy use. In addition to a room-by-room examination of the home, an auditor may employ equipment such as blower doors, infrared cameras, and (rarely) PerFluorocarbon tracer gas. DO-IT-YOURSELF HOME ENERGY AUDITS While a professional energy audit provides the most complete picture of your home's energy use, a diligent self-assessment can help you pinpoint problem areas and prioritize your energy efficiency upgrades. © U.S. Department of Energy - http://energy.gov
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AuthorThis is an accumulation of information from SWR's staff and the U.S. Department of Energy. |