How to Conduct your own Home Energy Audit
Posted by James Desmond on Fri, Nov 20, 2009 @ 11:12 AM
You can easily conduct a home energy audit yourself. With a simple but diligent walk-through, you can spot many problems in any type of house. When auditing your home, keep a checklist of areas you have inspected and problems you found. This list will help you prioritize your energy efficiency upgrades.
Locating Air Leaks: The potential energy savings from reducing drafts in a home may range from 5 to 30% per year, and the home is generally much more comfortable afterward.
1) Check to see if air is flowing through any of these places:
Electrical outlets, switch plates, window frames, baseboards, weather stripping around your doors, fireplace dampers, attic hatches, and mounted air conditioners. 2) Inspect replacement windows and doors for air leaks. See if you can rattle them, since movement means possible air leaks. If you can see daylight around a door or window frame, then the door or window leaks. You may want to consider newer, energy-efficient replacement windows and doors, such as Heat Mirror windows and Masonite doors.
Insulation: Heat loss through the ceiling and walls in your home could be very large if the insulation levels are less than the recommended minimum.
1) If the attic hatch is located above a conditioned space, check to see if it is at least as heavily insulated as the attic, is weather stripped, and closes tightly. Make sure the attic vents are not blocked by insulation.
2) If your basement is unheated, determine whether there is insulation under the living area flooring. In most areas of the country, an R-value of 25 is the recommended minimum level of insulation. Also make sure your water heater, hot water pipes, and furnace ducts should all be insulated.
Heating/Cooling Equipment: Check to see if your furnace is more than 15 years old, if so you should consider replacing the system with a new energy-efficient unit. A newer furnace will greatly reduce your energy consumption. If your furnace isn't an older model then you should see if your filter needs to be replaced, which is recommended every 2 months. Finally insulate any ducts or pipes that travel through unheated spaces.
Lighting: Energy for lighting accounts for about 10% of your electric bill. Examine the wattage size of the light bulbs in your house. You may have 100-watt(or larger) bulbs where 60-75 watts would be more appropriate. You should also consider compact fluorescent lamps for areas where lights are on for hours at a time.
