Energy Audits

A home energy audit is the first step to assess how much energy your home consumes and to evaluate what measures you can take to make your home more energy efficient. An audit will show you problems that may, when corrected, save you significant amounts of money over time. During the audit, you can pinpoint where your house is losing energy. Audits also determine the efficiency of your home's heating and cooling systems. An audit may also show you ways to conserve hot water and electricity. You can perform a simple energy audit yourself, or have a professional energy auditor carry out a more thorough audit.

SustainableWorks Home Energy Audits

 A professional auditor uses a variety of techniques and equipment to determine the energy efficiency of a structure. We use equipment such as blower doors, which measure the extent of leaks in the building envelope, and infrared cameras, which reveal hard-to-detect areas of air infiltration and missing insulation.SustainableWorks energy audits go into great detail. The energy auditor will do a room-by-room examination of the residence, perform a blower door test and make a thorough examination of past utility bills.

Preparing for an Energy Audit

 First complete the SustainableWorks “Request for Energy Audit” form which includes basic information about your home and a release from your utility company of your energy use records.  Then, before the energy auditor visits your house send in the SustainableWorks “Pre-Audit Form” which includes information including:

• Is anyone home during working hours?
• What is the average thermostat setting for summer and winter?
• How many people live here?
• Is every room in use?
• Are there existing problems such as condensation?
• Do you have uncomfortable or drafty rooms?

Auditors use this information to establish what to look for during the audit. The auditor first examines the outside of the home to determine the size of the house and its features (i.e., wall area, number and size of windows).