Energy Audit Effectivness

Increase your homes comfort and significantly decrease your utility bills by conducting a home energy audit with Ecotelligent Homes.

This month I hired Ecotelligent Homes to come analyze how energy efficient (or as it turned out inefficient) our 42 year old home was.  Yikes!  Although I like to consider my family “eco” minded, simply put, programable thermostats, CFL light bulbs and lowering the hot water heater temperature barely makes a dent in the amount of potential energy and cash savings our family could be reaping.  Not to mention the increase comfort we will enjoy by implementing a few enhancements.

Over the course of 3 hours, their team conducted extensive testing identifying draft sources and detected insulation flaws in walls and our attic with a Thermal Infrared scanner.  Fortunately, we have no issues with our air duct ventilation nor our indoor air quality which were also tested.

Based on their findings they developed an Improvement Plan of Action.  The plan included an itemized energy consumption breakdown to see where most of our energy costs are generated.  Not surprising, heating and appliances are the biggest culprits.  They also provided an itemized estimate of  our yearly energy savings and available rebates for 2012 to help fund each improvement item.   By helping us prioritize items we can implement efficiency upgrades without having to delve into savings.

Our next step will be some DIY projects like sealing around windows and doorways to eliminate drafts and installing low flow faucets.  The biggest issue for us is insufficient attic insulation which is measured by R-Value.  R-Value is a measure of insulation’s ability to resist heat flow. The higher the R-Value, the better the thermal performance of the insulation. The recommended level for most attics in Michigan is to insulate to R-49 (or about 16 inches), depending on insulation type.  We need another 10 inches of insulation in our attic!

That said, whether your home, business or school is old or new, it is essential to have a professional energy audit to determine efficiency, improve comfort and save substantial money.  An audit starts at $400 and price is based on sqft.
On average, homeowners save 40% on their utility bills and payback periods for the improvements range from 3-15 years for a home with improvements ranging between $850 – $5,000.