Posts from — October 2009

This is a great little list by Peggy at Energy Circle:

Ten reasons to have a home energy audit

I especially like #6:

6. You will understand the interconnectedness of your house.  Learn what no contractor working on your house ever told you – that every action you have ever taken has caused a reaction… somewhere in your house.

This is the home analyst’s approach to an energy audit: the home is a system of systems, and each system is interdependent. This is why it pays to have a professional looking at your home’s energy usage. He or she might find something in one of your home’s systems that you didn’t realize had an impact on the energy use of your house. Kind of like the “butterfly effect” as it applies to energy efficiency!

Here’s an example: our house is 95 years old, and when we bought it, 4 years ago, we put in central heat and air. Big problem: our house was essentially a giant colander. It was more leaky than all of you readers’ houses combined, I guarantee. We used 150 tubes of caulk simply sealing up leaks in the ceilings and walls (all made of individually beaded bead board) before we even moved in…and at the time we were just doing it for cosmetic reasons. We had not yet become the home energy experts that we are today!

We kept sealing, and closing, and sealing, and closing (this was how Mark, our lead Auditor, became fascinated with the idea of making a home more energy efficient, by the way. Prior to this home’s experience he renovated old homes…but not to any degree of energy efficiency). Eventually our home got to be as airtight as the average home, which is to say not very airtight at all, but not the sieve it once was. At this point we began to notice some funny smells in the kitchen! Turns out our stove had a gas leak and we hadn’t known it because the house was too leaky! So we installed a fan, which you should always have if you have combustible appliances…

So, longish story to make a simple point. If you are working on making your home more energy efficient you should always have a professional evaluate it as a whole. Sealing and tightening a house is key in saving energy, but to avoid problems (like our stove leak and its possible ramifications for our health) you need to have someone look at all elements in the house, not just those obvious ones. It can be a safety hazard not to! We caught our gas leak early on, but other issues that can impact the nicely sealed up house, like mold, other combustibility issues, and air quality, may not be as obvious.

If you have Performance Energy as your power company I’d like to take a minute to break it down to you how much money you can save by getting a professional Energy Audit (which includes duct testing) and then having your ducts sealed.

The prices I’m listing below depend on the house, the number of HVAC units, and the condition of your ductwork, but here’s a general roundup:
Energy Audit: $300-$450
Duct sealing: $250-$400
Progress Energy rebates:
Energy Audit: up to $90
Duct sealing: up to $240

If you have a BIG HOUSE and 2 HVAC units your price for the audit and sealing will be in the $800 range…but your rebates will be $330. So the whole shebang will cost you $470. And since industry experts estimate that sealing your ducts can save you 10-20% on your home heating and cooling bills…you do the math. How quickly will you earn back that less than $500 payout? Not to mention that you’ve also had a full energy audit done, so you’ll know exactly where to put other money to get the best return.

If you have a smaller house with only one unit, your costs will be more like $550. You’ll be eligible for a $180 rebate, which puts your costs around $370 or so. Again, how soon will you earn your money back if you’re saving 20% on your heating and cooling bills? With a year…then after that the savings go in your pocket.

For a list of Progress Energy approved service providers, go to their website. I’m sure you’ll see that our company, Home Performance NC is one of those listed!