What is a Home Energy Audit?

The simple answer to this question is that a home energy audit is an inspection that can be done to your home to assess the amount of energy your home uses. As a homeowner, you can take that information to make your home more efficient, use less energy, and save you money!

During a home energy audit, your professional handyman will have a variety of techniques and tools to assess your home and give specific recommendations on how to improve its efficiency. A few items to have ready for your audit include:

• Problems within your home like a drafty room or an old furnace
• Average thermostat setting for the colder and warmer months
• Age of appliances like fridge, dishwasher, etc.
• Amount of family members living in the home
• Notification of any space or rooms within the house that are unused

Note: Check in your local area, these usually vary from state to state, to see if you qualify for an energy efficiency grant, home service rebate, or are eligible for an energy efficiency fund. Homeowners can perform their own simple energy audit with a "do-it-yourself" assessment:

• Appliances and Electronics - If you have older appliances and electronics you may want to change the settings to run them less often or unplug them when not in use. If possible, consider purchasing newer appliances that are more energy-efficient.
• Air Leaks - Locate air leaks in the home along your baseboards, the edges of your flooring and seams of the walls and ceiling. Also, look around the outside of your home for cracks in the foundation, mortar or siding. All leaks should be sealed properly to prevent future loss of energy.
• Heating and Cooling - Inspect your heating and cooling equipment annually, or as recommended by the manufacturer. If you have a forced-air furnace it is important to change the filter each month. If your unit is 15 years or older it is recommended replacing it with a more energy-efficient unit.
• Insulation Levels - Depending on when your home was built, your home most likely had the recommended level of insulation for that time. However, given current energy prices, and the age of your home, your level of insulation might be inadequate. Make sure that you check the insulation in the attic and in the walls. Given that checking the insulation in the walls can be more difficult you can try probing the wall or cutting a small hole inside a closet to check the insulation levels.
• Lighting - Examine the light bulbs in your home and make sure you are using energy saving incandescent light bulbs, compact fluorescent lamps, or lighting emitting diodes (LEDs) lights.

Mr. Handyman can maintain your home to save you money. One call really does take care of everything on your to-do list. Make sure to stay on top of all your household repairs, improvements and maintenance needs and request service now online.