Energy
Reduce Utility Bills and Your Carbon Footprint
To reduce utility bills, the first step is to find out where you are wasting energy. To do this, you need a residential energy inspection.
The information gathered during the energy inspection is analyzed using specialized software to produce a comprehensive Energy Report. The report shows which energy-efficiency improvements would reduce energy costs and make the home more comfortable. The analysis takes into account regional variables such as local weather, implementation costs, and fuel prices.
Our energy inspector will examine, measure, and evaluate the factors that affect energy use in your home, e.g., size of the home, efficiency of appliances, insulation, draftiness of rooms, and efficiency of heating and cooling systems (HVAC).
The report contains estimates of the savings, costs and payback for each energy-efficiency recommendation. It identifies the group of improvements that, if financed, will save more on energy bills than it costs. These are the improvements that everyone can make since they require no out-of-pocket cost when financed.
The detailed recommendations section enables contractors to provide preliminary cost estimates without a visit to your home. It also explains how to get the best energy savings from these improvements by listing related no-cost low-cost measures that you can take.
Tools Used
Two of the tools used in an energy inspection are:
Blower door analysis
A Blower door analysis is specialized equipment used to depressurize your home to a calibrated level to measure air infiltration. The infrared thermal imager is then used to determine area where improvement can be made. Generally "tight" homes have 1 complete air change every 3 hours. Less than 1 air change per 3 hours is an indication of the need for mechanical ventilation into the home. Very tight home can lead to mold/mildew growth and other health concerns. Using a blower door and infrared thermal imager together can identify many areas of air infiltration. For more information on Blower Doors please click here.
Infrared thermal imaging
Using an infrared thermal imager that measures invisible temperature of surfaces allows a trained technician to identify areas of air infiltration to homes and buildings. Infrared thermal imagers can also be used for water infiltration, electrical over loads and many other non-destructive investigations that can effect surface temperature. For more information on thermal imaging please click here.