Home Energy Audits
One of the major steps you can take towards living a more energy efficient lifestyle is by having a home energy audit performed in your home.
With today’s rapidly increasing energy and utility costs, one of the best investments a homeowner can make is in total home performance and energy efficiency. Understanding how your home uses energy is the first step towards:
- Lowering your energy bills anywhere from 5-30%
- Improving the comfort of your home during the winter
- Producing a healthier indoor living environment
- Reducing your carbon footprint
Harvestar will help you achieve these benefits. Our home energy audit will help you save hundreds on your utility bills by completing a comprehensive assessment of your home. We will show you where the drafts are coming from, which appliances are consuming too much energy, and where you can improve upon your building’s thermal envelope.
With our guidance, we will help you guide you down the path to a more efficient home.
What does a home energy audit entail?
We take two hours to inspect every corner of your home. We look for weak points in your home’s thermal envelope and assess the need for more insulation. Your home will get a thorough health and safety inspection as well. We use a blower door to test how drafty the house is, and thermal imaging to find those pesky cold and hot spots.
What’s a blower door test?
A blower door test is a way to measure how many air leaks there are in a home. We install a temporary canvas door that has a fan in it and measure the amount of air that passes through the fan when the house is at a specific negative pressure. With this high tech equipment, we can measure down to the nearest square inch what the equivalent leakage area is that all the gaps and cracks add up to.
What is thermal imaging?
We will use thermal imaging on cold days to pinpoint walls, ceilings or floors that are lacking insulation. Thermal cameras can also locate moisture problems!
What will I get out of it when we are finished?
When we are all said and done, you will have a comprehensive report that details all the energy retrofit projects that we recommend for your home. It will include estimated annual savings, and project estimates so you can prioritize the work that needs to be done.
Are there incentives for making my home more energy efficient?
Yes, Efficiency Vermont will give you up to $2000 for buttoning up your home. There are some minimum requirements to meet in order to be eligible, but we will help you get there.