What can you expect during an audit?

When you contact ENERGY WISE to schedule a home audit we will ask you several questions about your home like: approximate square footage, foundation type, exterior type, how you heat and cool your home, etc.  We will also want to gather as much detailed information as possible about your monthly utility bills for the past 12 months.  We can later use this information along with the data we collect during the audit to show you how much you can save by making the identified improvements.  A typical energy audit will take approximately 4 hours.

You can expect your auditor to arrive promptly at the agreed time.  If, for any reason he or she is running late, we’ll be sure to contact you.  Because an energy audit will require work both inside and outside of your home, sometimes weather may prevent us from performing an audit as scheduled.  If this happens we’ll contact you to re-schedule a time that is convenient for you.

Your home audit will begin with a complete visual inspection of the exterior and interior of your home.  Our technician will also want to view crawl spaces, basements, attics, heating and cooling equipment, etc.  During this visual evaluation the technician will take notes, create sketches, take digital photographs, and even use a special infrared camera to identify air leakage, insulation quality, moisture problems, etc.  All of the information gathered will later become part of a detailed inspection report the homeowner receives after the completion of the audit. 

The next step will be to determine the exact amount and locations of air leaks in your home.  Air leakage is probably the single most significant source of wasted heating and cooling dollars in the average home.  We’ll use a Blower Door like the one shown here to create a small amount of vacuum inside your home so we can measure the actual amount of air leakage in your home. During this test, our technician will use smoke puffers to find the exact locations of air leaks inside your home.  Note:  for your safety and ours, any gas appliances, etc. will need to be turned off during the audit.  We’ll help you get them turned back on when we’re done.

If your home has central heat and air we will also test your duct system for leakage.  Duct  leakage can account for ten to thirty percent of a typical home’s heating and cooling bill.

After the audit is complete, our technician will sit down with you and review his findings, pointing out things that can help you start saving money TODAY!  This is an excellent time for you to ask questions, inquire about additional services, and let us know what your goals are.