The Path to Energy Efficiency in Home Heating Systems

There are two basic types of energy audits: A home energy audit you can do yourself and professional energy audits. In either case, a home energy audit is the first step to assess how much energy your home consumes and to evaluate what measures you can take to make your home more energy efficient. An audit will show you problems that may, when corrected, save you significant amounts of money over time. During the audit, you can pinpoint where your house is losing energy. Audits also determine the efficiency of your home’s heating and cooling systems. An audit may also show you ways to conserve hot water and electricity.

Professional Home Energy Audits

Professional energy audits are performed by trained technicians, certified to meet the requirements of New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program. When performing a home energy audit, the energy auditor does a room-by-room examination of the residence, as well as a thorough analysis of past utility bills.  Many professional energy audits will include a blower door test. Most will also include a thermographic scan.

Preparing for Energy Audits

Before the energy auditor begins to perform a home energy audit, make a list of any existing problems such as condensation and uncomfortable or drafty rooms. Have copies or a summary of the home’s yearly energy bills. Part of the home energy audit, the auditor will ask many questions, such as:

• Is anyone home during working hours?
• What is the average thermostat setting for summer and winter?
• How many people live here?
• Is every room in use?

Home energy audits: Heating/Cooling Equipment

Whether or not you decide to go through a formal home energy audit, we can perform for you the following very important money saving and energy saving services: Inspect heating and cooling equipment annually If you have a forced-air furnace, we check your filters and replace them as needed. Generally, they should be changed about once every month or two, especially during periods of high usage. Check and clean your equipment once a year. Check your ductwork for dirt streaks, especially near seams. These indicate air leaks. We seal the ductwork and also insulate any ducts or pipes that travel through unheated spaces. An insulation R-Value of 6 is the recommended minimum.

If your home heating systems are old, we would present you with the most cost effective way of replacing them with a newer, energy-efficient home heating system.  A new unit would greatly increase energy efficiency, especially if the existing equipment is in poor condition. Energy audits can trigger 50% government rebates on your equipment cost as well as savings on your home heating systems for many years to come. Moreover, higher energy efficiency helps our planet.