In modern times, people have a greater understanding of the effect that they have on the world around them. The amount of electrical energy that people use has a direct effect on the environment and on the availability of natural resources. This has spurred a burst of new innovations that make appliances, electronics, air conditioning, heating, and plumbing systems more efficient. In addition to reducing the footprint that people have on the environment, there are actually a lot of ways that reducing your energy consumption and making other improvements to your home can directly affect you. One of the best ways to find specific areas where you can improve your home is to have a home energy assessment.
What is Included in a Home Energy Assessment?
At the onset of your home energy assessment, you can expect that one of our professional technicians will take time to discuss some of your concerns regarding your home. Once some of your main concerns about health and comfort are clearly understood, it is a lot easier to focus on those particular areas throughout the assessment, so that you will be able to have clear solutions and answers to your questions. As a part of the initial discussion, you should also plan to have the details of your utilities usage. In addition to providing some information regarding how and where energy is being used in your home, it also provides a baseline so that you can easily compare the changes that you make as a result of your inspection.
During the home energy assessment, the exterior and interior are inspected – focusing mainly on typical problem areas in Phoenix homes. Things like HVAC compressors, pool pumps, and windows can cause a great deal of unnecessary energy usage. It is also important to inspect the insulation, duct-work, furnace, and supply lines in a home. Thermal imaging allows you to see the exact location of hot and cool air in your home. There are also a number of tests, such as carbon monoxide testing, the room pressure balance test, blower door test, pressure pan test, zonal pressure test, and others that can help to pinpoint exactly where you are losing energy.
What Kind of Problems Might be Found?
Most of the time, a trained professional can spot problems in your home that you may not even have known about. Additionally, the high tech testing that is done during a home energy assessment provides information that cannot be obtained from any other source. Some of the most common problems that are found in a home are as follows:
- poor air quality
- poor insulation
- broken valves
- leaking ducts
- poor ventilation
- other safety issues
By taking the time to find out about potential problems in your home, you can find solutions before they get even worse.
What Should I do with the Results?
Once an inspector has done a comprehensive assessment and all of the necessary testing, you will receive a report that is specific to the needs of your home. In this report, you will be able to see where the biggest problems are in your home. You will also have the opportunity to discuss some solutions to these problems with your technician.
Depending on the severity of problems found, you may decide that they need immediate action, or you may choose to make improvements over time to the energy efficiency of your home. In some cases, you may be made aware of certain safety issues that put your family, pets, or guests at risk. When it comes to safety, awareness is one of the first steps. Frequently, the best resolution for safety issues and other problems is actually quite straightforward and may even be inexpensive.
How Can the Findings Help me Save Money?
One of the biggest reasons that people choose to have a home energy assessment is that they are looking for easy solutions to unnecessary energy usage. This assessment is designed to alert you to the major problems that exist, and to give you the opportunity to get advice from an expert.
Expert advice can help you to change habits that may contribute to wasted energy. For example, using ceiling fans in addition to the air conditioner can help circulate air much more efficiently and can help you to save money on your electricity bill. In some cases, you may choose to upgrade or replace appliances, fixtures, and other items in your home, allowing you to cut your energy usage considerably.
If you have areas of the home that are not insulated properly, adding insulation or improving the existing insulation can help to reduce the escape of hot air during the winter and cool air during the summer, which will contribute to lower utilities bills.
If you have a leak in the ducting of your home, you could be losing hot or cold air into the walls of the home, making it so your furnace or HVAC system has to work harder to produce the same amount of heat. Repairing any leaks or replacing inefficient ducting, which can offer huge returns.
When your home meets certain criteria, you are eligible for further money savings in the form of rebates. Major utilities companies such as APS (Arizona Public Service), SRP (Salt River Project), and Southwest Gas all offer these rebates. In many cases, the money that you will save over time is much greater than the amount that you will invest as you improve and upgrade your home.
In the modern American home, energy efficiency is a big deal. When you schedule a home energy assessment, you can find out about ways to improve the comfort and safety of your home. You will also be given information that will help you come up with a plan to improve the energy efficiency of your home, reduce the amount you are paying monthly in utilities, and reduce your footprint on the environment. No matter when your home was built, or where it is located, a home energy assessment will help you find out about a number of simple ways that you can increase its energy efficiency, reduce health risks, and improve the quality of life for your family.