An energy evaluation is the perfect way to not only save money on your long-term energy costs but also take a step toward reducing your energy footprint. They involve detailed inspections of your home and its heating and cooling systems, as well as past energy usage trends. This information will be processed and result in recommendations you can implement to become more energy efficient.
A good way to prepare for an energy evaluation is to create a list of existing problems you experience. This could be inconsistent heating or cooling in your home or drafts that you can feel. This will help the auditor focus on solutions.
Often, the first thing that will be inspected is the outside of the home. Overall size and the number of doors and windows are taken into account. Then they gather information about your regular day-to-day behavior with questions such as:
- How many people live in the house?
- How many rooms are used regularly?
- Is anyone home during regular work hours?
- What is the average temperature setting you use?
A blower-door test is a common component of an energy evaluation. A large fan is mounted to a door frame and turned on to reduce air pressure inside the house. This will result in air pulling into the house, and a smoke pencil is used to detect where this is happening. This indicates where repairs are necessary to reduce your energy footprint.
Blower-door tests are commonly used in conjunction with thermographic scans. These use infrared video to detect where inconsistencies occur in temperature throughout your home. These spots often are located near areas with weak insulation or cracks letting in outside air.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Donald P Dick Air Conditioning services the greater Fresno area in California. To get started, check out our website.