Many homeowners wish to improve their homes’ energy efficiency but have no idea where to start. Some energy efficiency projects should be given priority over others because of their relatively high potential return on investment. The choice of energy efficiency projects to carry out will depend on your unique situation, and this is not something you can simply search for online and get the answers you seek. This is why you need a home energy audit to help you determine how you can reduce your home’s energy consumption.
What is a home energy audit?
A home energy audit is an assessment of your home’s energy consumption and energy flow. It involves the assessment of your home’s insulation and working systems, as well as various elements of its architectural design that affect your energy consumption. From this assessment, you will be able to identify areas of energy wastage and determine how you can curb this wastage in order to save on energy costs. You can either do the home energy audit yourself or call in professionals to do it for you.
Should you hire a professional or do it yourself?
Here are a few things to note:
- While it will definitely cost you some money to have professionals do it for you, you can be sure that they will do a more thorough assessment than what you would have done if you chose to go it alone.
- A professional home energy audit involves the use of specialized tools and techniques to test home energy efficiency. Some of the equipment used include blower doors to detect leakage, and infrared cameras to investigate unusual temperature fluctuations in the home, among others. If you do not have the right tools, you will not be able to identify some areas where you need to make improvements and get some important measurements that will help you decide which energy efficiency projects you should give priority.
- Professionals will suggest solutions to the issues identified, and you will, therefore, know exactly how to address these issues and reduce your energy consumption.
- However, if you do choose to do it yourself, there are lots of tools online that can help you do the assessment to a satisfactory level. You can simply do a visual inspection of various elements in your home, and this will give you a rough idea of what improvements you can make in your home to improve energy efficiency.
Some of the things that you may have to do to improve your home’s energy efficiency include insulating your attic, replacing your home appliances with more energy-efficient ones, installing solar panels, improving your lighting and incorporating natural lighting into your home, sealing or replacing your windows and doors, having the experts at http://unitedtrades.com/heating-air-conditioning-service-whitby-on/ replace your HVAC unit, and investing in smart thermostats, among others. After improving your home’s energy efficiency, you will be able to reduce your annual energy consumption by 10-20%. This reduces your home’s carbon footprint, helps protect the environment, and helps you save on your energy costs.
Author Bio:-
Lucy Jones is blogger and content writer who write many articles on SEO, Business, Web Design and Technology. She enjoys reading a new thing on the internet. She spends a lot of time on social media.
