Home energy audits or energy evaluations have become quite popular in the last few years. Audits are commonly performed on companies, finances, or jobs. In a similar manner, energy audits can assess the energy use of a house and outline all of the specifics. Paul Favret says that a home energy audit can help homeowners to effectively identify where their house is losing energy. Based on the insights from the audit, homeowners can identify steps to take to improve energy efficiency at home.
Paul Favret mentions the advantages of performing a home energy audit
All homeowners should ideally go for a home energy audit every two to three years, to ensure maximum energy efficiency. They can either hire professionals for the job or even go for a DIY approach. Regardless of the route taken for the home energy audit, its ultimate goal would be to understand how much energy is being used at a home, and find room for energy savings. A proper home energy audit can be instrumental in enabling people to cut down their electricity use, and ultimately reduce their carbon footprint.
Here are a few reasons that make performing home energy audits a good idea:
- Understand the energy: An energy audit implies to the assessment of a house that takes a look at its current energy consumption. Through this audit, homeowners can understand where and how energy is used in their homes. Identifying how energy is used and also wasted at home would empower the homeowners to make productive changes to their lifestyle and house.
- Identify potential energy saving opportunities: Professional energy auditors can effectively assess where a house is losing the most energy. They can subsequently propose improvements to reduce utility bills and save energy at home. Once the energy auditor identifies where a house may require energy improvements, the homeowners can proactively take steps to resolve the problem. An audit may reveal that air ducts have to be cleaned, settings on appliances should be changed, and more. Homeowners can also change their shower heads to use less hot water and/or upgrade kitchen appliances to energy-rated models, based on the audit. Major upgrades can also be done, like replacing worn window weather stripping, changing the insulation in walls, or even installing solar panels. On the whole, with the advice of the energy auditor, homeowners would have a better idea of where exactly to start.
- Save money: Paul Favret mentions that one of the biggest advantages of performing a home energy audit is that it will eventually help homeowners to save on their electricity bills. They can end up saving 5% to 30 % of their electricity bills by making upgrades and changes identified in the home energy audit.
By reducing their energy consumption, homeowners would automatically reduce their carbon footprint. Using more daylight, fixing air leakage, and using less electricity for heating, are a few simple ways to cut down energy use. Taking these simple steps would help people to reduce their impact on the environment.