An energy evaluation is a useful way to learn how much energy your home is consuming and how you can reduce this amount to save money every month. Many people are taking advantage of do-it-yourself energy evaluations while others continue to turn to the pros for a more advanced evaluation. Here’s a look at the tasks you can complete yourself along with the aspects of a professional assessment that require high-tech equipment and know-how to complete.
What You Can Do Yourself
- Seal interior air leaks: You can seal leaky windows, doors, fireplace dampers and electrical outlets yourself with weather-stripping and caulking. Drafts that penetrate these areas can result in energy bills that are 5 to 30 percent higher than necessary.
- Seal exterior air leaks: You can also take a walk outside and look for gaps around exterior penetrations such as faucets, outlets, pipes and wiring. Caulking these holes helps protect your home from exterior elements.
- Add insulation to the attic: Explore the condition of the attic. Seal penetrations through the attic floor, add a vapor barrier if necessary, and make sure an even layer of insulation covers the floor. You can also insulate and seal the attic hatch for a tight fit when the hatch is closed.
What a Pro Can Do
- Blower door test: Special equipment is used to depressurize your home and measure leaks in the exterior envelope. Then, using an infrared camera, a pro can tell what areas of the walls, floors and ceiling are lacking insulation and leading to energy loss.
- Ductwork inspection: You may not feel comfortable climbing into tight, claustrophobic areas, but a pro can check out relatively accessible spans of ductwork for gaps, holes and lack of insulation. Then he or she can use duct mastic to seal leaks and add insulation to prevent heat loss and gain through conduction.
- More thorough inspection: Anything you can do on your own can be done more thoroughly by someone trained to complete energy evaluations.
For more information about working with a professional energy auditor, please contact Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning in Fresno today.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about energy evaluations and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Donald P Dick Air Conditioning services the greater Fresno area in California. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!