brasilmom

Hi all,

Considering that we know that our heating bill is too high for the size of our home, we are considering to have an energy audit done. The thing is that we do not know if it is worth the money and not sure what to expect.
Have anyone here done such thing before? Any advice or suggestions?

Thanks. Be well

Miriam

Wuzzat?

6 BTU per sq. ft. per Heating Degree Day is average, 1.4 is a tight house, 11 is a loose house.

Cork-Guy

Well, an energy audit can be done by the homeowner if properly educated. The U.S. Department of Energy has a great guide for do-it-yourself energy auditors: Energy Savers: Do-It-Yourself Home Energy Assessments however, if you're hell bent on spending money and want a professional you should also review their Professional Home Energy Audit guide: Energy Savers: Professional Home Energy Assessments Remember, with the $1,500 max tax credit for 2010 it's a good idea to get any repairs done THIS year.

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inspectorD

Since I do energy audits...i know what you do want.
Start out with an inexpensive audit, One where you use no infrared cameras and blower doors. You will only waste money finding areas that needed air sealing or more insulation already.
Start out with your basement. Do you have insulation around the band joists(outter perimeter) that is installed as if it was a wall section...up and down direction with fiberglass.
Air seal your sill plate and foundation connection. Spray foam works really well.
Does your basement have a hatchway..is it insulated.
Next check weatherstripping around the home.
Then go to the attic, and check insulation levels.
Do you have your attic hatchway wetherized and insulated? If not do so.

Then call in the guys with the fancy gizmos, they will actually find more areas and not waste time with the big 3 you already fixed.

And if your house gets to tight , they can help you with negative pressures in the home, so you do not get sick.

This is not a DIY issue to fix, to many variables are very different with each individual home. Of course , you can do what you want, but I have been at this a long time, and I actually get to inspect the horror stories.

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brasilmom

Thank you for the replies.

Inspector D, our basement is completely finished, so it is hard to say that proper insulation was done, but we believe it was. We will check on the other items to find out more. I have replaced some weatherstrips around the house, but not all of them. Anyway, got a long homework ahead of me.

Thanks again. Be well

Miriam

brasilmom

Pardon my ignorance, but how do I get to those numbers?

Thanks. Be well

Miriam

Wuzzat?

This
Heating & Cooling Degree Days - Free Worldwide Data Calculation
or your gas bill, will give you your heating degree days for your area.

Your gas bill will give you the therms used for the billing period and then you need the sq. ft. area of your house.

So let's say you had 700 HDD for last January, you have a 2000 sq. ft. house, and you used 200 therms (20,000,000 BTU) for January and your furnace is 70% [0.7] efficient, overall, on average.

0.7*(20,000,000)/[2000*700] = 6 BTU/[sq. ft-HDD].

brasilmom

Thank you for the equation and site. We got the audit done today and were rather pleased with the service. The house is on the loose side and the findings will help us to become more efficient. Now, we hope to complete some much needed work and take advantage of the incentives being offered.

Thanks again. Be well

Miriam

Wuzzat?

Aw. . .tweren't nothin. . .