How To: Conduct a DIY Home Energy Audit
As costs continue to rise
on food, household essentials, housing, and everything in-between, finding ways to save on your monthly expenses, like utility bills, is becoming more and more essential.
If you are turning off lights when not in use, shortening time in the shower, and following other best practices for energy and water conservation but still not seeing the results on your monthly bill, it may be time to conduct a home energy audit.
A home energy audit is a process where you analyze your energy consumption, assess your entire home for ways to improve efficiency, and take action to ensure you are finding the optimized combination of efficiency and comfort. Many businesses offer this service at a cost, but you don’t have to be a detective, or a trained professional, to find some of the most obvious areas for improvement.
Here's how to get started:
Understand Your Current Usage
Before beginning any analysis or improvements, it is important to understand your current usage. You can find a high-level overview on your BTU bill, and compare it to previous months via your online customer portal. This is your baseline usage data, and will represent the benchmark for future improvement.
These numbers are helpful as a starting point, but even more helpful when put in the context of your individual home – after all, you are trying to find what is causing your usage to be higher! To help build on the context, spend some time taking note of usage trends in your home by asking yourself good questions. Does it seem like your A/C unit is running constantly? Do your family members or roommates leave lights or appliances running when not in use? Do certain rooms in your home feel warmer or cooler than others? These questions, and more, are great starting points before beginning your audit in full.
Start With Low-Cost Improvements
Sometimes the keys to creating a more energy efficient home are obvious. A great place to begin is inspecting your doors, windows, and walls for gaps, cracks, and holes that are causing air to escape your home. If you have a fireplace, don’t forget to check the damper. Up to 10-20% of conditioned air could escape your home because of a rusted or loose-fitting damper. Finally, rather than letting electronics and appliances use energy in standby mode, plug them into power strips and switch them off to save up to 10% on your electric costs.
Move to Fixes With a Larger Potential Investment
As essential appliances and elements in your home age, they naturally become less efficient. You should inspect your A/C and water heater regularly to ensure they are running properly, and consult a professional for maintenance as needed. Additionally, check to make sure your large appliances are still in good working condition. If you are having to run your dryer multiple times, or if your refrigerator is struggling to keep a cold temperature, it could be time for repairs or replacement.
Develop an Action Plan
After conducting your audit, make a plan of action to implement goals. Try starting with some of the more easily achievable goals, evaluate your savings, and move forward with further projects as necessary. For more complicated tasks, consider hiring a professional to prevent even more costly damage.
A home energy audit is a great start to a savings journey, and you can follow along with BTU throughout the year for more tips on saving energy without sacrificing too much comfort!