Benefits You Can Get From a Home Energy Audit

A home energy audit is the first step towards achieving energy efficiency in your home. Professional energy audits for homes in New Orleans could perform a series of tests to determine your home’s true energy-saving potential. In the end, it will provide you with a comprehensive list of ways you can improve your home’s efficiency. The top ten fixes usually recommended include:

Fix Air Leaks

Air seeps inside your house through leaks along baseboards, window frames, fireplace dampers, etc. and creates a significant increase in your home’s energy costs. By applying proper caulking and weather stripping, you can lose the leaks and decrease your costs by as much as 30 percent annually.

Replace Insulation

Heat loss through ceilings and walls in your home can be tremendous if the insulation levels are less than the recommended minimum. By replacing inadequate insulation with better quality insulation, you can decrease your home’s heating and cooling costs significantly.

Adding Solar Panels

Solar is a fantastic green technology option that can put money back into your wallet. While solar panels are generally expensive to install, the savings they generate more than pay back your initial investment. Solar panels save homeowners as much as 90 percent on their electric bills each year. If your home becomes entirely dependent on solar electricity, your utility company can pay you instead of the other way around.

Solar Water Heaters

Installing a solar water heater in your home can save the typical household $220 each year.

While these fixes range from being cheap to put a rather significant strain on your bank account, they all yield one considerable result: energy savings. A home energy audit will help you determine what fixes will yield the most significant results. In the process, turn your home into a much more comfortable and inexpensive place to live.

Upgrade Heating and Cooling Systems

Inefficient heating and cooling systems can be a significant drain on your bank account. By replacing systems that are more than 15 years old with energy-efficient systems, you can save as much as 20 percent on your heating and cooling costs.

Replace Lighting

Making simple changes, such as switching out lamps with compact fluorescents or other energy-efficient lamps, and replacing light bulbs with energy-efficient bulbs, can save a whopping 50-75 percent in your light energy use. Plus, these bulbs last longer, so you don’t have to worry about changing them literally for years.

Replace Appliances

Major household appliances, such as your refrigerator, washer, and dryer, account for your monthly utility bill’s big chunk. One inefficient instrument can throw your entire energy system out of whack. You can save as much as 50 percent by replacing an old appliance with an energy-efficient appliance.

Replace Windows

Old, inefficient windows can be a significant source of air infiltration. Replacing drafty windows with double-pane or other energy-efficient windows can reduce your energy costs by as much as 30 percent.

Replacing Doors

Just like windows, doors are another area where cold air can seep into your home. Switching out ill-fitting or otherwise inefficient doors with better quality doors can save you just as much as replacing windows.

Smart Metering

Smart meters used in conjunction with a conscious effort by the homeowners to reduce energy usage can reduce energy consumption by 12 percent each year.