Yesterday, we had an energy audit. Now I could give you a whole background on the house and such and how much we've already done (and some of the great service we have received) but suffice to say it's an old house with many a quirk. What sparked the energy audit, after having a high-efficiency HVAC system and tankless water heater put in, was a $265 gas bill. That was the kicker.
So these guys come in and set up a negative air flow at your front door and see where air is leaking in and out throughout your house. Wow.
My first thought was that they were going to say we needed to replace all of the windows. But no, they said that was a common misconception. While there was much air leaking from the windows, it was from around the windows. They told us how to fix the leaks, by removing the casings around the windows, caulking the space and replace the casings. Same with the outlets and light switches. We had the insulators already in place and they gave us the information to caulk around the electrical box to eliminate even more draft.
But what was the real eye opener was the actual calculation that they gave us. Now, we don't have the report yet but they said we had a point 6. My quick thought was "cool, a low number." But no. That number reflected that it took only about 2 hours to lose all the warm air from the house. Two hours! That's an awful lot of heat escaping in a short amount of time.
These guys were thorough. They took their time, they explained everything and they answered all of our questions. They were well worth every penny. You can find them at http://www.energysaver1.com if you're interested.
I'll let you know how the report goes.
