A trained and certified individual will perform a thorough audit of your home, including a visual inspection, utility bill analysis, a blower door test, duct blaster, and thermographic diagnostic tests.
Some of the most common home performance issues are air leakage, poor insulation, safety concerns, under-performing products, and duct leakage.
Simplicity Home Energy, 206-607-9331, performs home energy audits. They are $450 on average depending on the size of the house and it takes about 4 hours. Every part of the entire house is looked at, attic, crawl space, systems, appliances, lighting, ductwork, windows, doors, walls, inside walls with infrared guns. Afterwards all the data is analyzed through computer modeling and a full written report is generated. These reports are customized to one’s house with information about what they can do to make their home more energy efficient along with the cost savings to do so. Sometimes it’s not just the return on investment that is important, but the overall living in the house can be drastically improved like no more cold spots in houses and it can live more comfortably.
Although it’s not a replacement for a professional evaluation, the City of Seattle has created a thorough do-it-yourself energy audit kit which can uncover problems and offer suggestions for quick fixes and resources for further investigation.