DIY – Home Energy Audit

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Saving energy isn’t only sustainable and eco-friendly, it is also useful, because this will cut your energy bills. There is plenty of advice on how to save up some energy, but perhaps one of the most important things is the energy audit of your home.

locating airleaks

You can do it by yourself and you will see that this is the right way to control your energy bills. The so called energy assessment isn’t that difficult and it is a matter of discipline. The first step is to keep a checklist, where you will mark the inspected areas of your home. An advantage of this list is to help you collect the right information about your home energy efficiency upgrades.

Locating the air leaks is an important part of the energy audit at home; so create a list of the air drafts at home. If you reduce the air drafts in your home with at least 30 percent annually, you will save half of the energy you are using now and you will cut your bills by at least 50 percent per year.

energy audit

The indoor leaks should also be reduced. Those are usually the gaps along the baseboard and the junctures of the walls and ceilings. The potential places, where you can find air leaks are also the electrical outlets, the attic hatches, the window frames, the fireplace dampers and the weather stripping around the doors.

The wall or window mounted air conditioners are also potential spots for air leaks. Inspect well the gaps around the poppers and the foundation seals. As for the weather stripping, if there is an air leak, it is probably because the weather stripping isn’t applied as it should be.

Usually the biggest air leaks are those from the windows and the doors. Inspect them well and rattle them. You can also seal the air drafts by caulking them. The experts usually recommend new doors and windows, but if they are too expensive, you can simply install low-plastic sheets over the windows.

The outdoor air leaks are usually in areas, which include two different building materials. In this matter, you should check out the exterior corners and foundation.

In case you are going to buy new radiators or heat emitters, calculate the heat loss from the area where you will eventually place those devices. The important thing to be considered when having your home energy audit is to inspect the holes or penetrations for faucets, pipes and electric outlets. They should be plugged and caulked, in order to save energy.

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