Schedule a home energy audit

If your home has never had an energy audit, you could be using far more energy than necessary and losing money. It’s super easy to schedule an energy audit, doesn’t cost much, and there are even some you can do yourself.

If you’ve got the time and drive, learn how to conduct your own home energy audit by visiting the Home Energy Saver website. First gather your energy bills and then head to the site. At this site, you’ll enter your zip code and a comparison of the energy costs (in $/year) of an average home and an energy-efficient home in your area will pop up as a baseline. You can also see a greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption chart. Then you’ll answer some easy questions about your home. Most of them are off the top of your head questions, but you will need your utility bills for others. The audit will shoot out the amount of money you could be saving if you made such and such changes.

The U.S. Department of Energy offers a good DIY energy audit how-to as well, although it’s a checklist, not a fill-in audit. But it’s a good resource and shows you all the areas that could be losing energy in your home.

If you’d rather have a pro conduct your audit, there’s a directory of available energy audit services by state is available at RESNET. RESNET also offers RESNET Green Raters who have been trained and certified to inspect and verify the green features of your home in addition to your home’s energy performance.

Before choosing a home energy auditing pro, you should read the U.S. Department of Energy’s guide to choosing a home energy audit professional. There are excellent tips about where to find one, how they should function, and how to prepare for your audit.

[image via stock.xchng]