Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need an energy audit?

An energy audit provides the details on how you are using energy in your home. We do this by separating the amount spent on heating and cooling from the other energy uses in your home. This provides you with the information you need to possibly move towards an energy efficiency upgrade of your home.

How much should I be spending on the heating and cooling portion of my home?

An energy efficient home typically has energy costs of between 20-30 cents per square foot. Most homes typically cost homeowners between 60 cents and $1.20 per square foot. This is an area where significant cost savings can occur.

Won’t I save money on my utility bills if I just install solar panels?

No, solar panels are great to save on your electricity bills, but unless you first take energy efficiency into account you will have over-spent on installing more solar capacity than you need. The biggest savings come from first performing energy efficiency upgrades, then investing in renewable energy sources.

What is an energy efficiency upgrade?

The first area of concern is how much air is leaking into your home. Do you feel drafts in your home, or in a certain room? Is this room or the whole house always hot in the summer and cold in the winter? A detailed energy audit which uses an Infrared camera can find these specific areas causing a lack of comfort in your home.

If you seal my house, won’t we have problems with the quality of the air inside the house?

No, if part of the work plan includes adding a ventilation system. When a home leaks air in from the outside you have no control over the quality of the air leaking into your home. This includes molds, pollen, dust, even insects. By performing air sealing operations, then adding a mechanical ventilation system you can control, and then filter the air moving into your home. This is the single most cost effective measure to increasing energy efficiency and having good indoor air quality in your home

Someone told me my heating and air conditioning system could be leaking air from the ducting. I didn’t believe them since my house was built within the last ten years, could this be true?

YES!! Prior to the new California Energy Commission building codes, heating and air conditioning systems only had to be, “reasonably tight”. Research performed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs has found the ducting in most California homes leaks on average 30%. A detailed energy audit connects specialized test equipment to find out how much the ducting in your home is leaking. This also represents an area for significant energy savings.