An energy audit and inspection of your home is the first step in improving the energy efficiency and health of your home. This guide will not substitute for having a professional audit done, but it will give you some tips and techniques to do the most basic tasks yourself. A DIY audit will not be as thorough as one done by a professional, but it only costs you your time and can still save you a good amount of money.
This guide will be organized by exterior to interior and bottom to top. Some items you’ll need for this audit are:
-Clothes that cover your arms and legs and you don’t mind getting dirty
-Eye protection, dust mask and gloves
-Wood or plastic chopstick/skewer & ruler/tape measure (I prefer a rigid plastic or wood ruler) to determine insulation levels
- Screwdriver to remove outlet and switch plate covers
-Incense stick or candle to detect air leaks
-Flashlight
-Ladder to reach attic and gutters
-Paper and pencil to record your findings
CAUTION!
-Crawl spaces and attics may have dust, mold and animal droppings that could irritate your throat, lungs and skin, make sure you wear the protective clothing mentioned above. -When checking behind electrical switches and outlets, turn off the electricity at the service panel BEFORE removing the cover plates and probing for insulation. If you see bare wires or connections call an electrician to determine how best to handle it.
-Many houses still contain some form of asbestos whether it is insulation on old pipes or in the ceiling. If you see what you suspect to be asbestos, do not touch it, but instead call your local health department or clean air agency for what to do next.
EXTERIOR
First, walk around your house noting which direction each face points. Home orientation and location is probably the oldest form of home performance. If you are in the northern hemisphere, the sun will pass along the southern face of your house so in ancient times would be oriented in an east west direction to maximize solar gain in the Winter. During the summer, long eaves or other coverings would shade this face from the hotter sun to keep your home cooler.
Air leakage can contribute as much as one third to your heating bills and sealing up the holes and cracks where it escapes doesn’t cost that much so this is where you want to start.
Figure 1. Typical US house leaking heat and money, courtesy of the DOE.
Shade trees: A fully-grown tree on the southern face of your home can remove the need for air conditioning in the summer. Make sure that the branches of any trees or bushes are not touching the house or roof as they can provide an easy access for water and pests to enter your home.
Foundation: Is it insulated? Look to see if there are any cracks or if there are any large trees nearby whose roots may eventually disrupt it.
Utility service penetrations: Find where the electricity, water and natural gas enter the house (may be underground) and check to see if the holes were filled with foam or another type of sealant.
Windows & Doors: Are they in good condition? Look for obvious signs of cracks and for a lack of seal (We’ll investigate more thoroughly from the inside as well). Check around the jamb and trim to see if they need to be re-caulked.
Gutters: Check to see that they are clear of debris and that they are well attached and no water is leaking behind the gutters in towards the house.
Roof: Is it in a good repair? If you need to replace it, go for a lighter color roof, you’ll minimize the heat gain in the summer and lower your cooling bills.
Chimney: Check the condition of the mortar between the bricks and the chimney cover. You want smoke to escape, but you do not want rain, leaves or animals to be able to get in.
INTERIOR
To find air leakage you can do a few things. First, turn off your furnace & other combustion appliances and close all exterior windows and doors. Next, turn on all of your exhaust fans, even your clothes dryer on the no-heat setting. This will create a small negative pressure system inside your house, helping you to find leaks more easily.
You can wet the palm of your hand or use the lit candle or incense stick in front of possible holes/cracks/seams and see if the direction of the flame or smoke moves. You can also tape a couple squares of toilet paper to a pencil and hang that in front of the cracks and again see if the paper blows.
TIP: If you see a spider web over a crack or seam, there’s a VERY good chance that air is coming in there. Spiders are smart and build their webs here to catch bugs as they come in to the warmth of your home.
Crawl space: If you have a crawl space, you’ll get a huge savings and increase in comfort by insulating the floor joists and sealing and insulating any heating ducts that pass through here. You’ll also want to talk to a specialist on minimizing the moisture build up to protect against mold growth.
Basement: The seam between the sill plate and foundation is a great place for air to sneak through. Use expandable foam to seal and insulate this space.
Furnace/Boiler: First, check to see if the heating ducts are sealed and insulated, this will make your house more comfortable and save a lot of money very quickly. You will also want to check the filters and replace/clean them if they are dirty and clogged. If you can smell exhaust fumes you should call in a specialist to have it checked out and install a carbon monoxide detector.
Fireplace: If there is no fire currently blazing, check to make sure that the flue is working properly and that it is currently closed. An open flue can vent hot air out of the house very quickly.
Baseboard heaters: Make sure that there are no furniture or combustible materials within 12 inches.
Hot water heater: Hot water heaters last 12 -15 years so if you’re water heater is older than 12 years you should look at replacing it. See our buyer’s guide for more information on buying a new water heater. The water heater should be sitting on a two-inch piece of rigid foam and the hot water pipes should be insulated to within six inches of the tank. If you have a gas water heater, you'll want a carbon monoxide and smoke detector nearby.
Service panel: Just like you did on the outside of the house, you will want to use the expandable foam on the inside of the hole where the wires come in to the house.
Windows & Doors: There should be enough weatherstripping around the edges of the windows and exterior doors that you cannot see light when you try to look through them. Check the caulking levels around the trim and make sure that the locks fit snugly and securely.
Thermostat: If you have an old analog model you should upgrade to an Energy Star certified programmable model. If you already have one, make sure that the settings work for your current schedule.
Toilets: Some high-efficiency models can pay for themselves within the year. Measure the size of the tank in inches and then multiply by .00433 to convert that to gallons. This is how much water is used for each flush. Use our calculator and choose the number that is closest to yours to get a rough estimate of your expected savings. Also, a running toilet can cost you thousands of dollars per year, get it fixed immediately.
Showerheads & Faucets: If your faucet or showerhead is dripping, the O-rings may need to be replaced. Even a small drip can cost hundreds of dollars per year, much more than the cost of getting it fixed. Putting high-efficiency models in will pay for themselves within a matter of months; try our calculator to get an estimate for your house.
Appliances: For refrigerators and freezers, check to make sure that the rubber seals are intact and that there are no gaps when you close the door. If your refrigerator motor runs frequently you may need to replace these rubber seals or upgrade to a more efficient model. New clothes washer and dryer combos can cut as much as 30% of the energy costs and more than half of the water usage.
Lighting: Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) have come a long way since their debut, providing bright, warm light for just a fraction of the energy usage. CFL bulbs can be used in table lamps, recessed fixtures, outdoor floods and they even make them for fixtures that are on a dimmer or 3-way switch. Use this calculator to estimate your savings and read this Buyer's Guide to learn how to select the proper bulb for each application.
Wall Insulation: To check your wall insulation you will need to turn off the power to an outlet or wall switch first. Test to make sure you have done this by trying to turn on a light or other electric device in the outlet. Unscrew the cover plate and see if insulation is easily visible. If not you may need to unscrew the outlet/switch itself and poke around with your plastic/wood probe. If you can see insulation and whether you have 2 X 4 or 2 X 6 studs you do not need to use the ruler to measure the depth.
Click here to see how much insulation you need for your area
Attic: First you should check to make sure the access has weatherstripping around the edges to create an air-seal and then on top of the access door should be insulation.
CAUTION! If you have an unfinished attic (meaning no plywood covering the joists) do not move from the access door unless you can see the joists. The sheet rock will not support your weight and you could fall through and seriously injure yourself.
If you can see insulation all over the attic floor and it appears uniform, you do not need to move anyway. Use your ruler or tape to measure the thickness of the insulation. If you have recessed can lights that extend up in to your attic and are touching the insulation make sure they are Insulation Contact (IC) rated. Otherwise they might overheat and pose a fire hazard. Also look to see if you can see vents in the walls. Without proper ventilation, moisture can build up and cause mildew problems.
You’ve now gone through the house and found places where hot air can escape, cold air can enter and a few appliances and fixtures that you can upgrade to more efficient models. If you have specific questions about a part of the audit or would like to be connected to a professional to help you move forward on your upgrades. Give us a call at 1.206.925.3249.
