With the rising costs of energy and the current emphasis on conservation, most homes would benefit from an energy audit to lower bills, increase energy efficiency, and reduce their impact on the environment. For those unfamiliar with the term, an energy audit is an inspection process used to evaluate energy usage in a home or building. The purpose of an energy audit is to find which products and appliances drain the most electricity, and to reduce energy consumption through equipment repairs, retrofits, or replacements. With spring nearly here and summer around the corner, an energy audit would be particularly valuable.
To find out more about the benefits of home energy audits and how you can reduce your electric bill, keep reading:
Lacking the knowledge and specialized skills of an electrician, most people have no idea how much energy the appliances and electronic products in their house consume. An energy audit will help you figure out which products should be replaced, fine-tuned, or even discarded. This is especially important to products that you use often, such as the washing machine, the oven, air conditioning, and so on. You could potentially save yourself a lot of money by replacing or discontinuing use of inefficient appliances with an home energy audit.
Getting a residential energy audit can be an opportunity to increase your home’s value. If you replace wasteful appliances with new, energy efficient ones, you also increase the value of your home. Replacing some of your appliances with “green” versions will especially boost your home value, as energy efficiency is in high demand.
With an energy audit, you will gain a better understanding of how much energy your products use and when, which will help you decide where energy efficient products will be effective and when your efforts will be wasted. For example, an energy audit will show that the new fluorescent light bulbs are only energy efficient when used for an hour or more. You will know then to leave your incandescent bulbs in places that you will only need to illuminate for short amounts of time, such as a closet or bathroom.
Running an energy audit will highlight ways for you to reduce your carbon footprint. While this may not provide any immediate monetary benefits, you should keep in mind that you will be living on this planet your whole life. Since you only get one planet, you might as well help keep it nice and clean.
About the Author:
Erick D. Smith blogs about home improvement and ways you can make your house more environmentally friendly for an Arizona home energy audit company. With the push for more sustainable and green living taking place over the past few years, a Phoenix residential energy audit outlines your home energy use and shows you how to reduce your electric bill in Arizona.
I recently had an audit done on a 50 year old home- we know how leaky they can be. It was worth the money. The auditor was very helpful and knowledgeable.