Getting started: Home Energy Audit and Financing

Home Energy Audit

An energy audit of your home is a step by step, thorough process from the top down or the bottom up. Also referred to as an energy assessment, this process defines exactly how your home uses and wastes energy. Professional home energy audits involve a thorough room-by-room examination of a property, as well as extensive analysis of past utility bills.

The audit highlights the amount of electricity, natural gas and other sources of power used in your home. By identifying which areas have the greatest problems with energy waste, the audit helps you prioritize your list of potential home improvements.

Professional energy auditors can provide you with high-quality energy auditing services, including a detailed assessment of your home's energy efficiency. They use professional grade equipment that is specifically designed to provide accurate measurements. Some of the most commonly used pieces of equipment for a residential energy audit include blower doors and infrared cameras.

A professional audit provides the most complete picture of your home's energy use. However, some homeowners choose to conduct their own energy audit. A DIY energy audit may not be highly accurate; on the other hand, it requires no financial investments.

DIY Home Energy Audit

A DIY home energy audit will not be as comprehensive as a professional one, but it can still help you determine where and how your house loses energy. The self-performed audit will take two to four hours to complete, depending on the size and complexity of a particular building. Typically, homeowners do not possess infrared cameras, but most of them do own pen and papers. These will be used to keep a checklist of inspected areas and problems that were detected in the course of a DIY home energy audit.

Your DIY energy audit should start with a walk through your home. Begin by looking for obvious drafty areas. Some common places where air leaks occur include the junctions of walls and ceilings as well as the edge of the flooring. From the outside of your house, inspect the areas where two different types of materials meet, such as where metal flashing intersects with brick and mortar. Air leaks are also known to occur around door and window frames, lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures and vents, electrical outlets, fireplace dampers, loft hatches, and utility ports.

A DIY home energy audit should include a pressurization test of your house. It is best to do this on a windy day. To conduct the test, turn off all appliances that use natural gas and close all the windows, doors, and flues. Next, turn on all exhaust fans that blow air outside such as that of the clothes dryer, bathroom fan, and stove hood. Alternatively, set up a large window fan to suck the air out of the house. Light a stick of incense and walk slowly around the areas where air leaks are frequent, such as near doors and windows. Wherever the smoke wiggles, there is a draft resulting from air leaks.

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When performing a DIY energy audit, consider your home's ventilation system. It could be pulling out the heated air in the winter or bringing in pollution in the summer. A faulty ventilation system will not only increase your utility bill, but it may also put your health at risk.

An energy assessment of your home involves checking the insulation levels in your loft. Inspect the loft's vents and the area around its hatch. Measure the insulation layer with a ruler or check the paper backing on blanket insulation. To inspect wall insulation levels, remove an electrical plate or cut a hole into the wall and use a flashlight and ruler to measure the thickness. In the basement, check the thickness of insulation around joists and between beams.

Another aspect of energy auditing involves checking heating and air conditioning systems. Inspect the filter and replace it if it is dirty. Check for gaps around sections of air ducts. You should also consider any appliances, gadgets and light bulbs in your home. Look at the energy usage label to learn how much power each appliance uses on an annual basis. Apply an electricity usage monitor, which is a small device that you plug the item into to measure how much current the gadget draws.

As the final step of your DIY home energy audit, use the online bill payment of your electricity company to track your monthly usage. You could also save your energy bills in a folder and compare the same month over several years.

Energy Performance Certificate

According to UK law, all residential and commercial buildings in the UK available for purchase or rent must have on file an Energy Performance Certificate or EPC. The EPC describes the building's efficiency on a simple scale from A (very efficient) to G (completely inefficient). Not every homeowner needs an EPC, but without one, it is impossible to put your property on the market. In addition, an energy performance survey helps to identify ways in which homeowners can save money and make energy-saving improvements.

Throughout England, Northern Ireland, and Wales, only an accredited domestic energy assessor can produce a legally standing EPC. Once issued, the EPC is valid for 10 years. If you update your home, you may wish to have a new EPC granted through the renewal process. This can get you a better rating and make your house or building more attractive to prospective buyers.

UK Government Incentives

The UK government offers incentives to help homeowners save money on the cost of energy efficient structural improvements. The Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive program (RHI) is available to homeowners and landlords in England, Scotland or Wales based on their use of renewable heat sources. The financial support provided by the government lasts seven years, with cash payments being made quarterly.

RHI support can be claimed for the use of biomass boilers and pellet stoves, ground-to-water and air-to-water heat pumps, as well as for solar thermal panels. In addition to RHI, the UK Feed-in Tariffs allow you to get paid for the electricity generated by your renewable power source. You will get both generation and export tariffs on the energy you produce and sell.

Basic Cost Saving Methods

If you do not yet have the funds to make major improvements such as adding insulation or installing new windows onto your home, you can employ some basic energy efficiency methods and start saving money immediately. With your savings, you will soon be able to pay for more energy efficient upgrades to your home.

Installing a smart meter is a simple and cost-effective way to save energy. These digital electricity meters provide you with detailed information about your energy use throughout the day. You can find out how much energy your home used at a specific point in time and how much it cost.

Switching your electricity provider might also save you money. Compare the rate you have with those offered by other companies and look into the Time of Use tariff. This tariff allows energy suppliers to charge different amounts for electricity depending on the time of day. Also, bear in mind that peak electrical usage is generally from noon until 8:00 pm on weekdays. If you could alter your schedule and use high-consuming appliances during off-peak hours, your cost per use of the appliance would be lower.

This energy-saving practice benefits energy suppliers as well, making it easier for the supplier to meet a lower demand during the peak hours of use.

In conclusion, basic energy saving methods, a diligent energy audit, and a solid financial plan are necessary for creating an energy efficient home. Once this has been completed, it is time to take things to the next level and start generating your own energy.