Independent energy audits?

Ryland · 01-22-10, 05:16 PM

My local utility is currently offering home energy audits for $45, normal price is $300 so my room mate and I called them to set up an appointment, not sure how soon this will all happen but while we are waiting I thought I would see if anyone else has had this kind of thing done.
It sounds like they are done by an independent 3rd party and rest of the $300 is paid by the utility as part of their public service requirement, even $300 seems pretty reasonable as it seems like it can save that much in time and effort and money spent in the wrong areas.

Daox · 01-23-10, 11:15 AM

Wow, that sounds like a killer deal. I've been wanting to have the same thing done. I would really appreciate it if you could explain what they do and everything that they check!

Ryland · 01-24-10, 04:25 PM

I have plans to take a few notes, I have also had a few friends who want to come over and check out what is checked as well.
Do you have xcel energy in your area? you might give Focus On Energy a call and see what they have to say about offers like this.

Daox · 02-24-10, 07:44 AM

Did you ever get the audit done?

Ryland · 02-24-10, 09:33 AM

March 1st is the date.
They said they need access to the attic, any fire places need to be out of use for the day, someone else in town had one done and apparently when they turned their bath vent fan on it was pulling carbon monoxide in to the house from the hot water heater, not sure what else they check but if they find stuff like that then it sounds pretty good.

Daox · 02-24-10, 09:45 AM

BTW I did check focus on energy and the price of these audits starts at $250 and goes up from there. I have WE energies, and they don't have audits available (at least not according to their website), so I'd have to get an independent audit.

wyatt · 02-24-10, 11:43 AM

Call and ask if/when the do them. My friend had one done, it was 1/2 off anything energy efficiency related, but it had to be related to suggestions from an energy auditor (which was $50 through the electric company). That program is only offered in October-November here, so it may pay to see if there would be a "deal" when it starts to get cold out.

Ryland · 03-04-10, 10:06 PM

Energy audit is done, at least for now, I didn't realize that the deal was for a before and after audit, to show that our improvements worked, all for $45.
furnace got an ok even tho it's from '87 it's a sealed forced vent natural gas forced air that they say is not worth replacing unless it wears out.
10 year old water heater we can get $400 in rebates if we replace it, costs $650 to buy a gas forced vent water heater... on the to do list! pay back should be less then two years as we have the electric one on a timer right now, it's costing us around $300 per year.
then they did they blower door test... our house is not exactly tight... most of our windows were tight, a few had small leaks, they said the blower door was like 22mph winds from all sides of the house, so if there was a leak you could feel it, they also had an infrared camera so we could see in real time the cold spots, so our windows are good cept for two that I'll fix as they are all new, doors are awesome, storm windows are working great, the crawl spaces are the cold spots, one foundation wall was 39 degrees! and full of holes even tho we have 1" of outside insulation we still have gaps and cracks that let air in, so we are going to spray foam those foundation walls and sill boxes.
Our other weak spot is our attic, we have fiber glass insulation, an air space then a floor, with more insulation... that 2nd layer is not really doing anything due to that air space and it's connection to outside walls.
so that is about it, our house leaks, but in an extremely even way.

Daox · 03-05-10, 06:07 AM

So, you'd recommend this for other people to have done? Sounds like it showed you things you didn't know about. I checked out the local guys here. It looks like an audit starts at $250 and goes up from there.

Did they do a furnace ducting leak check?

Ryland · 03-05-10, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox

So, you'd recommend this for other people to have done? Sounds like it showed you things you didn't know about. I checked out the local guys here. It looks like an audit starts at $250 and goes up from there.

Did they do a furnace ducting leak check?

He did not test the ducts, he did point out that they are not taped, not insulated and that they go in to a crawl space that is 39-42 degrees... he did test bath vent fans and found that our new one was not up to par, still under warranty so new parts are in the mail.

01-22-10, 05:16 PM	#1
Ryland Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Western Wisconsin. Posts: 913 Thanks: 127 Thanked 82 Times in 71 Posts	Independent energy audits? My local utility is currently offering home energy audits for $45, normal price is $300 so my room mate and I called them to set up an appointment, not sure how soon this will all happen but while we are waiting I thought I would see if anyone else has had this kind of thing done. It sounds like they are done by an independent 3rd party and rest of the $300 is paid by the utility as part of their public service requirement, even $300 seems pretty reasonable as it seems like it can save that much in time and effort and money spent in the wrong areas.

01-23-10, 11:15 AM	#2
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Wow, that sounds like a killer deal. I've been wanting to have the same thing done. I would really appreciate it if you could explain what they do and everything that they check! __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-24-10, 04:25 PM	#3
Ryland Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Western Wisconsin. Posts: 913 Thanks: 127 Thanked 82 Times in 71 Posts	I have plans to take a few notes, I have also had a few friends who want to come over and check out what is checked as well. Do you have xcel energy in your area? you might give Focus On Energy a call and see what they have to say about offers like this. Last edited by Ryland; 01-24-10 at 04:29 PM..

02-24-10, 07:44 AM	#4
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Did you ever get the audit done? __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

02-24-10, 09:45 AM	#6
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	BTW I did check focus on energy and the price of these audits starts at $250 and goes up from there. I have WE energies, and they don't have audits available (at least not according to their website), so I'd have to get an independent audit. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

02-24-10, 09:33 AM	#5
Ryland Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Western Wisconsin. Posts: 913 Thanks: 127 Thanked 82 Times in 71 Posts	March 1st is the date. They said they need access to the attic, any fire places need to be out of use for the day, someone else in town had one done and apparently when they turned their bath vent fan on it was pulling carbon monoxide in to the house from the hot water heater, not sure what else they check but if they find stuff like that then it sounds pretty good.

02-24-10, 11:43 AM	#7
wyatt Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 75 Thanks: 3 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Call and ask if/when the do them. My friend had one done, it was 1/2 off anything energy efficiency related, but it had to be related to suggestions from an energy auditor (which was $50 through the electric company). That program is only offered in October-November here, so it may pay to see if there would be a "deal" when it starts to get cold out.

03-04-10, 10:06 PM	#8
Ryland Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Western Wisconsin. Posts: 913 Thanks: 127 Thanked 82 Times in 71 Posts	Energy audit is done, at least for now, I didn't realize that the deal was for a before and after audit, to show that our improvements worked, all for $45. furnace got an ok even tho it's from '87 it's a sealed forced vent natural gas forced air that they say is not worth replacing unless it wears out. 10 year old water heater we can get $400 in rebates if we replace it, costs $650 to buy a gas forced vent water heater... on the to do list! pay back should be less then two years as we have the electric one on a timer right now, it's costing us around $300 per year. then they did they blower door test... our house is not exactly tight... most of our windows were tight, a few had small leaks, they said the blower door was like 22mph winds from all sides of the house, so if there was a leak you could feel it, they also had an infrared camera so we could see in real time the cold spots, so our windows are good cept for two that I'll fix as they are all new, doors are awesome, storm windows are working great, the crawl spaces are the cold spots, one foundation wall was 39 degrees! and full of holes even tho we have 1" of outside insulation we still have gaps and cracks that let air in, so we are going to spray foam those foundation walls and sill boxes. Our other weak spot is our attic, we have fiber glass insulation, an air space then a floor, with more insulation... that 2nd layer is not really doing anything due to that air space and it's connection to outside walls. so that is about it, our house leaks, but in an extremely even way.

03-05-10, 06:07 AM	#9
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	So, you'd recommend this for other people to have done? Sounds like it showed you things you didn't know about. I checked out the local guys here. It looks like an audit starts at $250 and goes up from there. Did they do a furnace ducting leak check? __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.