If you’ve decided to have a home energy audit performed, you’ve taken the first step toward greater energy efficiency. You have all the figures in front of you; now it’s time to prioritize the auditor’s recommendations and start making changes. The way you prioritize depends on what’s most important to you.
Projects with an urgent need
- Seal the ductwork: If you have ducts running through the attic, garage or crawlspace, a home energy audit co
uld reveal that the ducts are introducing harmful pollutants into your home due to air leaks. Hire a contractor to seal the leaks and enjoy lower energy bills as well as improved indoor air quality. - Address mold situations: If a home energy audit uncovers mold growth in unfinished spaces, this should be addressed early on to prevent damaging your home’s structure and negatively impacting indoor air quality.
Budget-friendly projects
- Tighten air leaks: The amount you save could recoup your investment in caulk and weatherstripping after only six months. The added comfort makes tightening air leaks well worth it as well.
- Tackle mechanical issues: Adjusting appliance settings, installing a water heater timer and setting up a programmable thermostat are all affordable changes that can deliver high dividends.
- Install storm windows or plastic films: These are much more affordable than replacing the windows and they significantly reduce wintertime heat loss.
- Add insulation: Since this is a do-it-yourself project in many cases, it’s very affordable. Add insulation to the attic so several inches evenly cover the entire floor.
Projects that pay off
- Replace old windows: Windows make up a huge amount of your home’s surface area, so if you have old single-pane windows, an update to double- or triple-pane windows could result in a huge energy-saving payoff.
- Invest in new appliances: Wait until a repair becomes imminent, and then replace the appliance instead. The older it is, the more you stand to benefit from replacing it with a new, high-efficiency model.
For more information about making improvements based on a home energy audit, please contact us at Geisel Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing. We proudly serve customers in the Greater Cleveland area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about home energy audits and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
For those Do it Yourselfers who would rather take control of your own indoor comfort, you can shop our online store for replacement parts, products and accessories!
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