Friday, January 28, 2011

Perform a Yearly Energy Audit and Save Money


Many people would like to spend less on their bills, but do not really know what they can do in order to lower them. Luckily, there are many things that you can do, like assessing the energy usage of your home regularly. If you are wondering how you can perform a yearly energy audit and save money, this article may be able to help.

There are two ways to assess your home and its efficiency. You can either do the analysis yourself or you can hire a professional to do it for you. Hiring a professional should not cost that much, but doing it yourself will cost you nothing and it will not take that much time either.

If you decide to assess your own home, you can start by going around your home and finding places where you feel a draft. Whenever there is a draft, you will need to ensure that the windows or doors in that area have been properly sealed. If they have not, you can fix them up with some caulk, and this will reduce your dependence upon central heating.

You will also need to gather the electric bills from the past year. You can then go on the Internet and find out how much a home owner in the same area typically spends on their bills. The homes you compare yourself to should have a similar number of occupants and be roughly the same size as your house.

You will also need to check the insulation in your roof or attic to see if it is adequate. It will also be helpful for you to check out how old your appliances are, since old appliances eat up more electricity than newer ones.

If you hire a professional to audit your home's energy usage, be sure to hire someone who is properly certified. Your utility provider may be able to help.


Created for CleanEdison, Inc. CleanEdison serves federal, state and local governments, building design and construction firms, owners, operators, and real estate investors.  We have educated hundreds of companies and thousands of individuals in green building practices both through customized training and the largest open enrollment green training program in the nation. CleanEdison has courses in the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), BPI (Building Performance Institute) Certification, Energy Auditing, Solar, Wind and Renewable Energy. CleanEdison has also developed numerous customized training programs specific to a business or organization's needs. Click here to learn more about CleanEdison, BPI Certification & BPI Training

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