Home Energy Audits (Energy Assessments)

Home Energy Upgrade
A Client Case Study:

What is a Home Energy Audit?

Energy Assessments (also called energy audits or energy efficiency audits) are the first step in upgrading your home's performance. To accurately design a home energy efficiency upgrade plan suited to your needs, we must first diagnose the current state of your home. Then using principles of building science we recommend a unique upgrade plan customized to fulfill your needs.

A home energy audit (or home energy assessment) measures the current performance of your home.  First, we evaluate all systems in your home that impact energy consumption. We use the latest diagnostic equipment related to building science. Then we can accurately identify issues and help you prioritize goals for your home’s energy efficiency, comfort and lower PG&E bills. The whole process takes between 4-6 hours depending on the square footage of your home. Energy assessments are the first step to upgrading to an energy efficient home.

Energy Assessment Diagnostic Testing

Diagnostic tests we conduct in order to assess your home energy efficiency:

• Utility Bill Analysis of PG&E utility bills and consumption patterns.
• Home Owner Interview to assess your primaryneeds and goals.
• Infrared Scan uses a thermal camera to diagnose areas of air leakage, missing insulation and construction defects.
• Insulation Inspection to assess any issues with the thermal boundary in the attic, walls and floor
• Appliance Safety Inspection Test for carbon monoxide safety issues at all combustion appliances (eg: oven, stove, etc).Test for appliance combustion safety and fresh air intake to ensure safety and efficiency.Test for combustion drafting to ensure that combustion gases are not spilling into the home
• Blower Door Test to measure the amount and location of air leakage in the home.
• Duct Leakage Test to measure the amount of leakage in the furnace or A/C duct system and identify specific leakage areas.
• Combustible Appliance Zone (CAZ) Test to measure any unsafe levels of gas.
• Indoor Air Quality Inspection to assess any issues with moisture, high humidity, mold and other indicators that lead to poor air quality.
• Building Modeling using sophisticated software to model your home’s structure and determine the areas of greatest heat and cooling loss.
• Lighting Inspection to determine opportunities for replacing incandescent lights with more energy efficient compact fluorescent or LED lighting.
• Water Efficiency Test to measure the flow rate of all water fixtures and determine opportunities for water savings.
• Solar Inspection to determine if the house is a good candidate for solar panels and if appropriate provide a Solar PV analysis.
• Picture Documentation of any issues and findings.
• Energy Audit Report with analysis, pictures and prioritized work scope to increase your home energy efficiency

Home Energy Audit Information Video from Advanced Home Energy on Vimeo.

After the Energy Assessment - Energy Efficient Home Upgrades

After conducting the home assessment and discussing your unique energy needs we provide you with several energy efficiency upgrade options. We help you review the information necessary to select the energy saving plan that best increases your health, savings, and comfort. As home performance contractors we work with the bigger picture of your home energy efficiency in mind. We offer a full range of green home services from the basics to the most advanced to help create your energy efficient home.

Contact Advanced Home Energy today at 510-540-4860 or fill out the contact form on the top right to schedule your home energy assessment today.