How to Conduct a DIY Home Energy Audit

by Mark Row

Make Sure Your Home is Safe and Insulated with a Home Energy Audit 

Among all the issues that have been discussed over the years, energy efficiency most certainly deserves s special place, and for many reasons. Not only will you be able to make some savings on the long run and help protect the environment, but also add another protective layer to your home construction and make it last much longer without undertaking constant repairs and add some commodity to everyday life. Now, all this includes performing an overall inspection of your home in order of establishing what can be improved, repaired or installed in the words of increased energy efficiency. Although you may hire a professional to do the job for you, we have decided to help you save some money and teach you how to conduct a DIY home energy audit.

Namely, this DIY project includes a few vital checkpoints within your home that need to be inspected, in order of determining all the weak points that are causing your home to lose energy. Just prepare a piece of paper to right down everything that has been checked and try to prioritize the issues that need to be addressed. Now, start walking...

Step No. 1 – Cooling and Heating

The first step in your own home energy audit is checking cooling and heating systems. Bear in mind that these need to be checked and cleaned regularly, that is at least once a year. Probably the biggest sources of energy loss are dirty or old filters, so make sure to replace them at least once every month or two. Another option is replacing the filters with new modern electrostatic ones that do a much better job in cleaning the air and are thus much better in cutting down energy losses. If you are dealing with central heating systems, make sure that the coils (both inside and out) are clean (you will need nothing more than a vacuum cleaner).

Another important thing that needs to be checked is dirty ductwork which could indicate air leaks and can be dealt with some duct tape or better yet proper insulation material. If it is too dirty and worn out, consider replacement.

Step No.2 – Check for Air Leaks

Some researches have shown that are air leaks can lead up to 30% of energy loss within your home. This is why they deserve a place among your home energy audit checklist. You can check air leaks by using nothing more than a candle stick brought close to some potentially weak points within your home such as at corners, joint areas (where walls, walls and ceilings, walls and floors meet) or around windows and doors. If the flame on your lit candle is wavering, you are dealing with air getting in, but also getting out, meaning that the warm one will escape your home during the winter and the other way around, it will also get in during the summer, thus decreasing the efficiency of your cooling and heating devices and increasing your electricity bills.

The problem can be solved by for example weather stripping or caulking all the gaps and cracks especially in the foundation, mortar, exit points of pipes and wires, around windows and doors.

Step No. 3 – Check Insulation

Probably the most important step in your home energy audit is insulation. We all know how proper insulation is important for improving thermal performance of your home and reducing energy consumption. The areas that should be inspected are especially your attic, basement and walls.

When checking your attic, make sure that the insulation has been installed around ceiling joists (most commonly rock wool) but also that all potential gaps around chimneys, pipes, hatch and electrical boxes placed in the ceiling are properly caulked and covered with insulation. Another important issue in the attic is proper ventilation which must be taken care, but also moisture that could endanger and reduce the efficiency of your insulation material. This can be taken care of by using a vapour barrier such as plastic sheeting or Kraft paper that will keep all the excessive moisture out and away from your attic space.

Another place worth checking is your basement. If your basement space is opened to the exterior, check for insulation on the basement ceiling or under the first floor of your living space. Having insulation installed will make sure that all the cold air is kept away from the upper floors. On the other hand, if you are having an enclosed and heated or cooled basement space, it wouldn’t be a good idea to completely cut it off from your living space, but instead consider insulating your foundation or basement walls, as an item on your DIY insulation list, in order of creating a protective envelope around entire house.

Finally, check the walls for insulation. However, before performing this step in your DIY home insulation audit, make sure to turn off all electricity, that is disable all the wiring going through your walls. Once you’ve made sure that the power is most definitely off, you can remove the cover plate from an outlet and use a long, thin object (a screwdriver for example) to check whether there is insulation within your wall cavity. If you encounter any resistance, the answer is probably confirmative. However, if you want to determine which kind of insulation material is installed within the wall, you can always cut a small hole behind a wardrobe or a sofa and determine which material has been placed behind or within your walls and whether it needs to be replaced if anyhow damaged.

Step No. 4 – Lighting

The final step in performing your home energy audit is checking your lighting. It is well known that inefficient light bulbs consume a massive amount of energy. This is why you should try minimizing the use of lighting, that is making sure that it is off when you do not need it but also choose some alternative and more energy efficient lighting such as CFL or LED lighting which is not only friendly to your home budget but also the environment. However, since pricier that traditional light bulbs, do not go overboard, since you do not have to place these lights in each space within your home, just the ones where you need and use lighting the most. Also, consider using task and ambient lighting, by switching to some wall and track lights for your bedroom or living room.

For more information on energy efficiency and home insulation materials please read related blog articles and product descriptions on our website. If you have any questions please post them in the comments below.