The rising electricity costs have left homeowners no choice but to make sustainable lifestyle choices.

A full-fledged home energy audit is a great way to make sure that your home does not have any energy leaks or energy-sucking appliances and instalments that may be burning a hole in your pocket.

What is a home energy audit?

Nearly all activities we carry out in our homes require energy. From lighting spaces to cooking, washing, heating and cooling, refrigeration, and running appliances.

To roughly break down the various parts of our home’s energy usage as a factor contributing to our energy bills, the picture looks somewhat as below:

·   Heating and Cooling: 40%

·   Appliances: 23%

·   Hot Water: 21%

·   Refrigeration: 6%

·   Lighting: 6%

·   Cooking: 4%

A home energy audit is a process of accessing all your appliances and systems running on energy to make sure there is no wastage that may be resulting in high energy bills.

Importance of energy audits

Carrying out a regular home energy assessment is important for several reasons:

1.  Boost energy efficiency throughout the home: Home energy assessments ensure that all your systems and appliances are using energy to their optimal levels. When you look for a home energy audit near me, your chosen electrician will identify the biggest energy drains and provide you with a plan for improving your home’s energy efficiency.

2.  Lower power bills to help you save more: Energy audits don’t just make your home more sustainable in terms of energy efficiency, but also save you from burning a hole in your pocket due to the wasted energy you never go to use.

3.  Makes you aware of leaks and energy vampires: When you are more conscious about your energy use, you keep an eye out for areas where energy is being lost or wasted. This may include gaps causing air leaks and insulation issues or poorly functioning heating, cooling, or electronics that may be putting extra load on your systems. This also helps you alter your energy use to allow minimum wastage.

4.  Reduce your carbon footprint: By making your home more energy-efficient you are not just helping your pocket but also helping the environment. You are doing this by making a conscious effort to lower your carbon emissions and hence reduce pollution.

5.  Increases the value of your property: Energy-efficient homes are more attractive to buyers for several reasons. They help the new owners live more sustainably. They increase a home’s comfort levels. They help the owner keep their energy bills lower. Finally, it ensures that the home’s electrical system is in top shape.

What are the types of home energy audits?

There are three types of home energy audits that can be customised by your electrician based on your exact needs. These are as follows:

Type 1: Basic Energy Audit: This is the general overview of how your house is consuming energy on a broad level and what are the areas which can be improved to save energy. This is a good choice if you are on a budget.

Type 2: Detailed Energy Audit: This is an in-depth energy audit conducted by your local electrician in Geelong. It will provide you with specific recommendations for every system and appliance as well as your overall energy-using habits.

Type 3: Precision sub-system audit: This will analyse each system on your property in very precise detail to identify energy drains and provide a report of recommendations for upgrades or repairs that are required.

How home energy audits are done?

When you call a home energy auditor to carry out an inspection on your property, they will take a look at your current energy consumption and identify measures to make your home more energy-efficient.

Depending upon the nature of the energy audit as well as the size of your home, these can take anywhere between 30 minutes to 4 hours.

Typically, home energy audits are done as follows:

1.  Your selected home energy auditor, most likely, a qualified electrician will examine your property from the outside. They will look at the windows, doors, and other parts of the home to see if there are any gaps, spaces, or cracks that might be causing heating or cooling to be leaked out.

2.  Next they will inspect your home from the inside. They will check your home’s insulation to make sure it is correctly installed between the walls. They will also check for any holes made to run electrical wires and make sure all such gaps are properly sealed.

3.  They will look at instalments such as the furnace and water heating unit to check for age and efficiency. If there is any such issue, it will need to be upgraded. The auditor will also look at ducts in the basement and ensure there are no energy leaks.

4.  To take the outdoor inspection a step further, the auditor will carry out a blower door test. During this test, all the windows and doors are closed and a blower door machine is used to depressurise the home. The auditor, next, uses an infrared camera which is able to detect any air entering or leaving the house.

5.  Finally, the electrician carrying out the audit will look at all the lighting installed in your home and suggest energy-efficient upgrades. These can include updating the old incandescent lights or halogen bulbs to LED alternatives.

The energy audit report including the recommendations you will receive from your auditor will depend on the scale and nature of the audit being carried out.

Finding an electrician to do a home energy audit around the Geelong area

When looking for an electrician to carry out a home energy audit in Geelong, you can check out with your:

·   Local government energy office to suggest a company that performs audits.

·   Your energy service network to see if there are any energy auditors associated with them.

·   Local and independent electricians that offer a home energy audit.

Whichever method you select, make sure you do the following before hiring a professional energy auditor:

1.  Get references and check with them all.

2.  Look for their reviews online.

3.  Make sure your auditor will carry out all the steps to give you a detailed report.

4.  See how qualified and experienced they are.

If you are looking for licensed home energy auditors, as qualified professionals we can help you out. Feel free to contact us today.