By Allison Small
Energy audits. You are probably hearing a lot about them lately due to the increased emphasis on energy efficiency and also because of the massive amount of stimulus funds dedicated to home weatherization measures.But what exactly is an energy audit? Why do you need one? And how much will it cost?
Last week I took advantage of a free energy audit being offered in Austin by a company called Green Collar Operations. I found Green Collar (or rather Green Collar found me) through a door to door marketing campaign. Green Collar has partnered with Austin Energy to offer customers a free initial energy audit and then pairs the recommended efficiency enhancements with the appropriate Austin Energy and Texas Gas rebates so that customers end up paying very little for significant energy efficiency improvements. It sounded like a painless way to explore the energy audit process, so I took the bait.
After I set up my audit appointment, I went directly to Green Collar’s website to check them out, because, while I am a firm believer in energy audits, trying to weed out the tried and true versus the fly by night is important when taking this important, and sometimes costly, energy step. According to the site, they are the #1 energy efficiency company in all of Central Texas and have the Better Business Bureau seal of approval so they passed the smell test so to speak.
One the day of the audit they told me to expect them between 9am and 11am and the process would take about 30 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised to have Keith, my audit specialist, arrive right at 9am. Unprecedentedly on time! Before he started the audit process Keith walked me through some of the things he would be doing (including examining the size and condition of my a/c condenser and furnace, looking at weatherization including air infiltration or air loss due to leaky windows and doors and identifying air loss throughout my duct system including all returns) and also asked me a few questions (where is my furnace located – which admittedly I had to think about for a second, how can he access the attic, is there a part of the house that is colder or hotter than others at certain times, etc.)
After about 25 minutes Keith said he was finished and we sat down to discuss his findings. Right off the bat he got my attention because he used the word/acronym we love to hear – ROI (Return On Investment). This is an important part of TexasIsHot’s mission – focusing on the things we can and should do to get the biggest return on our energy efficiency investment. Keith said that a radiant barrier treatment would be the most effective measure, but because of the cost, I probably would not see the return. In terms of ROI, he suggested I focus on the insulation because my house only has a thermal rating of 19 and the Department of Energy thermal rating recommendation for climate zone 2 (Central Texas) is 38. Note: Austin Energy has stated that an average 25-year-old home that has never had energy efficiency upgrades needs 6 – 8 inches of additional attic insulation. Click here to learn more about DOE insulation recommendations.
Other recommendations included: sealing ducts in the attic, sealing up the attic hatch better (prime area for air loss), and eliminating overall plumbing penetration because of excessive air infiltration.
So, then I told Keith to hit me the bottom-line. What are the next steps and how much will it cost me?
He said he would e-mail me a complete report of his findings and match each recommended action with the applicable Austin Energy rebate (which he did). In terms of cost, he said that the rebate for the weatherization program (including duct blaster and blower door test) is 20 cents a square foot (Austin Energy pays .12 per sq ft and TX Gas pays .08, which combined equals a .20 per sq ft rebate.) So for my 2700 foot house I would receive about $550 in rebates. He said based on the rebates I would pay around $85 for the weatherization. See rebate chart he sent me in the final report:
Insulation is more expensive, but provides tremendous long term savings. My total cost after the insulation rebate would be around $400. See chart below.
We also talked about the new mandatory City of Austin ordinance that “requires all residential properties within the city limits, 10 years or older, that receive services from Austin Energy and that are on the market for sale to have an energy audit completed by a certified auditor prior to the property being sold.” He said that this “home sale” service costs $250, but if you do the necessary energy efficiency improvements recommended in the ordinance audit this fee is lowered to $125.
Overall, my audit experience was positive. For Austin residents, I recommend taking advantage of this free audit – if for nothing else – to understand where your home stands in terms of energy efficiency. Moreover, addressing your efficiency needs at a time where rebates and incentives are in abundance will both save you money now as well as on future energy bills and can also be used an added benefit if you ever decide to put your house on the market. For those outside of Austin or non-Austin Energy customers, check with your electric provider or local energy audit vendors to find out if there are similar audit programs available.
Keep checking TexasIsHot.org for more information on weatherization and energy audits. We are working on a more in-depth section on the website to track audit companies, rebates and incentives and other relevant information.