Considering an energy audit

[stash4cash]

Looks like it'll cost me $350 but with $250 rebate from the local utility so $100 basically.
The pressure test alone seems like it takes specialized equipment or at least would require purchasing equipment that would be at least $100 or more.

My house was built in 2005 and has R30 in the attic, doesn't seem draft at all but was still wondering if it would be worth it (if we live it in for 5 years).
Anyone had one of these done? Was it worth it?

[earlyFI]

I had an audit done on my home as well. It was totally covered by the local utility company, I just had to sign over the rebate check. I followed the guy around and asked tons of questions. Basically the head guy sat at my kitchen table and let his young assistant do everything. He ran the pressure test, then said "I can improve this by 100 percent, but I won't, the energy company only requires me to do a 35% improvement."  He said that by foaming around the heating vents in the rooms, and foaming around my furnace (which is in the garage) it gets him almost the entire 35%, then he foamed around the can lights in my kitchen. The whole thing took 2 hrs, but as I said he sat at the table making calls to other customers. I think it made some improvement, but I can't say how much because I had already caulked around all the windows, added additional insulation to the attic, updated to newer windows, etc. It will probably be worth the $100 over the long term, especially if you have air leaks.

[Retired To Win]

Energy audit aside, every house I have owned has had "issues" regarding leakage around doors and windows.  If you start from the assumption that you have such leakage, you can address it on a DIY basis effectively and cut your heating/power costs accordingly.  Just some roll insulation, caulk, and a few door-bottom-draft blockers will really help.

If you ever find yourself planning to replace your windows, make sure the replacement ones are a really, really tight fit to your window openings.  I just did mine, and the fit was so tight that no insulation whatsoever was needed to fill the gaps around the windows because there just was no gap at all.  So, no leakage.

[Greg]

A home built in 2005 will not have significant energy losses except by negligence, i.e. missing insulation etc.  not sure it's worth it, IMHO.  Feel a draft?  Seal it up.

[stash4cash]

Yeah, I guess I'll hold off for now.
The only draft I can find in the house is associated with the gas log fireplace.
I'll have to post separately about that.

[Spondulix]

We're in Southern California, so no extreme cold, but a range from 40F-110F.

We added insulation in the walls of our home a few years ago, and it helped some but not a huge impact. We had the ducts sealed (measured like 2% loss afterwards) and I didn't see much of an improvement in the problems we had before. We changed the windows, and our heating/cooling usage immediately dropped 20%, and has pretty much stayed there.

So I'd fully explore the obvious (and free - you can get a lot of info by getting estimates) before paying for an audit.

[myteafix]

You can do your own home energy audit for free, then consider professionals for anything you aren't sure how to fix yourself.

http://www.goedekers.com/blog/conduct-home-energy-audit/

[FrugalSpendthrift]

Besides analyzing the house structure, have you considered other ways to save energy? A/C and heat thermostat settings, replacing inefficient appliances, led lighting, etc.  I started logging all of my electricity consumption and was easily able to shave of 40%, by changing some habits and some appliances.

[TomTX]

If you do this, get an auditor who uses a thermal imaging camera as part of the process.  It can see the missing insulation behind walls if there is a good temp difference (ie do the test in winter when your house is toasty warm.) I found 3 uninsulated wall plates myself.

[Dan_at_Home]

I had an energy audit done in the fall on my house, it was exactly the same deal as you described: it costs $350 but with $250 rebate from the local utility so the net cost is $100.

I found the information in the report to be very valuable and well worth the $100 because it identified the worst areas of the house for heat loss.  The recommendations so far I have found to be dead on correct after removing some portions of the ceilings and attic to get to hidden hard to reach areas.  I did not have professionals do the fixes recommended in the audit report but rather used it as a guide for what to insulation by way of DIY route.  Right now I am about half through all their recommendations.  I fix them one at a time at my leisure and prefer this way of doing it just because I am curious as to exactly how my houses works and how it is constructed.
     

[AlanStache]

I had an audit done on my home as well. It was totally covered by the local utility company, I just had to sign over the rebate check. I followed the guy around and asked tons of questions. Basically the head guy sat at my kitchen table and let his young assistant do everything. He ran the pressure test, then said "I can improve this by 100 percent, but I won't, the energy company only requires me to do a 35% improvement."  He said that by foaming around the heating vents in the rooms, and foaming around my furnace (which is in the garage) it gets him almost the entire 35%, then he foamed around the can lights in my kitchen. The whole thing took 2 hrs, but as I said he sat at the table making calls to other customers. I think it made some improvement, but I can't say how much because I had already caulked around all the windows, added additional insulation to the attic, updated to newer windows, etc. It will probably be worth the $100 over the long term, especially if you have air leaks.

I learned within a year of buying my place that it matters who is paying the contractor.  When ever possible make them work for you.  Being able to say 'you dont get paid till I am happy' can really make things get done correctly.

Had not thought to foam around the vents, I have insulation there but still might be a good place to look into.

I did not have professionals do the fixes recommended in the audit report but rather used it as a guide for what to insulation by way of DIY route.  Right now I am about half through all their recommendations.  I fix them one at a time at my leisure and prefer this way of doing it just because I am curious as to exactly how my houses works and how it is constructed.

In a lot of ways that is the good life, have a list of things that will make your life better and getting to work on them one at a time while learning stuff.

[QajakBoy]

The most important part of an effort to improve the energy efficiency of a house is to improve the air seal.

Adding insulation won't do much good if a house has lots of outside air blowing through it.  And the most common insulation - fiberglass, does a poor job of limiting air flow.  The prime suspects for major air leaks are in the attic and the rim joist areas.  The total of all leaks in a typical house is greater than having a window fully open all of the time!  Air sealing a home could be a good DIY project, but you'd have to know what you're looking for and how best to seal it.  Most contractors who are good at air sealing use a blower door to measue how leaky a house is and to help find/verify where those leaks are.  Here's a link to a website that is a great objective information resource on building science and home energy conservation: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/qa

An added bonus of having a well sealed house is that it makes it much more difficult for insects and other small critters to get into your house! 

[Bob W]

I've been a certified home energy auditor in the past and a home builder.

My answer is yes!     If your putting out $100 you only need to save about $1.50 per month to pay that back.

The blowdoor testers (unit cost $1,200 on average for good ones) and heat cameras are pricey and worth it.   

The report at the end should be very informative and plugging just a few leaks will accomplish savings.    Be sure you have it done by a disinterested party (not associated with HVAC or insulation contractor)

In my area they give out $100 dollar worth of stuff like CFLs, shower heads and water heater blankets with the deal. 

[iamsoners]

We had one done and it was worth it for us. But that was partly because the energy company paid for it and it gave us access to several other rebates for insulating and air sealing from them as well.

For our audit, there was basically a pre-test with a report and then a post-test to see how much air sealing we had added.  Assuming you don't have the benefit of two tests, I would highly recommend doing the most obvious air sealing before having the test so you can find the spots you've missed with the test.  For us, the biggest leakers were the rim joists, the plumbing stack which runs from the basement to attic and the fireplace flue--that's for our 1927 house, your money may vary.

When they actually do the blower door test, walk around to all your suspected leak spots (door jambs, windows, baseboards) and put your hand in front of them to get an idea of where the biggest remaining leaks are. You can test an entire rooms leakage by standing at the door with it slightly cracked to feel how much air movement there is.

[bye-bye Ms. FancyPants]

We had one. Our electric company sponsored it. I think we paid about $150 for it but after we complete their recommendations they come back out and reinspect. If we pass we get 3% cash back from our total bills over the last 12 months. Win, Win!

[TheOfficeLady]

My energy distributor has a free online energy audit you can do. Then if you need more serious stuff, you can pay. I went through the checklist of things to change (LEDs or CFLs, etc.) before paying. As I made changes, I tracked my energy usage and I honestly don't think it would have been worth it to pay. I got my energy usage down by almost 50% with just following their suggestions and googling stuff.

[Bob W]

So stashforcash OP -- You first posted in November.  Its January did you have one done or not?