Energy audit of my own home.

OK, after 20 years of hiding from my problem I decided to bite the bullet and have an energy audit of my house. Mind you my house was built in 1938 and is probably the poster child for wasted energy. It can get pretty drafty and cold in the winter and I have always been aware of a number of defect and leaks that have been costing me money. We invited Stephen Bloie of A to Z Energy Auditors (240-676-2091) if Clarksburg, MD to come out and evaluate our home. Stephen is a licensed home inspector and brings a lot of experience and knowledge to the table. As a realtor, I have been to a lot of home inspections over the past 25 years and know my way around houses pretty well. There is a lot about my home and its energy defects that I already know but Stephen's audit showed me that there are a lot of things I did not know about my home.

The audit process is very interesting to watch. Basically, he puts up a temporary nylon barrier that seals your front door. The barrier has a high speed fan that blows air out of your house and creates and vacuum inside of the home. Air from the outside then works into your home through any holes that you might have. By locating the most serious air leaks with a thermographic camera and a small smoke maker, and then sealing them up you can save significantly on your heating bills and pay for the cost of the inspection and repairs in about a year or two. Stephen's philosophy is that most homeowners need not pay for high end repairs and remediation but that by simply sealing the most obvious air leaks for a low cost, you can have the biggest impact.

And I did learn a lot. First and foremost was that my house was built with balloon framing. My impression was that balloon framing was only found in all-wood houses but apparently my solid brick home also has balloon framing. And, from an energy loss standpoint this is not a good thing as when balloon framing is present the whole house tends to act like a giant chimney-with the open wall framing causing air to flow through the house and every hole that might penetrate the walls, up into the attic. Typically balloon framing opens into the attic all around the perimeter of the house. This all needs to be sealed and will stop the most serious air leaks. In addition, my switch plate covers, heating duct vents, ceiling fans, light fixtures and a lot of other penetrations into my walls are places where cold air is entering the home (and in summer hot air) will need to be sealed off. I was amazed to see how many holes my house actually has.

Well, I recommend that everybody do an energy audit of their homes-even newer homes. There are three steps to making your home more energy efficient. The first consists of minor easy to do things like swapping out your light bulbs or turning down the thermostat. Second comes a simple energy audit to locate the places in your home where air is penetrating and then sealing off those holes with caulk and weather stripping. The third step involves high end investments in alternative energy solutions such as solar heating or high end insulation. I recommend that you at least do the first two steps as this will give you the most return for your money. I have to be realistic in that my house is an older home and will never really be a tight energy efficient home without a serious outlay of money. However, with an energy audit and a modest outlay of money, I will be able to greatly reduce my energy bills and carbon footprint.