Home Energy Audit: Identifing Ways to Conserve Energy and Reduce Waste
Home energy has been in the news a lot lately, with much of what’s been written and said focusing on the new technology you can buy to save money. You might hear about the power of heat pumps, new energy efficient appliances, and other upgrades to save money, but there are other ways to save on your home energy bill as well.
We’re talking about changing habits. Altering habitual behavior can go a long way when it comes to conserving energy and reducing waste, so let’s take a closer look at the ways you can get the recommendations from a home energy audit to lower your utility bills by getting used to doing things a little differently.
Lower Your Home Energy Costs with an Energy Audit
It can be hard to know where to begin when it comes to conserving energy and reducing waste. There are many places to start, and some of them seem tied to significant purchases that can strain a budget.
That’s where a home energy assessment comes into play. You can get a home energy audit as part of the Mass Save® program, and companies like Revise, Inc. have licensed contractors that are qualified to perform these home energy assessments.
The best part is that it’s free, and they’ll help you learn new ways to conserve energy and reduce waste. Here are some of the most significant way to conserve energy:
Reduce Leaks and Add Insulation
You might think your home is already as energy efficient as it can get, and if you’re just moved into new construction you might be right.
But even a newer home has air leaks that can be tightened up, and a home energy assessment will show you how to do this. These air leaks are wasting energy and costing you money on a daily basis, and fixing them may even be free as part of the Mass Save® program.
Upgrading your home’s insulation is another great way to reduce waste and save energy. Many people think they have adequate insulation coverage, but the simple fact is that insulation technology has been improving every year, so getting an insulation upgrade can make a big difference when it comes to reducing waste.
You may not have sufficient insulation coverage. You need 10-14 inches of insulation to effectively seal your home and conserve energy, and an energy audit will either verify that you have it or tell you how much you need to get to conserve as much energy as you can.
Even better, you can save a lot of money when you get these upgrades done. Mass Save® is offering discounts of up to 75 percent for insulation upgrades, which means you can save money and conserve investment for a fairly minimal investment.
Add Energy Efficient Windows and Doors.
Another thing you’ll learn about during a home energy assessment is how much energy you can save by updating your windows and doors.
The test that evaluates this is called a blower door test, which works exactly the way it sounds. By opening your door and using a large fan to pressurize your home, energy assessors can give you an idea where you’re wasting energy, and often the windows and doors are a primary source of this kind of loss.
Fortunately, there’s an easy fix that can help you conserve energy if your windows and doors are a problem. Triple-pane windows are a great solution because they come with a high energy rating, and you can make the same kinds of improvements with your doors. Mass Save® is offering rebates on these kinds of improvements as well, so once again it’s a win-win across the board.
Make the Necessary Home Energy Purchases to Get Savings and Rebates
Some homeowners are aware that they could be doing more to conserve energy and reduce waste, but they have a limited budget that prevents them from making the necessary home energy purchases.
That’s where Mass Save® once again enters the picture. There are discounts and rebates on home energy products across the price spectrum, from programmable thermostats that are incredibly cheap with Mass Save® discounts to huge rebates for high-end products like heat pumps.
You can even get a HEAT loan to pay for these new additions. That will give you up to $25,000 to spend on home energy products and upgrades, with zero interest on the loan itself.
It’s just a matter of committing to making these purchases, and a home energy assessor can help you prioritize your needs, identify the best products and fill out the paperwork to make sure you get all the rebates and discounts.
Pay Attention to Your Energy Rating
If you have older appliances that are still working, you may not realize how much the world of energy efficiency has changed when it comes to the energy rating of your appliances.
Simply put, it’s substantial. Most older appliances have an energy efficient rating that’s 80-90 percent, which sounds decent until you compare it with modern appliances. Many new appliances come with an efficiency rating of over 90 percent, so buying new appliances is an instant way to conserve energy and reduce waste.
You can also save money doing it. Mass Save® is offering discounts and rebates for new appliances, and the federal government is getting in on the act with the Inflation Reduction Act, which has its own set of rebates and discounts.
Once you’ve prioritized your home energy needs, your home energy assessor can show you how to maximize your savings by selecting the specific rebates and discounts that are right for you.
Building Energy Savings by Changing Your Home Energy Habits
At the other end of the spectrum, there are plenty of smaller changes you can make to conserve energy and reduce waste.
- Unplug. Start by unplugging all of the devices you’re not using. Most of us have more devices than we realize, and unplugging them can give you a small but significant savings of a few dollars a month.
- Get a smart power strip. A smart power strip can help you conserve even more energy with the devices you do leave plugged in. These power strips are able to sense which ones you’re not using and stop the ongoing energy drain.
Conserve Energy By Using Renewable Energy
If you want to go big with your energy conservation, using renewable energy is one of the best ways to do it. It’s fine to lower your home energy costs by using less oil or gas, but those energy sources are still non-renewable.
They’re already expensive, and they’ll become even more so as they’re depleted, which is why it’s so important to shift to renewable energy now.
- Get a heat pump that uses geothermal energy. Geothermal heat pumps are perhaps the ultimate way to use renewable energy when it comes to heating and cooling your home. They tap into underground heat that’s always present, and they work by moving this air into your home, then heating it to whatever temperature you select with your programmable thermostat.
- Go solar. Solar panels used to be an expensive add-on that offered minimal energy savings compared to the cost that homeowners had to incur, but that’s changing rapidly. Today’s solar panels are far more affordable, and it’s easy to get them installed on your roof or as a separate entity for energy conservation.
Some people even save enough energy to sell it back to the electrical grid, which can save even more energy and help either lower their utility bills or make money in the process.
Learn How to Conserve Energy and Reduce Waste with Revise, Inc.
At Revise, Inc., we’re committed to doing everything we can to help make your home more energy efficient and educating you about your home and what you can do to maximize savings under Mass Save®.
We’re proud to be a designated contractor under the Mass Save® program, and we’ve helped hundreds of customers save thousands of dollars while improving their energy efficiency.
We make the process as simple as possible. Our home energy assessors are professionals who are extensively trained to evaluate your energy needs, and we’re happy to answer any questions you may have or explain anything from the assessment. We want you to understand that it’s a lot easier to increase your savings than you think, and we can show you how to do it.
To start the process, call us at 800-885-7283 (SAVE) or visit our website, www.callrevise.com. We’ve got some great information about savings there, so it’s an excellent place to start if you’re curious and you want to get some background material about how to spend less while making your home more energy efficient.
