Home Performance Contracting in Maryland & DC Metro Areas

Who does not want to lower energy costs? Lower energy costs means surplus funds which can be used for other things you want or need. In order for you to lower your energy costs, you need to lower your consumption. Some people argue however that lowering your energy consumption will translate to less comfort for you and for your family. This is not necessarily true. You can lower energy consumption by removing any energy-wasting elements.

In order to find out where your energy usage is going to waste, you need to run a home energy audit. An energy audit is essentially an inspection of how energy flows and is used in a home, taking into consideration factors that can be addressed to improve energy efficiency in cooling and heating. An audit of your home’s energy efficiency will include assessments of your walls, floors, doors, ceilings, and even skylights. This is to determine leakage rate, which affects the energy consumption of your home.

The energy audit will also show you whether or not your heating/cooling system is working properly, whether door seals and weather stripping are doing their jobs, and if your insulation is properly installed. Once the audit is done, you will find what issues need to be taken care of, and what needs to be changed in order for your home’s thermal performance to improve. This is to help you reduce your energy consumption.

Adopting Energy Saving Measures 

Aside from an energy audit, which will help you address the problems that cause your home to increase energy consumption due to leakage rate, you will also need to adopt energy saving habits. These include the following:

Make Switching Off a Habit – if lights are not in use, switch these off. If a computer does not need to be running, switch this off. If your console is not being used, enable sleep mode or simply turn it off. Switching things off when these are not being used, or when you are done using them, will help save you hundreds of dollars in energy costs.