Tech Focus: What's in an Energy Audit

Have you thought about getting an energy audit, but not sure whether it's worth the time and expense? And what about the different types of audits? Should you do one on your own, get a "free" audit from the utility company, or pay a certified auditor for an evaluation that includes a "blower door test" and possibly thermal imaging?

Self-evaluations and Free tests

Whether doing your own audit or having someone from the utility company take a look at your home will, in my opinion, provide about the same level of results. A self-audit requires a bit of homework to identify issues you may have in your home and how to correct them. (And taking the time to understand how your home functions can be extremely valuable.)

Guidance on doing it yourself can be found through the Energy Star program Home Improvement website. This information focuses on the biggest losers of energy first, air sealing and insulation, and works its way up to bigger ticket items such as heating and cooling systems.

Audits that are conducted as part of a utility's customer service often follows a similar approach without the need of a homeowner doing research. Generally, the auditor will go through your home to identify issues that are costing you money such as where air leaks are occurring or where you don't have enough insulation. They may also be able to evaluate items such as your heating and cooling system and make specific recommendations about what should be updated or corrected to reduce your utility bills.

Note that I haven't mentioned replacing windows up to now. A common misconception is that replacing your windows will save big money, but far too often the return is limited and ineffective without fixing other things first. Your home is a system and if you don't look at the whole picture, you might as well throw your money right out of those new windows.

That leads to a discussion of benefits with...

Professional Energy Audits

Your typical professional energy auditor is certified through RESNET and is qualified to perform audits that allow a new home to be labeled as ENERGY STAR rated or provided funds for updates through an Energy Improvement Mortgage.

There are a few significant differences you should expect from a professional audit including:

• A blower door air leakage test
• Infrared (thermal) imaging of trouble zones
• Pre-audit interview and questionnaire
• Analysis of past utility bills
• Personalized report of energy findings
• Financial analysis report that prioritizes upgrades for comfort and return on investment
• HERS rating

Without going into too much detail, the approach used during these audits is far more systematic at identifying problems in your home and what improvements will get you the biggest bang for your buck.

Where I see these audits really paying for themselves is in the interview / financial analysis aspects. When evaluating an existing home, these auditors take the time to discuss exactly what you hope to achieve and make specific recommendations that fulfill stated goals. For example, if you expect to live in your home for only 5 years, then they can identify specific improvements that will save you money for that period of time. Similarly, if you plan to make upgrades with funds from a mortgage, then the auditor will produce a report of cost-effective improvements that will lower your total monthly costs over the term of the loan (and improve the value of your home at the same time).

• See a sample audit report

To learn more about these audits, check the websites of these Certified auditors in the Cincinnati area:

• Emotiv / Chris Dwyer
• Home Energy Checkup / Dale Dennis
• Professional Energy Consulting / Don Simon
  

Thanks to Chris Dwyer @ Emotiv for input to this article

February housing in review - have we hit bottom yet?

Buyers waiting for a bottom in the housing market may be starting to dip their toes in the water. Some of the hardest hit markets (i.e., California, Arizona, and Florida) are seeing a big upswing of investors buying foreclosures and existing home sales took their biggest month to month increase in 6 years.

In the Cincinnati market, home sales - while still lower on a year to year basis - rose 22% from January to February. Another positive aspect: total inventory continues to decline, dropping below February 2006 levels. That said, foreclosures and other distress sales continue to make up a significant level of sales - nearly 50% of the volume - pushing the average sales price down 18% below last year's level. Also, the absorption rate (months of inventory at current sales rate) remains above previous year's levels.

• Chart - February sales vs. inventory
• Chart - February absorption rate
• National statistics
  

In the past month, mortgage interest rates dipped below 5% as the Fed implemented steps to buy mortgage backed securities. Economists vary on whether rates will go much lower, but there does seem to be consistency in expecting rates to hover around the 5% mark for most of the year. Coupled with the tax credit for first-time buyers, we can reasonably expect demand to pick up as affordability of homes compares favorably with rental rates.

We have a long way to go before the market is back to a balanced level, but the bottom fishing seems to have begun in earnest.

"Victory Gardens" - back in fashion

Hoping to save some money this year by starting a garden? I keep hearing this notion bandied about, and I admit I'm jumping on the bandwagon too.

The victory gardens popular during World War II have seemingly made a comeback with the downturn in the economy and the focus on locally grown food. While the motivation is a little different this time around, it nonetheless could make productive use of our yards - especially those of us on larger suburban lots.

If you plan on giving it a go, here's some options you might consider:

• Create a raised bed for planting vegetables and herbs. A raised bed allows for plants to be placed closer to one another and reduces the area required for growing (and produces more food per sq. ft.). In the Cincinnati area, you can learn about raised bed gardening at the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati
  
• Start composting. Not everyone has the space to create a composting pile that won't offend the neighbors, but it's the ultimate in recycling and makes for great fertilizer. If you do start composting, be sure you have the right "mix" of ingredients. The state of PA has a good primer on composting here.
  
• Coordinate with neighbors or colleagues at work. If others you know are planning a garden, find out what they are doing and then plant something different. For example, one person might have lots of tomatoes, another bell peppers, and a third herbs and eggplant. Come harvest time, you can exchange and "share the bounty."

For more information about establishing a garden visit the National Gardening Association website.

Happy growing!