Energy Audit: Easing Up to the Reality Check

This week I got an incredibly detailed analysis of my home’s energy failures from my energy auditor. Apart from the air infiltration rate (bad), he told us things we knew–that the insulation in the crawlspace under the kitchen was not working well and that overall it is a leaky house. He also told us things we didn’t know--like that we have a pretty inefficient air conditioning system. Most importantly, what I had asked for and what we got was a list of priorities and some description of how to go about addressing them. Since it’s an old house, NOTHING is easy to fix, but it was helpful to have an idea of where to start. I don’t yet have an estimate for fixing up our cold kitchen floor but that’s my priority, and luckily, it is our auditor’s priority, too.

He also had a number of suggestions about sealing our air conditioning duct connections, attic insulation, and hard-to-reach closet spaces. Interestingly, replacing the fridge and the air conditioning system with energy efficient models were pretty low on the list. Now, the question is: how much will it cost to make some progress on the list? Stay tuned.