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A Plus Energy Services: Home energy audits find hidden problems and give recommendations to tighten up your home.

Temperatures are dropping while heating costs are sharply rising this year. It’s a good time to investigate your home’s energy efficiency.

Saving energy and improving the comfort of your home are two important and related goals, both of which can be met through home energy audits. According to Daniel Ramage, managing member of A Plus Energy Services in Milford, energy audits are appropriate for any home.

“We audit some homes that are just a month old and some that are 100 years old or more,” he said.

Describing these audits as educational in nature, Ramage said they provide homeowners with information they can use to make decisions or learn about options that may not have been previously known, such as window replacement.

“We try to come up with solutions that are cost effective and help the homeowner to determine those facts and make the decisions from there,” he said.

Different homes, due to age and/or structure, have different issues. For example, Ramage said cape style homes can have fuel usage issues, whereas colonials with rooms over the garage possess their own unique challenges.

“A home energy audit really could be a good option for anyone,” said Ramage. “We may give guidance as far as what people want to look at in terms of warranties and type of energy efficiencies when looking at new products or improvements for their homes.”

During an audit, Ramage said they do a walkthrough from the basement to the attic. This walkthrough may include a blower door test and infrared scanning of the walls.

“This basically shows you different temperatures on the walls and junctions and helps the homeowner visualize things, especially for hidden areas of the home,” he explained.

Ramage said they also look at health and safety issues regarding indoor air quality. For instance, there may be no bathroom fan, ones that do exist are ineffective, or they may be vented to the attic.

“We look at carbon monoxide and possible issues with heating systems,” he added.

Based on what is found in a home energy audit, Ramage said they often recommend air sealing, which addresses “the tightness” of the structure.

“We do draft sealing or air sealing in hidden areas of the home, such as the basement or attic, and address any insulation issues in the attic, which is generally blown-in insulation,” he said.

He said they use cellulose, a green product that he said does a better job of actually insulating the home.

“Fiberglass just filters air,” he said.

Much of this air sealing involves basement concrete wall insulation, which captures distribution losses off of heating equipment. In these cases, heat goes upwards and to the house rather than outdoors.

“We use fire rated foam board 2- to 2-and-a-half inches thick that has silver aluminum foil on it that can be left up as is,” said Ramage. “It can also easily be framed up and reduce the run time of dehumidifiers in the basement.”

As for the eventual cost savings that may result from a home energy audit, Ramage cited a possible ration of 1:3.

“We like to see a quick payback period of seven years tops, although state rebates can cut that in half to like three to four years,” he said. “There are so many variables, but individual home reports would give (homeowners) those details.”

In looking to the future, Ramage said he believes energy audits can continue to play an important role for homeowners.

“They keep increasing energy requirements, which forces contractors to do better,” he said. “Plus, energy prices have gone up so high, so this is definitely a bigger topic now.”

To learn more about home energy audits and how they work, visit lowerheatingbills.com or aplusenergyservices.com.

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