How Your Wallet Can Benefit from an Energy Audit
When you think of home inspections, you likely think about the comprehensive inspection that takes place when you buy or sell a home. However, there are a lot of other reasons you might want to invest in a home inspection. One type of inspection – the home energy audit – can help you identify areas where your home is not as efficient as it could be, which can help you save a lot of money in the long run.
The audit alone won’t help you save the money. You need to take the steps recommended by the auditor to make your home more energy efficient. Then you’ll start seeing big savings, both every month when you pay your electric bill but also in the cumulative savings you earn year after year.
When to Get an Energy Audit
There are a lot of good reasons to get an energy audit in Surprise. One of the biggest reasons that people get an energy audit is they notice that their energy bills seem high. The bills may seem high compared to what others in the area pay, or the bills may have started to seem higher than they did in the past. If you think you’re spending too much on energy costs, getting an energy audit will let you know if your house is less efficient than it could be.
You may not think that your energy bills are high, but you may need to get an energy audit if your home is older. An older home likely has a lot of problems you may not even be aware of, such as drafty windows, insufficient insulation, poor ventilation, and more. You may be spending much more on energy costs and not even realize it. A good property inspection in Surprise can help you understand what areas of the home need updating to make it more efficient.
Finally, you may want to get an energy audit if you are thinking of selling your home. You can learn about opportunities to update your home and make it more attractive to prospective buyers. You’ll have to get an AZ house inspection with the selling process anyway, so you might as well learn what troubles await (if any) and make the changes before buyers start going through the house.
What to Expect from an Energy Audit
An energy audit will be much like other home inspections in Arizona, but it will focus on the areas of the home that can influence its energy consumption. The auditor will make a list of your home’s pertinent features while also noting its size and layout. The auditor will then inspect the exterior of the home, from the foundation to the roof, assessing the quality of its components. The auditor will pay special attention to the windows, looking for leaks.
Inside your home, the auditor will do a room-by-room inspection. In the attic, the auditor will assess the quality of the insulation. The auditor will also engage in technical testing, using thermographic scanning to find leaks, testing outlets and electrical lines, and testing the furnace or the water heater. The auditor will also look at the air ducts for signs of leaks.
At the end of the audit, you will get a synopsis of the health of these components, and you will get recommendations for making updates. If you choose to implement all the updates – which you should – you will see dramatic improvements in your home’s energy efficiency, which will translate to dramatic cost savings. Making some of those updates may also lower your home maintenance and protect your home’s life span. You will inevitably increase your home’s overall value in the process.
Call ATS Home Inspections to schedule an energy audit for your Glendale area home. Our company offers a variety of home inspections, including AZ real estate inspections and energy audits. We can provide key insights, such as how much a home will cost to operate upon move in, where energy is being wasted in the home, and what can be done to save energy. We can help you make a home more energy efficient, not only to reduce its carbon footprint, but also to save you quite a lot of money. Call us today to talk with a home inspector or to schedule your energy audit.
ATS Home Inspections LLC
15770 W Gelding Dr
Surprise, AZ 85379
Phone (623) 266-8846
Email: tkolb@atshomeinspectionsllc.com
Website: atshomeinspectionsllc.com