Energy Audit
Green Savers LLC
Save money on your Home (or Township) energy bills!
If you want to save money on your home energy bills, start with a home energy audit. Home energy audits not only help you identify opportunities, they also provide an estimate of how much you can save on each so you can prioritize items with the fastest payback first.
Audits
Green Savers is helping the township by conducting a free energy audit this summer. Energy audits mean different things depending on the training and practices of the individual. The on-site visit consists of 2 parts. First, Green Savers LLC conducts an in depth survey of the home’s current features by interviewing the home owner, and inspecting the property, inside and out, bottom to top. They calculate square footage; window dimensions, type and orientation; the level of insulation in floors, walls, ceilings and basements; the age, output and efficiency of all heating and cooling appliances; as well as information on your electric appliances and lighting loads.
From this information Green Savers builds a computer model of your home off-site. They can then begin to apply each improvement opportunity identified within the computer model. The model will provide an estimate of the annual savings on your energy bills for each opportunity. This will help you determine the payback of each item and prioritize those with the fastest payback.
The second part of the onsite visit is diagnostic testing. Green Savers conducts a blower door test, which blows air out of your home and measures the amount of leakage. From this figure they can estimate the savings you can realize from sealing the leaks, and tell you how much air sealing you can do while still maintaining good indoor air quality. While conducting the blower door test, Green Savers scans your home with a thermal imaging camera. This enables us to find and record the source of the leaks. They capture the thermal picture as well as a digital photograph of the leakage areas. In the audit report you’ll get side by side digital and thermal pictures along with instructions on how to seal each leakage area. The thermal camera can also find issues where insulation is missing or poorly installed.
The onsite portion takes approximately 3 hours. You get the full report of savings opportunities with savings estimates, and the thermal imaging report about a week after the visit.
Complete Improvement
After the audit you can complete improvement in any number of ways. Some of the work, like air sealing, can be done by most home owners. For other jobs you may want the help of a professional. Examples of these jobs include: heating and cooling equipment replacement, insulation, and windows upgrades. If you have contractors you trust, you can get quotes and see if the payback suits your time frame. If you like, Green Savers can help with free referrals to their service partners, or they can put large jobs out for competitive bid for you for a small fee.
Audit Start
Green Savers will be starting the audit of the Township building on July 17. The results of the audit should be delineated by early August.
If you would like more information about Green Savers home energy audits please see the Green Savers website or contact by emailing Green Savers or calling 302-383-2000.
Owner
Matt Lillard is the owner of Green Savers, a home energy audit and green building consulting company located in Avondale, Pennsylvania. Matt Lillard is accredited as a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) energy audit, a Building Performance Institute (BPI) Building Analyst, and a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional by the U.S. Green Building Council.