Home Energy Audit - NOT a stand-alone service, but a Cornerstone of Your Evergreen Contracting Experience

We know you are looking to SOLVE your home's energy problems, so we use a home energy audit to help steer the way. While you might find a company to sell you an energy audit with data report, we use energy audit diagnostics to design your project and assess the results of our work.

When you work with Evergreen, your Energy Audit is baked right into your contracting experience, beginning with your Free Consult and continuing on through Project design, execution, and test-out phases. Here’s what you can expect:

Initial Inspection

We get a good first look at your home during your free energy consult. After a conversation with you about your home, we conduct a thorough visual inspection to look for common problems based on the age and style of your home. We use infrared analysis to detect air leaks or insulation gaps, and take photos to document these issues as well as your home’s particular conditions.

Recommendations. 

At the conclusion of your free consult, we will outline for your our project recommendations.
 

Project Design & Launch

Once we get the thumbs-up that you would like to work with us, Evergreen initiates the remaining steps of the energy audit process. This whole-house assessment reveals opportunities to help you create a healthier, more comfortable home with lower energy costs, increased property value, and greater durability. Comprehensive upgrades could cut your overall heating and cooling costs by 25-50%!

Blower Door Testing

The bright red blower door that measures your home's "leakiness" is the most recognizable part of a home energy audit. It provides crucial information about how quickly air moves through your home. Too fast, and you waste energy by heating air that will soon leak out of your house. Too slow, and your tight house may concentrate indoor air quality problems. 

We use the blower door’s large calibrated fan to measure airflow, determine the rate of air exchange, and pinpoint leaks that inflate that rate. Though some leaks are visible, most are due to the stack effect, in which cold air presses in through your foundation and warm air leaks out through your roof.

Health & Safety Testing

The safety of your home is our first priority. We test for carbon monoxide – a poisonous byproduct of all combustion appliances, including fuel-burning furnaces, boilers, water-heaters, and space heaters – and ensure that chimneys, flues, exhaust fans are functioning appropriately. We also look for indications of other health hazards, including asbestos, high moisture levels that could foster mold growth, and outdated electrical wiring.

Other Considerations 

Your house is a system, and every variable – from the building envelope and heating system to the way you use your space – affects your comfort and energy costs. We note your fuel use history, domestic hot water production, condition of your windows and doors, and more.

Project Test-Out

Once the work is complete, we return to measure the results of our work. We conduct a 2nd Blower Door Test to assess the improvement in air sealing and we test combustion appliances for safe operation. In addition, we conduct a Quality Assurance inspection to make sure we have performed as expected.

Ready to improve your home?
Learn how air sealing, insulation, basement encapsulation, and window replacements can make you more comfortable.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the stack effect?
What's the big deal about carbon monoxide?

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