After Your Home Energy Audit: Which Improvements Are You Planning to Take on First?

Because there are a lot of ways a home can be inefficient, the results of a home energy audit have the potential put a lot of home improvement projects on your to-do list. In order to prioritize them, you will want to consider the time and money each project will take, as well as the likely energy savings you’ll see from it.

Some relatively quick and inexpensive do-it-yourself projects can offer substantial energy savings, and you may want to tackle these first. Make sure any inefficient appliance settings have been changed, and plug appliances that use energy while in stand-by mode into a power strip that can cut power to them when they aren’t in use.

In households where the storage tank water heater experiences extended periods of disuse throughout the day, significant energy can be saved by putting water heater on a timer. Similarly, programmable thermostats are relatively inexpensive and make it easy to reduce your heating or cooling use when you’re asleep or away from home for large portions of the day.

Air leakage can be a big source of energy loss in a home, but is relatively easy and inexpensive to fix. Leaks around windows and doors can be fixed with caulk or weatherstripping, and any leaks present in ductwork can be sealed with mastic or quality, metal-backed tape.

Improving insulation, especially in the attic, can offer significant energy savings, but will cost more and may require working with a contractor, which takes longer. Upgrading inefficient windows is also important for having an energy-efficient house, but can take awhile and cost a lot. However, this offers the benefit of increasing the resale value of your home.

If you’re looking to upgrade appliances, you’ll probably want to start with the oldest appliances first. They tend to be the most inefficient and are the most likely to be at the end of their lifespan.

If you want help with any of the projects your home energy audit suggested, please contact us at Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions. We’ve been the quality leader for home comfort needs in the Orlando area since 1969.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about home energy audits and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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