Wondering Why Your Energy Costs Are High? Consider An Energy Evaluation

With winter on the way, you will begin to use your heating system more and more. That’s why now is the ideal time to make sure you’re not wasting any energy — and paying for it. The best way to do this is to have an HVAC professional perform an energy evaluation on your house and help you develop a strategy to counter and problems.

To prepare for your energy audit, come up with a list of heating and cooling problems that you have noticed. This could include broad problems such as a general increase in energy costs, or more particular issues like a cool patch in a certain hallway. This will help make sure these get addressed while the auditor also identifies other energy leaks.

Both the inside and outside of your home will be inspected for common problem areas. One test that is commonly performed during an energy evaluation is the blower door test. A large fan will be mounted to an exterior door and turned on to drop the air pressure in your house. Because the air pressure outside will be higher, air will seep into your house where it can.  You will be able to see these infiltrations with the aid of a smoke pencil.

Thermographic scans are also often used in conjunction with the blower door test. These utilize infrared video to locate parts of your house that are inconsistently warmer or cooler than other parts. This often indicates the need for more insulation.

Your auditor strives to recommend solutions that are easy to implement and won’t drastically alter your lifestyle. For example, one simple and common solution is to seal any holes in your air ducts. Just by spreading a very affordable substance called duct mastic over holes and leaks can help you save up to 30 percent of your conditioned air.

To schedule an energy evaluation for your home today, contact Rinaldi’s Air Conditioning.

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

Rinaldi’s services Orlando, Florida and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our special offersand get started today!      

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.