Saving money on your energy bills gives you more to spend for yourself and your family, and one of the best ways to find out how to update your home to reap the biggest energy savings is through a home energy audit.
Professional or Personal
A professional audit will give you the most complete picture of energy usage in your home. It also shows you how to reduce your usage, but you may also opt to do your own energy check if you do not have the time or money for a company to provide the service. The U.S. Department of Energy offers tips on how to do your own home energy audit on its website. Talk to your local utility provider. Some provide discount or free energy audits for their customers. Both professional and personal audits pinpoint places in your home where energy is being wasted and suggest means of correcting that.
Lower Energy Bills
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, you could save up to 30 percent on your electric bill if you apply all of the suggestions made after an audit. These suggestions are specifically tailored to your home to maximize the energy savings. Some homeowners may need to purchase a programmable thermostat while others might need to add weather stripping around their doors and windows. Since the results of the audit tell you exactly what you need to do, you will not waste money on needless upgrades or repairs.
State Incentives
Depending on where you live, you may qualify for specific incentives for having a home energy audit. Some homeowners may qualify for a federal income tax credit with certain home upgrades to make their space more energy efficient. If you want to see if you can get benefits from your state, check out the Database for State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency.
Get the Most from an Audit
To ensure that the expert conducting your home energy audit gives you the most accurate information, you will need to collect all of your energy bills from the last year. This information, which many utility companies have online, will help the auditor to see if there are specific times of the day or year when you use more energy. He or she can then give you tips on when to reduce your energy use for the greatest savings.
Don’t waste money by spending more than you need to on your electric bills. Have your home audited for energy use so you can make an informed decision about which upgrades you need to save the most on your utility costs.
To learn more about cutting utility costs, please visit Modernize.com.
