If you're looking for ways to improve your home's energy efficiency and lower your heating and cooling bills, a home energy audit is the best place to start.
An energy audit shows you where your home is losing energy, so you can make improvements that will stop the waste and lower your bills.
At Quarve Contracting, we can help you take full advantage of the savings an energy audit can offer. We tailor energy efficiency improvements to meet your home’s specific needs and integrate them seamlessly into your roofing, siding, or window replacement project.
What Is a Home Energy Audit?
A home energy audit—also called an energy assessment—is a professional evaluation of how efficiently your home uses energy. It pinpoints areas where energy is being lost and offers tailored recommendations for improvements.
During this visit, trained professionals will typically:
Inspect your insulation
Measure air leakage with a blower door test
Perform a safety test on your heating system and water heater
Install basic energy-saving items like LED bulbs and smart thermostats
You’ll also receive a detailed report that you can send right to us. We’ll use your report to plan energy efficiency improvements tailored to your home’s exact needs.
How an Energy Audit Saves You Money
1. Identify Sources of Energy Waste
The goal of an energy audit is to figure out how your home is losing energy. Common sources include missing insulation, inadequate ventilation, air leaks, and outdated HVAC systems.
By finding and addressing these issues, you can reduce the amount of energy it takes to heat and cool your home. As a result, your energy costs will go down.
US Department of Energy estimates that you can reduce your energy bills by up to 30% by making the energy efficiency improvements recommended during an energy audit!
2. Prioritize the Most Cost-Effective Improvements
An energy audit gives you a smart, personalized roadmap for energy efficiency improvements so you don’t have to guess or throw money towards upgrades that won’t make a difference.
The report outlines all the upgrades your home would benefit from, along with installation costs and estimated savings. This helps you prioritize the most affordable and impactful improvements first, keeping your costs in check while making a significant impact on your home’s energy efficiency.
3. Avoid Expensive Repairs
Poor insulation and inadequate ventilation can lead to big problems, like mold, condensation, and ice dams. These issues often result in roof damage, structural repairs, and unhealthy indoor air. A home energy audit helps you spot these risks before they turn into costly repairs.
Additional Benefits of a Home Energy Audit
Home energy audits have many benefits beyond savings, including:
Comfort - An energy audit can uncover the root of comfort problems like hot upstairs bedrooms or cold drafts, so you can solve them for good.
Health - Many energy efficiency improvements also boost your home’s health by improving ventilation and reducing the risk of mold.
Durability - Better insulation and ventilation prevent issues like moisture, mold, and ice dams.
Environmental Impact - Reducing your energy consumption also reduces your carbon footprint.
How to Get Started
The best place to start is with a Home Energy Squad visit. If you’re a customer of Xcel Energy or CenterPoint Energy in Minnesota, it costs just $75 to $100, and some homeowners are eligible for a free assessment.
There are two assessment types to choose from. At Quarve, we recommend the Energy Planner option when scheduling your assessment.
Here’s how it works:
Schedule your Home Energy Squad visit. A technician will inspect your home and install basic energy-saving items.
Send us your Home Energy Squad Report. After your visit, we’ll review the report and make tailored recommendations.
We test problem areas further if necessary. We use advanced tools like blower doors and thermal imaging to dig deeper into specific problem areas.
We complete the upgrades. At Quarve Contracting, we specialize in energy efficiency improvements like insulation and ventilation that are integrated directly into your roofing, siding, or window project.
We test again to verify the results. After upgrades are installed, we can run a follow-up test to confirm that they made a difference.
Start saving. You’ll enjoy lower utility costs and avoid expensive repairs. You may also qualify for rebates and incentives to help cover the cost of your upgrades.
Take the first step toward lower energy bills with a home energy audit. Call (763) 296-2896 to learn more.
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